Tag: mary higgins clark

The suspense genre recently lost one of its greatest literary figures: Mary Higgins Clark died on January 31, 2020, at the age of 92. She had been lauded for many decades as the “Queen of Suspense”—a well-earned titled considering that she published at least one best-selling suspense novel per year ever since her breakout debut in 1975. The suspense novel, or psychological thriller, is one of the many modern genres that evolved out of the Gothic. It is closely tied to another of these genres, detective fiction, and builds on Ann Radcliffe’s concept of terror as the driving force of Gothic fiction. Suspense novels generally involve some sort of crime and/or mystery and focus on the psychological states of the characters as they hurtle toward an uncertain outcome. These novels are characterized by ambiguity, plot twists, and most of all by the sense of worry and anticipation that they arouse in the characters and the reader. Mary Higgins Clark’s novels tend to feature resourceful female protagonists who must solve a mystery they are personally connected to. (One of her most common plot tropes is an accused woman who must prove her own innocence.) Her books are particularly beloved for their relatable leading ladies, who are usually older women that must take on the role of amateur sleuth when their lives are interrupted by violent crime. I reviewed one of Clark’s novels here on this blog a few years back, but today I want to take a broader look at her legacy. Continue reading A Tribute to Mary Higgins Clark, the Queen of Suspense