Why do I read Mary Higgins Clark's books?

When you are so entangled in mundane things and frivolous animosities, it is always good to read something that can take you to a different world, by severing all ties from reality. In my case, no doubt, Mary Higgins Clark’s books often did take me to a different world. Besides, Clark has always given me a ‘Christmas feeling’. It might be because I always start reading her when Christmas is around the corner. 

And I love winter and how December feels like – It’s pleasant, mysterious, joyful and in some other parts of the world, it might be snowing. It’s a dream to celebrate Christmas with snow all around. I might, one day…

 I always think winter is the perfect season to read and write a cosy mystery. 

How about rolling yourself up in a blanket reading a cosy mystery with a brewing cup of coffee. It sounds like heaven to me. And Mary Higgins Clark’s books have always given me that feeling.

December reminds me of Mary Higgins Clark

Besides, there’s Christmas, my birthday and her birthday. She was born on December 24 in 1927. I was born on December 2. And perhaps that’s why we have a December connection and the month always reminds me of her.

And if I experienced a lull in reading, her books always woke me up from the slumber. Since it’s December, ( almost going to end) I thought I would talk about her books and how they moulded me to be a better reader, writer and also how those books changed my perspective.

MHC Books changed my life

Mary Higgins Clark is well-known as the Queen of Suspense whereas Agatha Christie is known as the Queen of Crime. No…they are not contemporaries. Clark passed away in 2020.

So, I will start by giving a feel of one of her books. ‘On the Street Where you live’ is my favourite Clark book and here it goes…

When criminal defense attorney Emily Graham decided to leave Albany and take up a job in Manhattan, she just had a peaceful life in mind. She was going through an acrimonious divorce and also a devastating experience of being stalked. 

Call it a sheer coincidence, it was at this time, her ancestral home, a restored Victorian house also came up in the market for sale and she was looking for a house to settle down. Emily did not have to think twice and she bought the house at Spring Lake. She thought it would give her a sense of belonging that she was yearning for quite a long time.

Her family had sold the house in 1892 when one of her ancestors, Madeline Shapley, then a young woman suddenly disappeared.

Emily had just moved to her new home, to her utter dismay, a skeleton of a young woman was found in her backyard when it was being excavated for a swimming pool. She was identified as Martha Lawrence who had disappeared from Spring Lake on a fine morning around four years ago. What bewildered everyone was within the skeletal hand of Martha Lawrence was a finger bone of another woman with a ring on it. And it was the heirloom of the Shapley family. 

Could it be the finger bone of Madeline Shapley, Emily’s great great great aunt who disappeared a century ago? 

And when the bodies of other women were found in the same way as they found the previous one, Emily as well as the police understood that they were dealing with a Copycat Serial Killer.

How the finger bone of a young woman who died a century ago could be found with the skeleton of a young woman who disappeared four years ago makes this book an exciting read?

No Cheap Thrills but a lot of suspense

To be honest, this book spooked me a little. I have read it twice and the first time I read it, I was alone in my flat and it sent shivers down my spine. This is what I like about her the most. She could spook you without the help of any gory descriptions and mutilated bodies. Still, there’s mystery and suspense that can put you on tenterhooks right from the first page.

Once she said she finds clues for her story from the newspapers – in other words, incidents that happen in the normal lives of people so that the reader can relate to the story easily.

You will never be a detached reader

What attracts me to Mary Higgins Clark’s book is always her writing. It’s so simple yet profound to make you feel that you are not a detached reader. When they run, you run, when they jump, you jump. There were many times where I felt one with the character.

When she writes, I don’t usually read the words, what I get are pictures. Clark deals with different female protagonists in her stories, unlike the same detectives who appear in some crime fiction series like Harry Bosch in Michael Connelly books or Dr Kay Scarpetta in Patricia Cornwell books. Even then, her heroines are imprinted on my heart forever, be it Emily from On the Street where you live or Pat from Still Watch. I know how they look, their characteristic traits etc. Such is the effect her heroines create on your minds.

I got introduced to competent female protagonists for the first time. I was 16, then.

I have read more than 20 of her books and what I am going to say next is my most precious take away from her books. I got introduced to competent female protagonists for the first time in my life through her books. When I say certain things, you have to understand that I am talking about my experiences years ago, probably more than 15 years ago. And I am talking about my place. Things haven’t changed much, it’s still a bit regressive. But I have evolved a lot and there’s a lot of conflict of emotions.

