The Lost Years by Mary Higgins Clark

          I think I've mentioned before I am not a big MHC fan. Every once in a while she comes up with a story I like, but this is not one of them. I am glad it was short, but that may have been one of its problems. I never did get the characters straight in my head. There is a basic cast of 15 - 20 characters. Not enough to have me still confused about who's who through the last chapter. The characters are not sharply defined enough. I also felt very little drama or tension. The story was a bit flat. The premise was a good one, though.

            The story revolves around a two millennia old letter, allegedly written by Jesus to Joseph of Arimathea. The parchment was lost some time in the fifth century, but has turned up recently. An archeologist and biblical scholar discovered it, and started quietly confirming its authenticity. The man is murdered in his home office one night, and the parchment cannot be found.

            Detectives immediately assume it is the man's wife, suffering from late stage Alzheimer's who killed him. Her daughter knows this is not possible. So she and her father's friends begin the hunt for the parchment and the real killer.

            MHC fans will surely want to read this one, but I'm glad it only took me one day to get through it.