Mary Higgins Clark Books in Order – Complete List

Last Updated on April 19, 2023 New York Times bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark, who passed away January 31, 2020, at the age of 92, was a world-known crime, mystery and thriller author. With over 50 suspense novel written to date, many readers and critics consider her the ‘queen of suspense’.

Here are the Mary Higgins Clark books in order for her book series and non-series novels to date.

New Mary Higgins Clark Books

Where Are The Children? Books In Publication Order

• Where Are The Children?, 1975
• Where Are The Children Now?, 2023 (with Alafair Burke)

Alvirah And Willy Books In Publication Order

1. Weep No More, My Lady), 1987
2. The Lottery Winner, 1994
3. All Through the Night, 1998
4. Deck the Halls, 2001
5. The Christmas Thief, 2005
6. Santa Cruise: A Holiday Mystery at Sea , 2006
7. Dashing Through the Snow, 2008
8. I’ll Walk Alone , 2011
9. The Lost Years, 2012
10. As Time Goes By, 2016
11. All By Myself, Alone, 2017

Regan Reilly Series In Publication Order

1. Deck the Halls, 2001 (with Carol Higgins Clark)
2. Santa Cruise: A Holiday Mystery at Sea, 2006 (with Carol Higgins Clark)
3. The Christmas Thief, 2006 (with Carol Higgins Clark)
4. Dashing Through the Snow, 2008 (with Carol Higgins Clark)

Under Suspicion Series In Publication Order

co-authored with Alafair Burke except for I’ve Got You Under My Skin

1. I’ve Got You Under My Skin, 2014
2. The Cinderella Murder, 2014
3. All Dressed in White, 2015
4. The Sleeping Beauty Killer, 2016
5. Every Breath You Take, 2017
6. You Don’t Own Me, 2018
7. Piece of My Heart, 2020

Short Story Collections In Publication Order

• The Anastasia Syndrome, 1989
• That’s the Ticket / Voices in the Coal Bin, 1990, with Carol Higgins Clark
• Stowaway and Milk Run, 1993
• Death on the Cape, 1993
• My Gal Sunday, 1996
• Death Wears a Beauty Mask, 2015

Short Stories In Publication Order

• Death at the Cape, 1989
• Lucky Day, 1989
• Terror Stalks the Class Reunion, 1990
• The Lost Angel, 1990
• The Body in the Closet, 1995
• Double Vision, 1998

Malice Domestic Series in Publication Order

• Malice Domestic 1, 1992, with Elizabeth Peters
• Malice Domestic 2, 1993
• More Malice Domestic, 1997, with Elizabeth Peters

Anthologies Edited or Including Stories by Mary Higgins Clark

• Murder on the Aisle, 1987
• Caribbean Blues, 1988
• Women of Mystery, 1992, with Faye Kellerman and Cynthia Manson
• Bad Behavior, 1995
• The Plot Thickens, 1997
• The Mammoth Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories, 1998
• The Night Awakens, 1998 (in the Mystery Writers of America Presents series)
• Great Mystery Series, 2000, with Lawrence Block and Ralph McInerny
• Manhattan Mayhem, 2015 (in the Mystery Writers of America Presents series)

Standalone Suspense Novels

• Aspire to the Heavens, 1968 (aka Mount Vernon Love Story)
• A Stranger Is Watching, 1978
• The Cradle Will Fall, 1980
• A Cry in the Night, 1982
• Stillwatch, 1984
• While My Pretty One Sleeps, 1989
• Loves Music, Loves to Dance, 1991
• All Around the Town, 1992
• I’ll Be Seeing You, 1993
• Remember Me, 1994
• Pretend You Don’t See Her, 1995
• Let Me Call You Sweetheart, 1995
• Silent Night, 1995
• Moonlight Becomes You, 1996
• You Belong to Me, 1998
• We’ll Meet Again, 1998
• Before I Say Good-Bye, 2000
• On the Street Where You Live, 2000
• He Sees You When You’re Sleeping, 2001, with Carol Higgins Clark
• Daddy’s Little Girl, 2002
• The Second Time Around, 2003
• Nighttime Is My Time, 2004
• No Place Like Home, 2005
• Two Little Girls in Blue, 2006
• I Heard That Song Before, 2007
• Where Are You Now?, 2008
• Just Take My Heart, 2009
• The Shadow of Your Smile, 2010
• Daddy’s Gone A-Hunting, 2013
• Inherit the Dead, 2013
• The Melody Lingers on, 2015
• I’ve Got My Eyes on You, 2018
• Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry, 2019

Non Fiction Books

• Mother, 1996, with Maya Angelou and Amy Tan
• Kitchen Privileges, 2002

Overview of the Alvira and Willy Books

The series follows the adventures of Alvirah Meehan and her husband Willy, an amateur sleuthing couple who solve various crimes and mysteries.

Alvirah Meehan is a former cleaning lady who became a millionaire after winning the lottery. She is described as a strong, determined, and intelligent woman who uses her wealth and resources to help others and solve crimes. Alvirah is also known for her sharp wit, sense of humor, and ability to think on her feet. Despite her newfound wealth, she remains down-to-earth and always ready to lend a helping hand to those in need.

