A Cry in the Night (1982) is a suspense novel by American author Mary Higgins Clark.
Author | Mary Higgins Clark |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Mystery |
Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | September 1982 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
ISBN | 0-671-43128-5 |
OCLC | 8552071 |
813/.54 19 | |
LC Class | PS3553.L287 C76 1982 |
Synopsis
Jenny MacPartland, a divorced single mother, falls in love with artist Erich Kreuger while working for a New York gallery. They marry within a month and set up home on Erich's vast Minnesota ranch. For several months they are happily married, but Jenny begins to feel uneasy around her increasingly unstable husband. Within a year, their marriage is ripped apart by scandal and Jenny plans to return to New York City until she realizes that she is pregnant and completely dependent financially on Eric. Unsure of what to do, Jenny lives in fear and hides her growing baby from her husband as long as she physically can. As Jenny's pregnancy progresses, she discovers Eric's obsession with his dead mother, Caroline—the exact image of Jenny. As the facts begin to add up, Jenny realizes that she is married to and carrying the child of his[clarification needed]. Soon after he finds out she is planning to leave him, he starts to stalk her. He leaves without her on a trip and takes her two children. Trying to find out the truth about what he is trying to do, she also finds out more than that, more in the past and soon...
Characters in A Cry in the Night
- Jenny MacPartland – a divorced single mother, protagonist
- Erich Krueger – a painter whom Jenny marries in the course of the story
- Kevin MacPartland – Jenny's lazy ex-husband; an actor
- Beth MacPartland – Jenny's first daughter
- Tina MacPartland – Jenny's second daughter
- Joe- Erich's working hand on the farm
- Elsa- Erich's maid
- Mark- A doctor and the only man Jenny feels comfortable with
Adaptations
A Cry in the Night was made into a television movie in 1992 starring Carol Higgins Clark and Perry King.