Mary Higgins Clark--her name calls up a mental picture—a pretty one-- of her in the studio, a few years ago, still doing book tours in her 80’s. Hair perfectly coiffed and dressed to the nines, as Mary might say, in a rosy pink Chanel suit, emerald rings, pin, earrings shining—a stand-out amidst us radio folk whose regular dress is jeans.
It was warm in the studio that day and she began to nod off at one point, but was so petite, I felt I would have no problem propping her up if needed. Not to worry, after seconds of a power nap, she was back!
She loved jewelry and after the publication of her latest novel would treat herself to a new piece. And, as the Queen of Suspense, well, she could afford to with million dollar advances for her over 50 bestsellers. Her career began when she was widowed in 1964 with five kids to care for and decided to try her hand at novels.
Much like her heroines, she was always spirited, witty and honest. She once said, “Someone once wrote an absolutely nasty review of one of my books and I asked for a description of him. You don’t know it, I thought, but you are going to end up dead on the floor.” But no villain’s end for her, as we trust her Irish eyes are smiling somewhere on the other side...