Mary Higgins Clark Books

 

All Through the Night by Mary Higgins Clark

Amazon.com
Fans of Mary Higgins Clark and cozy mysteries will relish this Christmas confection. Unlike her previous holiday novel, Silent Night, All Through the Night is virtually free of life-and-death crime. Rather, it is a Dickensian tale of good deeds rewarded and crimes punished.
The wintry story begins on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with 18-year-old Sondra Lewis, an aspiring violinist, tearfully leaving her baby on the steps of St. Clement's Church. Unbeknownst to her, Lenny Centino is robbing that same church on the same night, with his attention particularly on the Church's diamond inlaid chalice. He finds a buggy outside the church and uses it for cover as he flees. Only later does he realize that his take for the night includes the infant Stellina (Italian for star). The narrative then abruptly moves ahead seven years. Clark's lottery-winning protagonists, Alvirah and her husband Willy (introduced in Weep No More, My Lady) return for some amateur sleuthing. Sister Cordelia's thrift shop doubles as an after-school recreation place for neighborhood children (including a shy little girl named Star), but the building has been condemned. Bessie Maher had vowed she was leaving the house to the nun and her children. Now that she is gone, the will indicates that the tenants of the house, Vic and Linda Baker, are the true heirs. As December rushes on towards Christmas, Alvirah struggles to put things right before the children are left in the cold.

Like the best holiday stories, All Through the Night steers toward sentimentality, but it veers back on course with narrative wit and Alvirah's charm. Clark's prose is lean and her plotting is brisk. This is a mystery that would be a pleasure to share aloud with a family gathered at the fireplace for some holiday cheer.


Iced by Carol Higgins Clark

Her hopes for a productive Aspen vacation thwarted by a series of priceless painting thefts, private investigator Regan Reilly also searches for her missing friend Eben Bean, whom everyone believes committed the crimes.

 

 

On the Street Where You Live by Mary Higgins Clark

Amazon.com
Emily Graham knows what it's like to have enemies. The pretty New York attorney--a millionaire due to a lucky stock market break--has been sued by her greedy ex-husband and stalked by a man who thinks she helped his mother's murderer escape punishment. But when she buys her great-great-grandmother's childhood home in the sleepy resort town of Spring Lake, Emily thinks her new life will be saner, even though five other young women, including Emily's ancestor Madeline Shapley, have disappeared from Spring Lake under creepy circumstances over the past century.
No sooner has Emily moved in than she starts receiving frightening, anonymous messages. Worse, when she breaks ground for a backyard pool, the backhoe brings up the body of Martha Lawrence, who vanished four years ago, and whose dead hand clutches the finger bone of Madeline Shapley, identified by her sapphire ring. Both women disappeared on September 7, 105 years apart. When the cops and Emily realize that a similar parallel exists between two other missing women and that the anniversary of yet another girl's disappearance is fast approaching, they quickly surmise that a sixth murder will be attempted in just a week. But by whom? Is today's serial killer a copycat of the Spring Lake murderer of the 1890s--or a reincarnation? Fueled by fear, anger, and scary little notes from the killer, Emily's actively researching the murders, but even she doesn't realize how many suspects there are: the retired college president, who's being blackmailed, and his perpetually angry wife; the town's bankrupt restaurateur with a weakness for pretty blondes; the middle-aged detective with his finger right on the pulse of the crimes. Even Emily's friend Eric, the software CEO who made her rich, and Nick, her new coworker, seem to show up at suspiciously convenient times.

Mary Higgins Clark's cast of characters may be overly large; in going for quantity she skimps on the characterization, and all of them, including Emily, are as wooden as Al Gore. But characterization isn't what's made this 24-book author a bestseller-list regular. The cleverly complex plot gallops along at a great clip, the little background details are au courant, and the identities of both murderers come as an enjoyable surprise. On the Street Where You Live just may be Clark's best in years.

 

The Plot Thickens : A Suspense Story by Mary Higgins Clark

For this marvelously entertaining anthology, these outstanding contributors rose to a unique literary challenge: each penned a tale that ingeniously features a thick fog, a thick book and a thick steak. Contributors include Mary Higgins Clark, Lawrence Block, Edna Buchanan, Carol Higgins Clark, Janet Evanovich, Linda Fairstein, Walter Mosley, Nancy Pickard, Ann Rule and Donald Westlake.