Before getting introduced to her books, I was reading fiction written in my mother tongue, where I saw female characters waiting for somebody to salvage them from any kind of conflicting circumstances or emotions they are in. Dependent, succumbing, never questioning anything, never raising a voice for themselves. And to my shock, the characters who showed these traits were hailed as the ideal women. I could never accept that, though I took years to put those thoughts into reality.

 And I am not a meek person so I could not be as stoic as they are. I do not know whether you could imagine living in a world which you are not approved of and they don’t approve of you, either. But books especially Crime fiction that showcases women characters who try to solve problems by themselves gave me new hope. 

And that’s what Mary Higgins Clark books did to me as I started with her. I was just 16 when I started reading her. I will always be grateful to her for that.

Now, I believe I am an independent person though I have to work hard on how to be emotionally independent.

So this is my story. If you have one such experience to share. Please do

A Cry in the Night - MARY HIGGINS CLARK

 

This is my 20th book of Mary Higgins Clark, my favourite author. 20 more to go. 

 Jenny met Erich during one of his exhibitions. He was a renowned painter. And that tryst changed her life forever. Before meeting him, she was a single mother who was struggling hard to make both ends meet. Her two daughters were her world. Though divorced, she was also shelling out money to her ex-husband Kevin, who was dreaming of making it big in acting.  

Clark’s simple way of putting things has always helped me to walk with the characters and this time too, it was not different. Jenny got married to Erich in a hurry thinking that she had finally found the right man. What allured Erich to Jenny was her uncanny resemblance to his mother, Catherine. But was he her right man?

Things started going awry when she moved with him to his big mansion in Minnesota farm. Her happiness was short-lived. It all started with Erich insisting Jenny wear Catherine’s gown which was aqua green in colour. After that, a series of incidents happened one by one that started straining Jenny’s sanity. Was she losing it?

The end was not unexpected. But what caught my attention was the way Clark delved into the psyche of Jenny. When each time she shuddered at various happenings in the mansion, I too shuddered. Mary Higgins Clark's daughter Carol Higgins Clark played Jenny in a movie that was made based on this novel.

This review was written long back. Oh...How I wish to read her novels all over again.

The Lost Years of Sherlock Holmes by Ted Riccardi

When you step into the shoes of a master writer, meticulous care has to be taken. There should be neither a spill over nor a deficiency. The author has certainly adhered to these cardinal principles. Right from the chapter ‘preface by Dr Watson’, Ted Riccardi has not shown any inclination towards himself but always to the celebrated author who has produced the greatest sleuths of all time- Sherlock Holmes ‘. Neither once did he let the reader to think that they are not interacting with the Sherlock Holmes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle but Ted Riccardi’s.

‘ The Lost years of Sherlock Holmes’ speaks about that particular period when the world assumed Sherlock Holmes to be dead. He was dead to his known world but all alive in the orient world. It deals at length about his adventures and exploration mainly in India, Nepal and Tibet. When some of his cases included many coincidences on his way, others were to protect the interests of his empire whose pride lay in the vast expanses of India. Only his brother Microoft knew that Holmes was not dead. Dr. Watson was mourning his death. Though Holmes’ brother knew Holmes’ whereabouts, for strong reasons, they kept Watson in the dark. May be to fill this vacuum, Ted introduces a new friend for Sherlock – Gorashar, who is an Indian. In many cases, we could see Gorashar rushing to help the sleuth. The mysterious orient lay bare beautifully through this book.

Riccardi has definitely used a simple language but has never allowed in any part of the book to fizzle out the style of Doyle. It will grip and engage you, the way Arthur Doyle has been doing his readers for so many years. The incidents were not narrated in a chronological order. But that is excused as Dr Watson has put it in his preface that if the readers look for historical consistency, he/she will be disappointed.

At the same time, there are minor flaws which can be conveniently shoved off. Though the initial chapters will grip you immensely, the tempo diminishes a little when we reach the middle of the book. But that could not be attributed to the author’s callousness but to the interests of the readers. Doubtlessly, it is good and engaging read. If you are an ardent fan of Sherlock Holmes and mourned his death, Ted Riccardi’s  ‘ The Lost years of Sherlock Holmes ‘ will give you an opportunity to revel in his resurrection.

****  I received this book from Jaico Publishing House for review

By the way, I hated its cover. I am not sure why they came up with such a horrendous cover.

