Preview of Where Are the Children? Summary:

One thing all of Clark's heroines have is pluck. When needed, they seem to possess huge reservoirs of tenacity and courage. For example, in spite of all of her psychological traumas, the taint of guilt that still surrounds her, and even though weaken by exhaustion, Nancy still is able to drag herself out of bed, struggle to Carl's hideout, and wrestle him for the lives of her children. Mother-love seems capable of overcoming enormous obstacles. Nancy also is able to cope, more or less successfully enough, with her unresolved guilt to make a new life for herself and to start over with Ray and their children. To have such resilience is remarkable.

But if overcoming such obstacles is routine for females in Clark's fiction, so is their final dependence on a male support system. Again, this contradiction works within the conventions of her thrillers. Mary Higgins Clark is...