While My Pretty One Sleeps

By: Mary Higgins Clark

Narrated by: Jessica Walter

Gossip columnist Ethel Lambston knew everything about everybody who was somebody - so there were more than enough suspects in her murder. But for Neeve Kearny, owner of an expensive Madison Avenue boutique, the killing of one of her best customers had eerie echoes of another death that occurred many years earlier - the murder of her own mother.

Suddenly, Neeve is plunged into the mystery of Ethel Lambston's murder, following a trail that leads from the glittering pleasure palaces of New York's rich and beautiful to the Mafia underworld. In the tradition of Mary Higgins Clark's staggering best sellers, Neeve Kearny is a woman determined to find the truth, caught in a swirl of money and romance - and stalked by a killer who's closer than she could ever dream.

©1989 Mary Higgins Clark (P)1989 Simon & Schuster

Edge-of-the-seat story, but abridgment CHOPPY!

What did you love best about While My Pretty One Sleeps?

The story line was superb! The action was added in the perfect places and the pace in the original book was well timed. Unfortunately it was seriously compromised by extremely choppy abridgment. I had read the book, so could follow the sudden jumps, but it would have been very confusing if I had not.

Would you be willing to try another one of Jessica Walter’s performances?

Jessica Walters's reading was delightful. Thank you for a job well done!

it's says optional but apparently not 🤦

For hopefully the last time, I bought an abridged version of her books. I will say that whoever edited the story did a good job. i also loved the reader, Jessica Walter!

My first "big book"

The first time I read this book I was in the 5th grade and I couldn't put it down. It was a page turner and I was hooked. Afterwards Mary Higgins Clark was named my favorite author. I loved the suspense and years later the book was still wonderful. The author will forever be one of the greatest in my opinion. The stories that she created will forever be worth the read or the listen.

All-time favorite!

While My Pretty One Sleeps has ALWAYS been a favorite. Listening to Ms Walter read the story was as much a joy as it is reading it myself. Thank you so much.

remembering this classic!

well read at a great pace! the readers use of voice modulation is spot on

Good story and decent performance

Would you try another book from Mary Higgins Clark and/or Jessica Walter?

I have read many of Mary Higgins Clark books and was not as impressed with this particular one. The character development was too brief. I found the relationships to be shallow and unbelievable.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I felt compelled to hand the narrator a glass of water the entire book. She seemed to suffer from an extremely dry mouth and the resulting noises distracted from her words. Otherwise she was a lovely narrator.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The typical suspense and mystery of works by Mary Higgins Clark was still present and enjoyable.

A little too quick

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

This story was a little too abbreviated. I felt some of the romantic parts were a little too dramatic and unrealistic.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Most interesting: trying to figure out who killed the reporter.
The least interesting: the 2 love stories.

How could the performance have been better?

The performance was fine.

What character would you cut from While My Pretty One Sleeps?

The woman that found the body and falls in love with the main characters father after 1 meeting, give me a break! Plus her input in finding the main character was a little far fetched.

Any additional comments?

It seemed like a very abbreviated story. It could have been much longer. Maybe I wouldn't have minded the love stories if they weren't such a large part of such a quick book.

Abridged and mutilated

This title is a long-time favorite of mine. It should have been made very clear at the outset that this was a severely abridged version of the book. Also, the narrator mispronounced the last name of the main character. Jarring.