Almost Single by Advaita Kala

 

For the first time, I realised that be it  Bhatinda or Kerala, the mothers of single women nearing 30 speaks almost the same language. ' Mama Bhatia ', the mother of Aisha Bhatia, the protagonist resembles my mother too strongly and there are times I  had to pinch myself to make sure that it was not my mom who was speaking.

I never had the intention of buying this book when I came across it. I  used to frequent book stores when I am depressed and I chanced upon this  book during one such visit. Went through many books and  the huge amount printed on the cover literally threw cold waters on my  strong inclination to buy a book. But this one was different. It's  title lured me. Besides the price was comparatively low .That's how I bought Advaita Kala's ' Almost Single'.

I would definitely not call this a master work or great piece of art. It is a book which has been written in a simple language and  absolutely apt for casual reading. There is no plot as such. It is the  story of Aisha Bhatia from Bhatinda along with her two friends who are on a groom hunt, to be precise, it would not be wrong if I say ' NRI  groom hunt'. ( One friend just got a divorce and the  other is on a search ).

 As far as Aisha is concerned, unlike her  friends she did not want to flow with the age old tradition of groom  hunting whether it be through social networking sites or by  conventional methods. Her faith eventually triumphs at the end as she  falls for Karan, an NRI. The story concludes with hero and heroine coming together just like a typical bollywood movie.

If you are somebody who needs food for thought after reading a  book, Almost Single is just not for you. You wont get anything serious  out of it. Keeping all those seriousness aside, if you need a light  reading while you are travelling or mired in depression, this could be  a perfect remedy.

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P D JAMES

Cordelia Gray was just 22 when she had to take up the responsibility of a detective agency run by her partner, Bernie. He killed himself as he was ailing from cancer. The detective agency was not a huge success. It was then a famous scientist Mr Ronald Callender approached her to solve a case for him.

His son, Mark Callendar who was a dropout from Cambridge committed suicide. He wanted to know why he did so. After opting out of Cambridge, he had taken up a job as a gardener in the house of Markhlands. He was living in a small cottage in their compound. It was there he hanged himself.

When the police found his body, he was wearing jeans and had a smear of lipstick on his lips. Cordelia decided to shift to this cottage so that she could investigate the surroundings including the Cambridge. From Miss Markhland, she came to know that a girl had visited him before his death. Inside the cottage, she found freshly prepared stew and a coffee pot with coffee, definitely not the signs that indicated that he was contemplating suicide. It dawned upon her that it was not a suicide but murder.

Let me tell you, in the beginning, this is not a typical murder mystery. It can mar the fresh perspective, this particular one could offer. I did the same and it was when I reached the middle of the story  I realized that it had much more to it. It’s a Cordelia Grey mystery though Adam Dalgliesh would make his entry in the end.

What I liked about the book was the sheer sincerity of the character. Cordelia was not an expert like Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple and she knew that she was vulnerable and lacked experience. But that did not deter her from doing her bit.

Besides, it was also her story of survival. It was clearly said in the title of the book ‘ An unsuitable job for a woman’. Though many pointed out to her that the job was unsuitable, she was adamant about taking it up.

She did not have the experience but she was shrewd and knew how to confront a person during an investigation. Since his boss was dead, there was nobody she could rely upon with her instincts and intuitions. Still, she went ahead and did what she had to do.

This is my first P D James book. I am happy to know that this book comes first in the list of her works which one shouldn’t miss reading if one is a fervent murder mystery fan. I have watched many of P D James’ interviews and I would proudly call my teacher for she had taken me to a different level of the genre called the mystery.

I am sure that I will read this book again. Her writing was like honey dripping from the comb.

Dragonmede by Rona Randall

This book is one among the gems that I discovered from a thrift store.

" Dawn sliced through the curtains as the ghostly edges of a hoar frost," says Rona Randall in her Gothic mystery ' Dragonmede'. Eustacia Rochdale, the female lead in the story also experiences similar fate. Though she married the man she loved and wanted, it sliced her life as the ghostly edges of a hoar frost. When she married Julian Kershaw , little did she know that her yearning for a marital bliss would be a bane of her life.

The story was set in the London of 1800's, when every doors opened for the nobility. It was this privilege which brought Julian Kershaw to Luella's ( Eustacia's mother's )gambling house. A born nonconformist, Luella never wanted her daughter to have a bohemian life which she was indulged in. She gave anything and everything to her daughter which was required for a girl to be a lady. Luella's efforts also did not go in vain as  Eustacia grew up with everything needed to be a lady though born to a bohemian mother.