 

Before I Say Good-Bye by Mary Higgins Clark

When Nell MacDermott learns that her husband, architect Adam Cauliff, and three of his business associates have died in an explosion of his new cabin cruiser, she is not only devastated but wracked with guilt. The last time she saw Adam, they had a bitter quarrel over her plan to run for the congressional seat long held by her grandfather; she had told him not to come home.
As the investigation into the boat's explosion proceeds, Nell learns that it was not an accident but a bomb. Despite her skepticism, Nell is swayed by her great-aunt Gert, a believer in psychic powers, to see a medium claiming to be Adam's channel.
While trying to unravel the threads of Adam's past and his violent end, Nell consults the medium, who transmits messages to her with instructions from Adam. The story reaches a powerful climax in Nell's final encounter with the medium, in which she learns the truth about the explosion -- truth she can't be allowed to live and tell.

 

While My Pretty One Sleeps by Mary Higgins Clark

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 ocurred 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 bestsellers, 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...


On the Street Where You Live by Mary Higgins Clark

Amazon.com
Emily Graham knows what it's like to have enemies. The pretty New York attorney--a millionaire due to a lucky stock market break--has been sued by her greedy ex-husband and stalked by a man who thinks she helped his mother's murderer escape punishment. But when she buys her great-great-grandmother's childhood home in the sleepy resort town of Spring Lake, Emily thinks her new life will be saner, even though five other young women, including Emily's ancestor Madeline Shapley, have disappeared from Spring Lake under creepy circumstances over the past century.
No sooner has Emily moved in than she starts receiving frightening, anonymous messages. Worse, when she breaks ground for a backyard pool, the backhoe brings up the body of Martha Lawrence, who vanished four years ago, and whose dead hand clutches the finger bone of Madeline Shapley, identified by her sapphire ring. Both women disappeared on September 7, 105 years apart. When the cops and Emily realize that a similar parallel exists between two other missing women and that the anniversary of yet another girl's disappearance is fast approaching, they quickly surmise that a sixth murder will be attempted in just a week. But by whom? Is today's serial killer a copycat of the Spring Lake murderer of the 1890s--or a reincarnation? Fueled by fear, anger, and scary little notes from the killer, Emily's actively researching the murders, but even she doesn't realize how many suspects there are: the retired college president, who's being blackmailed, and his perpetually angry wife; the town's bankrupt restaurateur with a weakness for pretty blondes; the middle-aged detective with his finger right on the pulse of the crimes. Even Emily's friend Eric, the software CEO who made her rich, and Nick, her new coworker, seem to show up at suspiciously convenient times.

Mary Higgins Clark's cast of characters may be overly large; in going for quantity she skimps on the characterization, and all of them, including Emily, are as wooden as Al Gore. But characterization isn't what's made this 24-book author a bestseller-list regular. The cleverly complex plot gallops along at a great clip, the little background details are au courant, and the identities of both murderers come as an enjoyable surprise. On the Street Where You Live just may be Clark's best in years.

 

 

On the Street Where You Live by Mary Higgins Clark

Amazon.com
Emily Graham knows what it's like to have enemies. The pretty New York attorney--a millionaire due to a lucky stock market break--has been sued by her greedy ex-husband and stalked by a man who thinks she helped his mother's murderer escape punishment. But when she buys her great-great-grandmother's childhood home in the sleepy resort town of Spring Lake, Emily thinks her new life will be saner, even though five other young women, including Emily's ancestor Madeline Shapley, have disappeared from Spring Lake under creepy circumstances over the past century.
No sooner has Emily moved in than she starts receiving frightening, anonymous messages. Worse, when she breaks ground for a backyard pool, the backhoe brings up the body of Martha Lawrence, who vanished four years ago, and whose dead hand clutches the finger bone of Madeline Shapley, identified by her sapphire ring. Both women disappeared on September 7, 105 years apart. When the cops and Emily realize that a similar parallel exists between two other missing women and that the anniversary of yet another girl's disappearance is fast approaching, they quickly surmise that a sixth murder will be attempted in just a week. But by whom? Is today's serial killer a copycat of the Spring Lake murderer of the 1890s--or a reincarnation? Fueled by fear, anger, and scary little notes from the killer, Emily's actively researching the murders, but even she doesn't realize how many suspects there are: the retired college president, who's being blackmailed, and his perpetually angry wife; the town's bankrupt restaurateur with a weakness for pretty blondes; the middle-aged detective with his finger right on the pulse of the crimes. Even Emily's friend Eric, the software CEO who made her rich, and Nick, her new coworker, seem to show up at suspiciously convenient times.

