There’s a side of literature that is historically underappreciated: genre fiction. This category is defined as books that are formulaic, plot-driven, and tend to have easily recognizable tropes. Common categories within this umbrella are mystery, romance, thriller, and western. Unfortunately, these novels are less likely to garner literary awards, and their reputation for mass appeal discounts their credibility within many bookish circles. But we here at Bookstr love books of all genres — regardless of critical acclaim!
In celebration of genre fiction, we are focusing on an author who made her living in the thriller and mystery niche: Mary Higgins Clark. Read on to find out how Clark became known as the Queen of Suspense!
Testing the Writing Waters
Mary Higgins Clark wasn’t always a working writer. Originally from the Bronx, Clark’s early adult life was full of a myriad of odd jobs, and writing was a side dream to help pass the evenings. Though some of her short stories were accepted and published in magazines, she was far from claiming writer — much less, author — as her career.
In 1964, Clark accepted a job as a radio scriptwriter in the wake of her first husband’s death. Five years later, she published her first novel, Mount Vernon: Love Story, which was originally titled Aspire to the Heavens. This book is a romantic and historical biography about the relationship between George and Martha Washington. Though the book was not a commercial success, it marked a turning point for Clark’s career. She knew she had the impetus to be a working author; all she needed to find was her niche.
Straight From the Tabloids
There was one type of story that always drew Mary Higgins Clark’s interest: crime. Whenever she was able, she sat in on murder trials in Bergen County, New Jersey. She enjoyed the intensity and excitement of the true crime world, and until her death in 2020, Clark read the New York Post every morning in the hopes of finding her next story. Her innate reporter instincts led Clark to the inspiration for her first published thriller, Where Are the Children?
Where Are the Children? was inspired by the real-life case of Alice Crimmins, a housewife from Queens who was convicted of murdering her two children in the 1960s. The tabloid coverage at the time sensationalized the crime, and Crimmins’s conviction is still questioned to this day. Intrigued by the holes in the case, Clark crafted a novel that told a similar, yet fictionalized, story full of twists, turns, and a thrilling climax. In 1975, Simon & Schuster granted Clark a $3,000 advance for the novel (nearly $18,000 today). This book changed not only Clark’s life but the landscape of the mystery and crime genres forever.
Avid readers of Mary Higgins Clark’s canon will notice the sheer number of individuals listed within her acknowledgments sections. The further into her literary career she went, the more Clark saw the need to look outside of news coverage for her story sources. Soon, she became entrenched in the real crime-solving world, interviewing police officers, criminal profilers and psychologists, attorneys, and more for her novels. Clark’s dedication to expressing truth in her fictional work was admirable; though she was excited by the titillation offered by crime stories, she also showed deep respect for the lives that were affected by these cases every day.
Long Live the Queen
Mary Higgins Clark wrote over forty suspense novels throughout her illustrious career. Her stories featured female heroines that never fell into the much-maligned damsel in distress trope. These characters, even if they wound up in the villain’s hands, were always determined, strong, and relentlessly brave. Clark was a gifted writer who knew how to grip an audience from the first page. Her legacy lives on at the Mystery Writers of America, a professional writer’s organization that gives out an annual award in her name.
We hope you enjoyed this intriguing look into the Queen of Suspense and her writing career! Be sure to check out more of Mary Higgins Clark’s novels and remember to never judge a writer by their genre. Genius is everywhere, after all. (And, as it turns out, genre fiction is pretty fun!)
Click here to check out a book review for another phenomenal female thriller author.
Visit our Thrillers and Mysteries bookshelf on Bookshop.org for more suspenseful novels.
