New Releases by Mary Higgins Clark

Originally published: New York; London: Simon & Schuster, 2006.

The newest thriller and instant #1 New York Times bestseller from Queen of Suspense Mary Higgins Clark shows us just how far a family and a town will go to protect their own in the wake of tragedy. After a party when her parents are away, eighteen-year-old Kerry Dowling is found fully dressed at the bottom of the family pool. The immediate suspect is her boyfriend, who had a bitter argument with her at the party. Then there is a twenty-year-old neighbor who was angry because she didn’t invite him to the party. Or is there another suspect who has not yet been seen on the radar? Kerry’s older sister Aline, a twenty-eight-year-old guidance counselor, is determined to assist the prosecutor’s office in learning the truth. She does not realize that now she is putting her own life in danger… From #1 New York Times bestselling author and the “Queen of Suspense” comes a thrilling investigation asking what we truly know about those we trust, and the secrets lying in even the most idyllic of neighborhoods.

Living under suspicion after wrongly serving time for her fiance''s murder, Casey attracts the attention of newswoman Laurie, who pledges to exonerate her in spite of the machinations of an attention-stealing former prosecutor.

Fleeing the humiliating arrest of her husband-to-be on the eve of their wedding, Celia Kilbride, a gems and jewelry expert, hopes to escape from public attention by lecturing on a brand-new cruise ship, the Queen Charlotte. She meets Lady Emily Haywood, the owner of a priceless-- and cursed-- emerald necklace that she intends to leave to the Smithsonian after the cruise. Three days out to sea Lady Em is found dead-- and the necklace is missing. As the list of suspects grows Celia, with the help of her new friends Willy and Alvirah Meehan, sets out to find the killer.

"The second novel in the New York Times bestselling Under Suspicion series, following The Cinderella Murder, features intrepid television producer Laurie Moran as she investigates the case of a missing bride.

A beloved aunt''s agreement to help her niece with college essays reawakens past secrets about the night a grandparent was murdered, an event that compels the woman to investigate a treasured music box to uncover the truth.

A one-of-a-kind mystery collection that showcases the immense storytelling talent #1 New York Times bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark has honed over her tremendous career—including a bone-chilling, previously unpublished short story forty years in the making. In 1974, master storyteller Mary Higgins Clark began writing a novella inspired by the dark side of the New York City fashion world. She then put the unfinished manuscript aside to write Where Are the Children?, the novel that would launch her career. Forty years later, Clark returned to that novella and wrote its ending. Now—for the first time ever—Death Wears a Beauty Mask is available for readers along with a stunning array of short fiction that spans her remarkable career. From Clark’s first-ever published story (1956’s “Stowaway”), to classic tales featuring some of her most memorable characters, Death Wears A Beauty Mask And Other Stories is a jewel of a collection brimming over with the chills and heart-pounding drama we’ve come to expect from the Queen of Suspense. Death Wears A Beauty Mask And Other Stories is a spine-tingling read and a special glimpse into the evolution of a world-class writing career.

In this collaboration between “Queen of Suspense” Mary Higgins Clark and bestselling author Alafair Burke, “the snappy pace, layered characters, and many plot surprises will keep readers guessing in this fascinating mystery” (Booklist). Television producer Laurie Moran is delighted when the pilot for her reality drama, Under Suspicion, is a success. Even more, the program—a cold case series that revisits unsolved crimes by recreating them with those affected—is off to a fantastic start when it helps solve an infamous murder in the very first episode. Now Laurie has the ideal case to feature in the next episode of Under Suspicion: the Cinderella Murder. When Susan Dempsey, a beautiful and multi-talented UCLA student, was found dead, her murder raised numerous questions. Why was her car parked miles from her body? Had she ever shown up for the acting audition she was due to attend at the home of an up-and-coming director? Why does Susan’s boyfriend want to avoid questions about their relationship? Was her disappearance connected to a controversial church? Was she close to her computer science professor because of her technological brilliance, or something more? And why was Susan missing one of her shoes when her body was discovered? With the help of Under Suspicion host Alex Buckley, Laurie knows the case will attract great ratings, especially when the former suspects include Hollywood’s elite and tech billionaires. The suspense and drama are perfect for the silver screen—but is Cinderella’s murderer ready for a close-up? Together Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke deliver “plenty of intrigue and excitement” (Publishers Weekly) in this exciting start to a new series that will keep you guessing until the final page.