Luella was overtly delighted when Julian, the heir of Dragonmede reached her threshold. Gambling on his passion for cards and his attraction for Eustacia, Luella realised that the time had come for Eustacia to tie the knot. Unaware of her mother's manipulations, Eustacia married Julian and reached Dragonmede, her husband's home which offered her nothing but a house full of mysteries.

Though I am a die hard of Gothic fiction, the story initially failed to lure my interest. As any other mystery fictions, I was expecting a twist at the very outset which was completely absent in the story. The only cue, the writer leaves is that there is some mystery but not easy for the reader to identify it. No murder, stealing, kidnapping, murder attempts, deaths but an all pervading sense of mystery. But when the story progressed, I could feel my pulse raising and could close the book only after finishing it. The reader could definitely identify the culprit but only at the very end, with just two or three pages to complete.

 I felt a sense of satisfaction after reading 'Dragonmede'. The moment I finished it, I saw four stars shining.

Death at the Opera by Gladys Mitchell (1934)

 

It was the realisation on the importance of reading golden age crime fiction which led me to various renowned authors such as Daphne Maurier, Dorothy L Sayers, G K Chesterton, Gladys Mitchell etc. And it was 'Death at the Opera' by Mitchell, I chose to read first.

Since I was accustomed to the writings of certain authors whom I read incessantly, I always found it a bit difficult to adjust to the style of new authors at least for a couple of pages. To my surprise, Mitchell's writing did not pose any such hurdles before me. I was totally engrossed in the book right from the first page.

Miss Calma Ferris was dead. She chose to commit suicide on the night of opera in the Hillmaston school where she taught. She was found sitting in a chair with her head drowned in a wash basin full of water. Miss Ferris was supposed to play the potent role of ' Katisha' in the opera called ' The Mikado'. Since she was found missing on that night, her part was enacted by another staff, Mrs Boyle.

The coroner's verdict said it's suicide.  But Mr Cliffordson, Headmaster of the school had his doubts as he found the pipe of wash basin was tampered with. It was blocked with clay.

Without wasting much time he sought the help of an elderly and sly psychoanalyst Mrs Bradley to investigate the case. The first few chapters were devoted to showing the kind of person Miss Ferris was. She had none except an aunt who was running a lodge. Though kind on her face, the aunt never had a sincere liking for Ferris.

 Her life was colourless and moral values very high. But she was a sort of person who could be happy with all the goodness happening to others. Her life was sans expectations with little time for rantings and ravings.

It's rather surprising to know that an inoffensive woman like Ferris could get murdered.

Through her analysis, Mrs Bradley came across people who had the opportunity and motives to kill Calma Ferris. But she was caught on the horns of a dilemma for the people who had the motives to kill never had the opportunity and those with opportunity did not have the motives.

Even the motives did not seem like substantial ones that could make a person take somebody else's life. For instance,

 1) Ferris had destroyed a clay statuette, Mr Smith, the art teacher was making, not deliberate of course. He was given compensation by Mrs Boyle, later.

 2) She had witnessed Miss Cliffordson, another staff and Hurstwood, a student kissing. When the student was head over heels in love with Miss Cliffordson, she never forbade him from seeking any intimacy with her. She never loved him, though.

3) She had discovered the clandestine relationship between two senior staff Mr Hampstead and Mrs Boyle. The former's wife was an alcoholic and was admitted to an asylum and the latter was a widow. They were in a relationship for the past 11 years.

Just a few days before the opera, Ferris' aunt had sent a telegram warning him of a person called Helm whom she had met while staying in the lodge run by her aunt. That was the only clue which could make the reader think there was more to the plot. This took Bradley to Bognor and there comes the twist in the tale - Two more murders by drowning. ' An epidemic of drowning' as she would like to call them.

I cannot talk about my dislikes for the book as I was reading her for the first time. Mrs Bradley is new to me and I am sure I will get to know the kind of person she is through her other stories. I like the method  Mrs Bradley employs to deduce who's the culprit. It's helpful for a reader who wants to be a writer.

Even though Mrs Bradley was noting down the causes that could make someone a potential murderer, which also gave the reader a feeling that she/he was moving along with her in finding out the culprit, I failed to pinpoint the real murderer.

 I was clueless who the murderer was until the end. But what I could not come to terms with was the motive that made the culprit commit the murder. It sounded flimsy. But I would like to think that a human being cannot be expected to behave in a certain way. Sometimes feelings and emotions can be betraying.