Books > Where Are You Now? >

Reading Group Guide

Follow Simon & Schuster

It's been ten years since twenty-one-year-old Charles "Mack" MacKenzie, Jr. went missing. A Columbia University senior, about to graduate and already enrolled in Duke University Law School, he walked out of his room in Manhattan's Upper West Side without a word to his roommates and has never been seen again. However, he makes one ritual phone call to his mother every year, on Mother's Day. Each time, he assures her he is fine, refuses to answer her frantic questions, and hangs up. Even the death of his father on 9/11 does not bring him home.

Mack's sister Carolyn, now twenty six, is a law school graduate applying to work as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. She has endured two family tragedies: her brother's inexplicable disappearance and the loss of her father. Realizing that neither she nor her mother will ever get on with their lives without some answers, she sets out to discover what happened to Mack, and why he finds it necessary to hide from them.

Carolyn's pursuit of the truth about Mack's disappearance swiftly plunges her into a world of unexpected changes and ultimately into a deadly confrontation with someone close to her who suddenly becomes an enemy -- and cannot allow her to disclose his secret...

1. Carolyn has a dream about Mack, "following a shadowy figure who was walking across a bridge....I heard him calling me, his voice mournful and troubled. Carolyn, stay back, stay back." (6) What do you think this dream means? Why must Carolyn "stay back?" What does the bridge symbolize?

2. What role does media exposure play in Mack and Leesey's cases? Does the media help or hinder the investigation? The killer freely admits, "I like the headlines." (111) Why does he crave media attention? What steps does he take to keep Leesey and Mack in the headlines?

3. Aaron Klein observes, "Elliott can't mention Olivia MacKenzie's name without getting stars in his eyes." (56) Do you think Elliott genuinely loves Olivia, or is his affection another part of his false identity? Explain your answer.

4. Carolyn confides in Nick about her mother, "Mack was always her favorite. He did everything right. I'm too impulsive for Mom's taste." (194) Do you think Carolyn is right about her mother's preference? How does this belief fuel her determination to find Mack?

5. Chapter 21 reveals the mind of the serial killer for the first time. What does the murderer's perspective add to the novel?

6. Carolyn carefully chooses her outfits throughout her investigation. In Martha's Vineyard, for example, "I didn't want to seem either overdressed or too casual. I wanted no sense of being Mack's little sister when I saw Barbara." (228) Why are appearances important to Carolyn? How are they crucial to Elliott, too?

7. Why does Barbara hide her son's paternity? Do you find her motives selfish or reasonable? After confronting Barbara about Mack's son, Carolyn and Olivia agree "to wait until he is older to tell him the truth." (288) Why do they consent to Barbara's request? What is the appropriate age for this revelation?

8. Carolyn reveals at the end of the novel, "Nick and I were married three months ago." (289) How are Nick and Carolyn compatible? What, if anything, makes them an unlikely couple? Do you think Olivia MacKenzie approves of her new son-in-law? Why or why not?

9. While you were reading, who was your first suspect in Leesey's kidnapping? Did you switch to a different suspect over the course of the novel? Were you surprised when the murderer -- and his uncle -- were finally revealed?

10. "Love or money...That's what Lucas Reeves said were the causes of the majority of crimes." (265) What is the cause of the crimes in Where Are You Now? -- love or money? Or both?

1. Mary Higgins Clark reveals how she gets her ideas: "I read an article in a newspaper or magazine, and for some reason it sticks in my mind." (vii) Find an unsolved mystery in the newspaper and answer the same three questions Mary Higgins Clark asks herself: "Suppose? What if? Why?" Share an imaginary plot surrounding your chosen mystery with your book club!

2. Print a copy of Shakespeare's Sonnet 29, which Mack recites on tape for his acting class with Esther Klein. Read the sonnet aloud to your book group and discuss your interpretations. The sonnet can be found here: http://www.bartleby.com/70/50029.html.

3. Get inspired by Leesey Andrews, who loves to dance, and take your book club to a local bar or club that features live music. Dance the night away, but don't get into a stranger's SUV at the end of the night!

4. On a map of New York City, plot some of the sites from Where Are You Now? -- Sutton Place, West End Avenue, Thompson Street, 104th and Riverside, and the district attorney's office at 1 Hogan Place.

5. Check out the real estate section of the newspaper and discuss the local market with your book club. Is it a good time to buy up properties, as Derek Olsen did in the 1960s, or to sell them off, as he does at the end of the novel?