Twenty thrilling writers. One chilling mystery. Pericles "Perry" Christo is a PI with a past--a former cop, who lost his badge and his family when a corruption scandal left him broke and disgraced. When wealthy Upper East Side matron Julia Drusilla summons him one cold February night, he grabs what seems to be a straightforward (and lucrative) case. The socialite is looking for her beautiful, aimless daughter, Angelina, who is about to become a very wealthy young woman. But as Christo digs deeper, he discovers there''s much more to the lovely "Angel" than meets the eye. Her father, her best friend, her boyfriends all have agendas of their own. Angel, he soon realizes, may be in grave danger. and if Christo gets too close, he just might get caught in the crossfire. This classic noir tale twists and turns down New York''s mean streets and along Hamptons'' beaches and back roads during a bitterly cold and gray winter where nothing is as it seems and everyone has something to hide.

A Manhattan ER doctor is in the local playground with his young son when someone ruthlessly guns him down. Now his young widow, a television producer, is raising their son alone and is under pressure to come up with a successful TV series. Her new show will focus on cold case files. Revisiting unsolved crimes one at a time, she and her TV crew plan to gather friends and family of the victim who have lived under suspicion of guilt for many years. By paying them to reenact the crime on television, they will be given a chance to clear their name - unless, of course, they are guilty . . . Praise for Mary Higgins Clark: ''I adore Mary Higgins Clark'' Karin Slaughter ''Trust Mary Higgins Clark to know what frightens us to death'' New York Times ''Clark plays out her story like the pro that she is . . . flawless'' Daily Mirror ''Should come with a warning: start in the evening and you''ll be reading late into the night'' USA Today

Erin and Darcy, answering personal ads as research for a TV show, discover a whole new New York sub-culture - adulterers, con men, the shy and frankly weird, all looking for love. And one man looking for something darker . . . A serial killer who has just got away with murder for fifteen years, and has promised himself just two more . . .

A family’s dark and grisly secret threatens the lives of two sisters in this captivating new thriller from the beloved Queen of Suspense. What was Kate Connelly—a tall, glamorous CPA—doing in her family’s furniture museum when it exploded into flames in the middle of the night, destroying priceless antiques? Why was Gus, a disgruntled retired employee, with her at that hour? Now Gus is dead, and Kate lies in the hospital in a coma—so neither can tell what drew them there, or what the tragedy has to do with a young woman missing for many years. Nor can they warn that somebody they know may be covering his tracks, willing to kill to save himself. Step by step, in a novel of dazzling suspense and excitement, Mary Higgins Clark once again demonstrates the mastery of her craft that has made her books international bestsellers for years. She presents the reader with a perplexing mystery, a puzzling question of identity, and a fascinating cast of characters—one of whom may just be a ruthless killer.

At the heart of the novel are two of Mary Higgins Clark''s most loved characters: Alvirah, the lottery winner turned amateur sleuth, and her husband, Willy, who are caught up in a Christmas mystery that calls on all of their skills and experience. Willy has been looking forward to playing Santa at the after-school centre recently set up to care for the children of working parents on New York''s Upper West Side, and Alvirah has been busy with rehearsals for the Christmas pageant. But suddenly a shadow falls upon the Christmas cheer. The centre is threatened with closure, a substitute promised for the play is mysteriously withdrawn, a valuable chalice is stolen from a neighborhood church, and a desperate young woman turns up, begging for Alvirah''s help in finding the baby she abandoned seven years earlier. In a final blow, the young girl who is to play Mary in the Christmas pageant disappears... A missing child. A stolen chalice. A desperate mother. Can Alvirah reach the truth in time for Christmas?

Dr Gary Lasch is found dead at his desk. The murder stuns his elite Connecticut community - especially when his beautiful young wife, Molly, is arrested and charged with his murder. Six years later, on Molly''s release from prison, she reasserts her innocence in front of reporters gathered at the prison gates. Among them is an old schoolfriend, Fran Simmons, who is currently working as an investigative reporter for a true crime television series. Determined to prove her innocence, Molly convinces Fran to research and produce a programme on Gary''s death. Fran agrees, but in doing so, she has a second agenda - to learn the truth about her own father''s suicide fourteen years earlier. Fran soon finds herself enmeshed in a tangled web of intrigue and menace - more deaths and more unanswered questions about Gary Lasch''s death. As her investigation proceeds, there are those who know they must make a choice: face ruin, or eliminate Fran.

