Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

Summary and Reviews of Daddy's Little Girl by Mary Higgins Clark

Daddy's Little Girl by Mary Higgins Clark

Daddy's Little Girl

by Mary Higgins Clark
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • First Published:
  • Apr 1, 2002, 291 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Apr 2003, 384 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About This Book

Book Summary

This portrait of a family shattered by crime, reflects Mary Higgins Clark's uncanny insight into the twisted mind of a killer and is further evidence of why she is America's favorite author of suspense.

Ellie Cavanaugh was only seven years old when her fifteen-year-old sister, Andrea, was murdered near their home in Oldham-on-the-Hudson, a rural village in New York's Westchester County. There were three suspects: Rob Westerfield, nineteen-year-old scion of a wealthy, prominent family, whom Andrea has been secretly dating; Paul Stroebel, a sixteen-year-old schoolmate, who had a crush on Andrea; and Will Nebels, a local handyman in his forties.

It was Ellie who had led her parents to a hideout in which Andrea's body was found -- a secret hideaway in which she met her friends. And it was Ellie who was blamed by her parents for her sister's death for not telling them about this place the night Andrea was missing. It was also Ellie's testimony that led to the conviction of the man she was firmly convinced was the killer. Steadfastly denying his guilt, he spent the next twenty-two years in prison.

When he comes up for parole, Ellie, now an investigative reporter for an Atlanta newspaper, protests his release. Nonetheless, the convicted killer is set free and returns to Oldham. Determined to thwart his attempts to whitewash his reputation, Ellie also returns to Oldham, intent on creating a Website and writing a book that will conclusively prove his guilt. As she delves deeper into her research, however, she uncovers horrifying and heretofore unknown facts that shed new light on her sister's murder. With each discovery, she comes closer to a confrontation with a desperate killer.

Gripping and relentlessly compelling, Daddy's Little Girl, a portrayal of a family shattered by crime, reflects Mary Higgins Clark's uncanny insight into the twisted mind of a killer and is further evidence of why she is America's favorite author of suspense.

Chapter 1

When Ellie awoke that morning, it was with the sense that something terrible had happened.

Instinctively she reached for Bones, the soft and cuddly stuffed dog who had shared her pillow ever since she could remember. When she'd had her seventh birthday last month, Andrea, her fifteen-year-old sister, had teased her that it was time to toss Bones in the attic.

Then Ellie remembered what was wrong: Andrea hadn't come home last night. After dinner, she had gone to her best friend Joan's house to study for a math test. She had promised to be home by nine o'clock. At quarter of nine, Mommy went to Joan's house to walk Andrea home, but they said Andrea had left at eight o'clock.

Mommy had come back home worried and almost crying, just as Daddy got in from work. Daddy was a lieutenant in the New York State Police. Right away he and Mommy had started calling all of Andrea's friends, but no one had seen her. Then Daddy said he was going ...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

Kirkus Reviews
Less mystery, more raw pain, and a tough-cookie heroine who tells her own story make this a real departure for Clark, and one that carries more conviction than her usual glossy fantasies.

Publishers Weekly
Writing in the first person a rarity for this veteran author has inspired and energized Clark. Her 21st novel of intrigue is her best in years, a tightly woven, emotionally potent tale of suspense and revenge.

Booklist - Kristine Huntley
Clark's latest thriller deviates from her usual, by-the-book whodunit by revealing the villain early on....A solid if unremarkable page-turner.

Reader Reviews

Kigome96

Daddy's Little Girl!
This book was amazing! Once I finished it I called my dad and when he asked what it was he paused. Then he said he had that book in his garage and he read it and it was so nice to talk to my dad about a book. Especially one like this.
bee

daddys little girl
This book is awesome. My daughter read it and she loved it!
Lindsey

Awesome
I had to choose a book for English class, and I don't own a lot of books, but my brother does. I am mostly into mysteries and this one was a perfect book. I have to admit that at some points, it's dry but mostly it's heated. I would recommend this ...   Read More
Mimi

Very Entertaining
I'm only 17 years old and not very fond of reading novels. The only time I do is when I have to for English class. I was assigned to pick any Mary Higgins Clark novel and this was the one I chose. It was totally captivating, I read it in one weekend...   Read More

Write your own review!

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Daddy's Little Girl, try these:

  • Exit Wounds jacket

    Exit Wounds

    by J.A. Jance

    Published 2004

    About this book

    More by this author

    A powerful tale that explores the darkest corners of human nature, revealing the grievous injuries inflicted behind locked doors, the unseen wounds that bleed and destroy and never heal.

  • All Is Vanity jacket

    All Is Vanity

    by Christina Schwarz

    Published 2003

    About this book

    More by this author

    At once darkly comic and moving, this witty exploration of female friendship, envy, and misguided ambition deliciously satirizes the desire to shine in the world.

We have 4 read-alikes for Daddy's Little Girl, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by Mary Higgins Clark
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes

Books with similar themes


Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Graveyard Shift
    Graveyard Shift
    by M. L. Rio
    Following the success of her debut novel, If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio's latest book is the quasi-...
  • Book Jacket: The Sisters K
    The Sisters K
    by Maureen Sun
    The Kim sisters—Minah, Sarah, and Esther—have just learned their father is dying of ...
  • Book Jacket: Linguaphile
    Linguaphile
    by Julie Sedivy
    From an infant's first attempts to connect with the world around them to the final words shared with...
  • Book Jacket
    The Rest of You
    by Maame Blue
    At the start of Maame Blue's The Rest of You, Whitney Appiah, a Ghanaian Londoner, is ringing in her...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

Don't join the book burners. Don't think you are going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever ...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..