Mary Higgins Clark's cast of characters may be overly large; in going for quantity she skimps on the characterization, and all of them, including Emily, are as wooden as Al Gore. But characterization isn't what's made this 24-book author a bestseller-list regular. The cleverly complex plot gallops along at a great clip, the little background details are au courant, and the identities of both murderers come as an enjoyable surprise. On the Street Where You Live just may be Clark's best in years.

 

The Night Awakens by Mary Higgins Clark

Featuring breathtaking tales of men and women joined in love--and driven to murder--this haunting anthology is the second book in the "Mystery Writers of America Anthology" series that began with Scott Turow's "Guilty As Charged". Contributors include Ruth Rendell, Sarah Shankman, Sara Paretsky, Lawrence Block, William Kent Krueger, Sharyn McCrumb, Brendan DuBois, Loren D. Estleman, Sally Gunning, Nancy Pickard and Faye Kellerman.

 

Weep No More My Lady : A Suspense Story by Mary Higgins Clark

Elizabeth Lange is determined to unearth the truth about how her beloved sister really died. But as glimpses of the dark truth are revealed, an unexpected source threatens to engulf her entirely.

 

My Gal Sunday by Mary Higgins Clark

Amazon.com
Imagine Nick and Nora Charles with a taste for politics and none for gin, and you'd be pretty close to Mary Higgins Clark's Henry Parker Britland IV and his attractive young wife, Sandra O'Brien Britland, known as Sunday. Henry, possessor of an enormous inherited fortune and known as one of America's sexiest men, has just finished his second term as president of the United States and is happily retired at 44, puttering around his New Jersey country estate. Sunday, who bootstrapped her way up from a modest working-class background, is a junior congresswoman with a reputation for smarts. The two met, romantically enough, on the eve of Henry's leaving office, fell madly in love, and were married six weeks later. In this collection of four pleasantly readable stories, the sleuthing duo catch the murderer of a statesman's flashy amour, endure Sunday's kidnapping and mastermind her rescue, solve the 34-year-old mystery of the disappearance of a foreign prime minister from the Britland family yacht, and reunite a ransomed boy with his parents at Christmas. Of the four, "They All Ran After the President's Wife" may be the best plotted, and has a particularly amusing McGuffin in the character of a caviar-loving terrorist. While the suspense is on the mild side throughout, the romance is lighthearted but sincere, and the occasional flashes of wit are dryly appealing. It's a bonbon, to be enjoyed for its brief sweetness.


All Through the Night by Mary Higgins Clark

Amazon.com
Fans of Mary Higgins Clark and cozy mysteries will relish this Christmas confection. Unlike her previous holiday novel, Silent Night, All Through the Night is virtually free of life-and-death crime. Rather, it is a Dickensian tale of good deeds rewarded and crimes punished.
The wintry story begins on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with 18-year-old Sondra Lewis, an aspiring violinist, tearfully leaving her baby on the steps of St. Clement's Church. Unbeknownst to her, Lenny Centino is robbing that same church on the same night, with his attention particularly on the Church's diamond inlaid chalice. He finds a buggy outside the church and uses it for cover as he flees. Only later does he realize that his take for the night includes the infant Stellina (Italian for star). The narrative then abruptly moves ahead seven years. Clark's lottery-winning protagonists, Alvirah and her husband Willy (introduced in Weep No More, My Lady) return for some amateur sleuthing. Sister Cordelia's thrift shop doubles as an after-school recreation place for neighborhood children (including a shy little girl named Star), but the building has been condemned. Bessie Maher had vowed she was leaving the house to the nun and her children. Now that she is gone, the will indicates that the tenants of the house, Vic and Linda Baker, are the true heirs. As December rushes on towards Christmas, Alvirah struggles to put things right before the children are left in the cold.