The brand new spine-tingling thriller from the world''s favourite thriller writer. Dr. Jonathan Lyons, a well-respected academic, has a stroke of luck when a previously missing ancient artefact - a highly valuable parchment - falls into his hands. Stolen from the Vatican in the fifteenth century, it was assumed to be lost forever - until now. Unsure of his next move, Dr. Lyons shares his discovery with a select few but, with so much money at stake, can he trust the people he''s told? Things take a turn for the worse when Jonathan is found brutally murdered in his own home. Then, as secrets in his personal life come to light, his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer''s, is soon implicated. It now falls to the couple''s 27-year-old daughter, Mariah, to uncover the true motive behind her father''s death. But the tangled web of secrets has spread much further than she knows. With someone still hell-bent on getting hold of the priceless document, will Mariah succeed in finding justice for both her father and her mother without putting her own life in terrible danger? ''Clark plays out her story like the pro that she is . . . flawless'' Daily Mirror ''Should come with a warning: start in the evening and you''ll be reading late into the night'' USA Today

Struggling with unending heartache for the toddler son who went missing in Central Park two years earlier, interior designer Alexandra is wrongly accused of identity theft and implicated in the murder of a stranger. By the best-selling author of The Shadow of Your Smile. Reprint.

After her husband Adam is killed when his private boat explodes, Nell McDermot is thrown into a pit of grief. She wants answers and she wants more than anything to say goodbye - but both now seem impossible. That is, until a medium contacts her claiming to be Adam''s channel. When the investigation proves the explosion was not an accident but a bomb, Nell goes to visit the medium. And, soon enough, she is receiving instructions from Adam from beyond the grave. Or is she? Haunted by grief, Nell undertakes the instructions - unaware that a terrifying chain of events is about to be unleashed. With a dangerous loop closing around her, Nell doesn''t realise that she might be going to meet Adam a lot sooner than she thinks . . .

Divorcee Jenny MacPartland''s struggle to support herself and her two small daughters is not helped by her irresponsible ex-husband. But suddenly a new man steps into her life. Rich, handsome Erich Krueger sweeps her off her feet and off to his mansion in the country.

When Natalie Raines, famous Broadway star, is found in her home in Closter, New Jersey, dying from a gunshot wound, her former husband, Gregg Aldrich, whom she was in the process of divorcing, is the chief suspect. What no one knows is that, only days before she was murdered, Natalie accidentally came face to face with the man who killed her former roommate, Jamie Evans. Two years later, career criminal Jimmy Easton, comes forward to claim that Aldrich hired him to kill his wife, but he turned the job down. Based on Easton''s testimony, Gregg is charged with the murder of his wife. Handling the case is Emily Wallace, an attractive thirty-two-year-old widowed assistant prosecutor. As Aldrich''s trial is making headlines, Emily''s boss, Ted Wesley, warns her that this high-profile case will reveal personal matters about her, such as the fact that she had a heart transplant. And, during the trial, Emily experiences sentiments which defy all reason and continue after Gregg Aldrich''s fate is decided by the jury.

What happens when a young woman is accidentally caught up in a dangerous murder investigation, having merely been in the wrong place at the wrong time? Lacey Farrell, a rising star on the Manhattan real estate scene, is witness to a murder - and to the final words of the victim. The dying woman is convinced her attacker was after her dead daughter''s journal, which Lacey gives to the police, but not before making a copy for herself. It''s an impulse that later proves nearly fatal. Placed in the witness protection programme and sent to live in Minneapolis, Lacey must assume a fake identity, at least until the killer can be brought to trial. There she meets Tom Lynch, a radio talk-show host whom she tentatively begins to date - until the strain of her deception makes her break it off. Then she discovers the killer has traced her whereabouts. Armed with nothing more than her own courage and clues from the journal, Lacey heads back to New York determined to uncover who is behind the deaths of the two women… before she is the next casualty.

