Mary Higgins Clark, one of the most popular and prolific modern suspense writers, has been called the “Queen of Suspense.” Her fast-paced, tightly plotted award-winning best sellers capturing daily terrors have attracted readers worldwide for more than thirty years. In the tradition of Pat Flower, Margaret Millar, and Mignon Eberhardt, authors noted for portraying vulnerable women facing evil, Clark is at her best when she is writing about women who rise above personal weaknesses to protect and defend those less capable. Her success lies in part in her ability to understand the worries of wives, mothers, and working women: their fears for their children, their alienation from the men in their lives, their personal insecurities, their vaguely disturbing childhood memories, and their growing awareness of deception and lies beneath people’s smiles. She connects the intimate and personal with broader public concerns to heighten the sense of suspense. Clark, who publishes one or two novels or story collections per year, weaves disparate plot strands into unexpected wholes, often exploring the same theme on multiple levels (for example, providing different degrees and types of betrayals or jealousies). Her strength is in creating vivid scenes that make readers experience apprehension, fear, discovery, and catharsis.