The night is my time

"The definition of an owl had always appealed to him: a nocturnal bird of prey... sharp talons and soft plumage that allows silent flight... figuratively applied to nocturnal people. 'I am The Owl,' he whispered to himself after choosing his prey, 'and night is my time.'" At a reunion of old classmates, twenty years after graduation, Jean Sheridan's closest friends begin to be murdered, and all signs point to an old friend. During the celebration, Jean Sheridan, along with other alumni from her college class, will receive a special tribute. However, a great unrest dominates the festivities. Alison Kendall, a former student and powerful Hollywood agent, died a few days ago, drowning in her home pool. Most intriguingly, Alison is the fifth Stonecroft Academy alumna to lose her life suddenly and mysteriously. When Jean receives an anonymous fax referring to the daughter she had given up for adoption twenty years earlier, her sense of despair becomes even more terrifying. Who is responsible for the threat? Could the message be linked to the deaths of the former students? Despite her desperation, Jean heads to the hotel where the reunion is taking place. One by one, she sees her old classmates again—Laura Wilcox, the prettiest in the class, now suffering a declining career in television; Carter Stewart, a successful playwright and then considered the "weirdo" of the class; Mark Fleischman, a renowned juvenile psychiatrist; Gordie Amory, the all-powerful cable television figurehead, the target of cruel jokes in school; Robby Brent, a successful comedian whose caustic humor stems from a childhood of rejection; and Jack Emerson, the reunion organizer. At the gala dinner, Jean is introduced to Sam Deegan, a detective who can help her identify the Stonecroft Academy killer and uncover the source of the anonymous threat. However, Jean doesn't suspect that among the illustrious figures now greeting her is The Owl, a criminal who is nearing the realization of his plan for revenge against Stonecroft's colleagues. And it seems that Jean may be the next victim. "Mary Higgins Clark keeps readers hooked until the last page."—Boston Globe