Like the best holiday stories, All Through the Night steers toward sentimentality, but it veers back on course with narrative wit and Alvirah's charm. Clark's prose is lean and her plotting is brisk. This is a mystery that would be a pleasure to share aloud with a family gathered at the fireplace for some holiday cheer.

 

 

Stillwatch by Mary Higgins Clark

Working to produce a television series on a woman senator who is running for vice president, journalist Pat Traymore discovers terrible secrets that threaten to destroy the candidate's reputation and bring up issues from Pat's own past.

 

Let Me Call You Sweetheart by Mary Higgins Clark

Sweetheart roses -- the traditional gift of lovers. Yet they had been an important clue in the murder 10 years ago of strikingly beautiful Suzanne Reardon, whose husband, Skip, is now serving a life sentence for that murder.
Kerry McGrath had only begun to work in the county prosecutor's office at the time of the infamous "Sweetheart Murder Case," yet she remembers being impressed by both the ability her new boss, Frank Green, displayed in successfully pursuing the conviction, and the general ineptness of the defense counsel. Skip Reardon's fate was sealed, and Green's reputation made.
Now Kerry herself has gained quite a reputation as a smart and relentless prosecutor, so much so that her name has been given to the governor as a candidate for a new judgeship he is about to award. It is something she wants desperately, not only a chance to enter a level of the legal world open to only a few, but an opportunity to prove to her ex-husband, Bob Kinellen, that she is indeed special.
Then suddenly Kerry's plans are turned upside down. When Kerry's beloved daughter, Robin, is injured in an automobile accident, suffering superficial but nonetheless potentially disfiguring cuts to her face, she is treated by a well-known plastic surgeon. It is in the doctor's office that Kerry first sees the woman with the beautiful face, a face she remembers from the past but can't place. Then, on another visit to the plastic surgeon, she sees the same haunting face again -- but not on the same woman as before!
Suddenly she remembers -- the face those women share was the same face she had seen in the pictures of Suzanne Reardon, the "Sweetheart Murder" victim, killed 10 years ago!
But why would someone be giving these women the face of a dead woman? When Kerry begins to ask questions, it soon becomes clear that almost no one involved -- not her boss, Frank Green; not her ex-husband and his shady "Irish Mafia" client Jimmy Weeks; not her long-time friend and benefactor, State Senator Jonathan Hoover; and most especially not Dr. Smith, the plastic surgeon -- wants to see the case reopened. And it soon becomes apparent that one of them will stop at nothing to prevent it.
Still Kerry persists, aided by Skip Reardon's appeals lawyer, Geoff Dorso, the first man to whom she has felt any real attraction since the breakup of her marriage.
But what she doesn't know is that no matter what she decides, it is already too late -- she is in great, growing danger.

 

 

The Lottery Winner : Alvirah and Willy Stories by Mary Higgins Clark

A collection of intertwining short mystery and suspense stories features the sleuthing housekeeper Alvira Meehan and her mate, Willy, in ""The Body in the Closet,"" ""Death on the Cape,"" ""The Lottery Winner,"" and ""Bye, Baby Bunting.""


Moonlight Becomes You by Mary Higgins Clark

Amazon.com
Newport, Rhode Island: a world of old money, old names, and sinister secrets. Maggie Holloway, a fashion photographer, goes to visit an old friend -- but when she arrives, the friend is dead, the victim of a violent robbery. Maggie is stunned when she learns that she's the beneficiary of the will -- and even more stunned when she recognizes a pattern of murder in Newport society that will lead the killer straight to her.

 



Above review Copyright © by Amazon.com; reproduced by permission


OxfordBooks.com / Oxford, MS
 

 

 

 

Amazon.com is pleased to have Dr. John Holleman in the family of Amazon.com associates. We've agreed to ship products and provide customer service for orders we receive through special links on Dr. Holleman's online bookseller.
Amazon.com associates list selected books and music in an editorial context that helps you make the right choice. We encourage you to shop at Dr. Holleman's bookseller often to see what new items they've selected for you.
Thank you for shopping with an Amazon.com associate.
Sincerely,
Jeff Bezos, President Amazon.com