Mary Higgins Clark

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Mary Higgins Clark (2009)

Mary Higgins Clark (born as Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins ; * 24. December 1927 in New York ; † 31 January 2020 in Naples , Florida ) was an American author of detective novels .

Life

Mary Higgins was born in 1927 to Irish immigrants in the New York Bronx and grew up there. She was ten years old when her father, the owner of the Higgins Bar and Grillhouse restaurant in the Bronx, died of a heart attack.

After finishing high school, she trained as a secretary and then worked in an advertising agency and as a stewardess at Pan Am .

She began writing in 1949 after she married her childhood friend Warren Clark. After many rejections, the first short story (Stowaway) was published in Extension magazine in 1956 for a fee of $ 100 .

Her husband's death in 1964 left her a young widow with five children (Carol, Marilyn, Patty, Warren and David). Her first book, Aspire to the Heavens (1969), a biographical novel about George Washington , sold poorly. Five years later she tried again with Where are the children? (German winter storm). Simon & Schuster bought the rights from her for $ 3,000. The book was published in 1975 and became a bestseller.

The successor, A Stranger Is Watching (1977, grace period) was an even bigger success and was awarded the prestigious Grand prix de littérature policière . For this second detective novel, she has already received $ 1.5 million. Since then she has been a star of the genre, publishing over 25 detective novels, which sold more than 100 million copies in the United States alone. Some have also been made into films for television, e.g. B. That you think of me forever (2002).

From 1974 to 1979 she attended Fordham University and earned a degree in philosophy .

She was president of the Mystery Writers of America in 1987 and received their Grand Master Award in 2000 for her complete works. Since 2001 there has also been a literature prize named after her , the Simon & Schuster - Mary Higgins Clark Award . In 2010 she was honored with the Agatha Award / Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement for her life's work to date. Clark received another great recognition for her life's work in 2012 with the Anthony Award - Lifetime Achievement Award category .

In 1996 she married John J. Conheeney. Her daughter Carol Higgins Clark and daughter-in-law Mary Jane Clark are also writers.

Mary Higgins Clark was a Lady of Honor and Devotion to the Order of Malta and lived with her family in Saddle River , New Jersey .

style

Mary Higgins Clark was inspired by newspaper articles for many of her detective novels. She took up current issues, for example artificial insemination ( The Cradle Will Fall , I'll Be Seeing You ), dissociative identity disorder (All Around the Town) , the death penalty (A stranger is watching) , plastic surgery (Let Me Call You Sweetheart) and Personals (Loves Music, Loves to Dance) .

Most of the novels are about women of the upper middle class who find themselves in dangerous situations or who are confronted with traumatic experiences from their past. The readership should be able to identify with the main characters. The books are often characterized by very short chapters that encourage further reading. The writing style is fluent and conversational. The fast-paced action creates an arc of suspense that usually culminates in a furious showdown.

Works

  • Aspire to the Heavens (1969)
  • Where Are the Children (1975, German Wintersturm), 75th edition published in 2007
  • A Stranger Is Watching (1977)
  • The Cradle Will Fall (1980, where were you, Dr. Highley?)
  • A Cry in the Night (1982)
  • Stillwatch (1984, German The House on the Potomac)
  • Weep No More My Lady (1987, Snakes in Paradise)
  • While My Pretty One Sleeps (1989, sleep probably my sweet child)
  • The Anastasia Syndrome and Other Stories (1989, German The Anastasia Syndrome or Doppelschatten)
  • Loves Music, Loves to Dance (1991, German sister, come dance with me)
  • All Around the Town (1992, that you think of me forever)
  • I'll Be Seeing You (1993)
  • Remember Me (1994, Eng. The House on the Cliffs)
  • The Lottery Winner (1994, German six numbers)
  • Let Me Call You Sweetheart (1995, Eng. A face so beautiful and cold)
  • Silent Night (1995, German Silent Night)
  • Moonlight Becomes You (1996, German moonlight suits you)
  • My Gal Sunday: Henry and Sunday Stories (1996)
  • Pretend You Don't See Her (1997)
  • You Belong to Me (1998)
  • All Through the Night (1998, In a winter night)
  • We'll Meet Again (1999, when we meet again)
  • Before I Say Good-Bye (2000, don't forget the dead)
  • Deck the Halls (2000, with Carol Higgins Clark, German Dangerous Surprise)
  • He Sees You, When You Are Sleeping (2001, with Carol Higgins Clark, He sees you when you sleep)
  • On the Street Where You Live (2001)
  • Daddy's Little Girl (2002, because you will never be forgiven)
  • The Second Time Around (2003, German And tomorrow in the cool grave)
  • Nighttime Is My Time (2004, mine is the hour of the night)
  • The Christmas Thief (2004 with Carol Higgins Clark, German The Christmas Thief)
  • No Place Like Home (2005)
  • Two Little Girls in Blue (2006, because your eyes can't see him)
  • I Heard That Song Before (2007, German And Behind You The Darkness)
  • Kitchen Privileges (Memoirs) (2007, German Because you should never regret (My Life))
  • Santa Cruise (2007, with Carol Higgins Clark, German Christmas thief on the high seas)
  • Where are you now? (2008, German wait till you sleep)
  • Dashing Through the Snow (2008, with Carol Higgins Clark, German The Christmas Lot) ISBN 978-3-86800-269-0
  • Just Take My Heart (2009, since nobody hears your call)
  • The Shadow of Your Smile (2010)
  • I'll Walk Alone (2011, I follow your shadow, Heyne, Munich. ISBN 978-3-453-26685-8 )
  • The Magical Christmas Horse (2011, illustrations by Wendell Minor)
  • The Lost Years (2012, German: My eye rests on you, as Heyne paperback 2014, ISBN 978-3-453-43750-0 )
  • Daddy's Gone A Hunting (2013, Eng. Do you feel the breath of death)
  • I've Got You Under My Skin (2014, In the Hour of Your Death) Laurie Moran Volume 1
  • The Melody Lingers On (2015, if you are still alive, Heyne, Munich ISBN 978-3-453-26933-0 )
  • The Cinderella Murder (2016, so still in my arms) Laurie Moran Volume 2
  • All Dressed In White (2015, Eng. And nobody should find you) Laurie Moran Volume 3
  • As Time Goes By (2016, German: And your time is running away , Heyne, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-453-27098-5 ) Willy and Alvirah
  • The Sleeping Beauty Killer (2016) Laurie Moran Volume 4
  • Every Breath you take (2017, Eng. With your last breath) Laurie Moran Volume 5
  • All by myself alone (2017) Willy and Alvirah
  • I've Got My Eyes on You (2018, you are in my hand, Heyne, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-453-27186-9 )
  • You don't own me (2018, German Because you belong to me) Laurie Moran Volume 6
  • Kiss the Girls and make them cry (2019)

literature

  • Linda C. Pelzer: Mary Higgins Clark, a critical companion . Greenwood Press, Westport 1995. ISBN 0-313-29413-5 .

Web links

Commons : Mary Higgins Clark  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Mary Higgins Clark, bestselling mystery author who called NJ home, dies at 92 (en) . In: nj.com , February 1, 2020. 
  2. ↑ Mary Higgins Clark, Best-Selling Queen of Suspense, Dies at 92 , nytimes.com, January 31, 2020, accessed February 1, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Higgins Clark, Mary
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Higgins, Mary Theresa Eleanor (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American crime writer
DATE OF BIRTH December 24, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Bronx , New York , NY , United States
DATE OF DEATH January 31, 2020
Place of death Naples , Florida , United States