The disappearance of several apparently unrelated young women all over the country is the beginning of Mary Higgins Clark''s chilling new novel, as one person begins to suspect that the young women may have all been murdered or abducted by the same man--and he may be somebody she knows.

In the picturesque village of Branscombe, New Hampshire, the townsfolk are preparing for the annual Festival of Joy. With preparations in full swing, a group of employees at the local market, recently cheated out of their Christmas bonus by their boss''s new wife, learn that they have won $180 million in the lottery. On the advice of a pair of crooks masquerading as financial advisers, one of their co-workers, Duncan, decided at the last minute not to play. He goes missing and the next day his girlfriend Flower also disappears. A second winning lottery ticket was purchased in the next town but the winner hasn''t come forward. Could Duncan have secretly bought it? The Clarks'' endearing heroes - Alvirah Meehan, the amateur sleuth, and private investigator Regan Reilly - have arrived in Branscombe for the festival. Alvirah and Regan are just the people to find out what is amiss. As they dig beneath the surface, they find that life in Branscombe is not as tranquil as it appears. So much for an old-fashioned weekend in the country ...

In two days time, the state of Connecticut is to take the life of teenager, Ronald Thompson - found guilty of the murder of Nina Peterson two years before. His death will not stop the pain and anger of Nina''s husband, Steve, nor will it still the fears of Nina''s six-year-old son, Neil, who witnessed his mother''s brutal slaying. Only time, perhaps, can heal their wounds. But Ronald Thompson knows he did not kill Nina. And in the shadows a stranger waits and watches, a stranger who knows why Nina died, and who has unfinished business with the Peterson family…

When Kerry McGrath- a smart, relentless prosecutor- takes her daughter to see a plastic surgeon following a car accident, she sees a woman in the surgery with a beautiful, hauntingly familiar face. On a subsequent visit, she sees the same face again- on a different woman. . . Suddenly she remembers: both woman look startlingly like Suzanne Reardon, the "Sweetheart Murder" victim whose husband, Skip, is now serving a life sentence for that murder. When Kerry starts asking questions, she discovers that just about everyone wants the case kept closed. Still she persists- but what she doesn''t know is that it is already too late. Her puzzled queries have triggered a response and she is in great, growing danger.

Even as a young girl, growing up in the Bronx, Mary Higgins Clark knew she wanted to be a writer. The gift of storytelling was a part of her Irish ancestry, so it followed naturally that she would later use her sharp eye, keen intelligence, and inquisitive nature to create stories about the people and things she observed. When Mary''s father died during the Depression, her mother decided to open the family home to boarders, and placed a discreet sign next to the front door that read, FURNISHED ROOMS. KITCHEN PRIVILEGES. The family''s struggle to make ends meet; her employment as a hotel switchboard operator; the death of her beloved older brother in World War II; her brief career as a flight attendant for Pan Am; her marriage to Warren Clark; sitting at the kitchen table, writing stories, and finally selling the first one for one hundred dollars (after six years and some forty rejections!) - all these experiences figure into Kitchen Privileges.

A young mother from the Midwest travels to New York during the Christmas season to be with her husband who lies desperately ill in hospital. She has brought with her their two young sons, hoping to salvage for them at least some of the joy of the holidays. She, however, is rapidly reaching a point of despair. While watching a street musician near Rockefeller Center''s famous Christmas tree, Brian, the younger boy, sees another woman take his mother''s wallet, and with it, not only all their money, but a precious family memento his grandmother has just given them, a St. Christopher medal which saved her husband''s life in the war, and which she believes will save that of Brian''s father. Without telling his mother what he is doing, Brian follows the thief into the city''s subway system, thereby beginning a journey that will forever change not only his life, but that of his mother and the thief as well.

This #1 "New York Times" bestseller by America''s Queen of Suspense is a riveting thriller about a young woman whose wealthy, sleepwalking husband may have murdered his first wife--and could be planning to murder her.

Suspense thriller where memories may be the most dangerous things of all.

Two of Mary Higgins Clark''s most beloved characters--Alvirah and Willy--become embroiled in a Yuletide mystery in Manhattan when the Christmas tree destined for Rockefeller Center disappears.