Willy Meehan, Alvirah’s husband, is a retired plumber and her trusted partner in crime-solving. He is portrayed as a supportive, dependable, and loyal companion who shares Alvirah’s passion for solving mysteries. Willy is also known for his practical skills and ability to think logically, which often complements Alvirah’s more intuitive approach to solving crimes.

Together, Alvirah and Willy make a formidable team, using their unique skills and perspectives to unravel the mysteries they encounter. Their relationship is portrayed as loving and supportive, with a strong sense of mutual respect and admiration.

Overview of the Under Suspicion Series

The series written in collaboration with Alafair Burke follows the adventures of television producer Laurie Moran, who investigates cold cases for a true crime show called “Under Suspicion.”

Laurie Moran is a driven and resourceful woman passionate about her work and dedicated to finding the truth behind unsolved crimes. She is also a devoted mother to her young son, Timmy, and is committed to balancing her personal and professional life.

Throughout the series, Laurie is portrayed as a skilled interviewer and investigator, using her sharp instincts and ability to read people to uncover crucial information about the cases she is investigating. She is also known for her compassion and empathy towards the victims and their families, often going above and beyond to help them find closure and justice.

Throughout the series, the author also explores Laurie’s personal life, including her relationship with her ex-husband, Greg, and her romantic interests. Her struggles with balancing her personal and professional life are a recurring theme throughout the novels, adding a layer of depth and complexity to her character.

The plots of the novels typically involve a cold case that Laurie and her team investigate for “Under Suspicion,” often involving a celebrity or high-profile individual.

The stories are known for their intricate and suspenseful plots, as well as their engaging and complex characters. Mary Higgins Clark’s signature style of suspenseful storytelling is evident throughout the series, and the collaboration with Alafair Burke brings a fresh perspective and unique voice to the novels.

Mary Higgins Clark Biography – About the Author

Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins Clark (1927-2020) was an American author known for her suspenseful mystery novels. She was born in the Bronx, New York, to Irish immigrant parents, and was the second oldest of five children. Her early years were marked by tragedy, as her father passed away when she was just ten years old, leaving her mother to raise the family alone.

After graduating from Saint Francis Xavier Grammar School, Mary received a scholarship for the Villa_Maria_Academy so she can continue her studies. Despite the financial struggles her family faced, Mary Higgins Clark was a gifted student and excelled academically. She attended secretarial school and later worked as a flight attendant for Pan Am, a job that allowed her to travel the world and gain inspiration for her writing.

She grew up in the times of the Great Depression and while initially her family was not affected, eventually poverty hit them as well when customers of their Irish pub could no longer pay their tabs. After her father died, her mother could not find employment, so they had to rent out Mary’s room to renting boarders, forcing Mary to move out of the home so the family could survive.

While attending the Villa_Maria_Academy, Mary’s teachers encouraged her to start writing because they saw talent in her. At the age of 16, she sent her first stories to a magazine, but they were rejected. She had bills to pay, so she got a job as a switchboard operator at the Shelton Hotel.

Around the time her brother died in the army after contracting spinal meningitis, Mary graduated from high-school and enrolled on a partial scholarship to Wood Secretarial School. After a year she took a job as a secretary at  Remington-Rand, while studying advertising and promotion in evening classes.

In 1949 she switched careers and became a flight attendant (stewardess), and worked for Pan Am for one year traveling to numerous countries around the globe.

In the late 1940s, she met and married Warren Clark, a neighbor who worked in the family construction business. They had five children together and settled in Saddle River, New Jersey. During this time, Mary Higgins Clark began writing stories and submitting them to magazines, but it was not until the death of her husband in 1964 that she turned to writing as a means of supporting her family. Now that she had time on her hands, she enrolled in several writing courses at NYU.

When her husband became sick and died of a heart attack in 1959, Mary had to go back to work. She initially worked as a radio scriptwriter, while writing her first book, Aspire to the Heavens.

In 1971 she enrolled at the  Fordham University at Lincoln Center, from where she graduated summa cum laude in 1979, with a BA in philosophy.

Her first published novel, Aspire to the Heavens, was a fictionalized account of the life of George Washington. It was published in 1968 under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, a name she borrowed from Agatha Christie. However, it was her next novel, Where Are the Children? (1975), that established her as a successful mystery writer. The book, published by Simon & Schuster, became a bestseller and was followed by a string of successful novels, including A Stranger Is Watching, The Cradle Will Fall, and Stillwatch.

Mary Higgins Clark’s novel cemented her resolve to become a published well-known author. Mary Higgins Clark received several awards for her suspense and thriller novels, which have been translated into many languages selling millions of copies all around the world. Reading the Mary Higgins Clark books in order means catching up to her several popular series, Alvirah & Willy, Under Suspicion, and Regan Reilly, plus her numerous standalone novels, short stories, collections, and edited works.

Mary Higgins Clark’s writing style is characterized by her ability to create suspenseful plots with unexpected twists and turns. She often drew inspiration from her own life experiences and the people she met, and many of her novels were set in familiar locations, such as New York City and the Jersey Shore. Her stories often featured strong female protagonists who were determined to solve the mysteries they encountered, despite facing numerous obstacles and dangers.

Over the course of her career, Mary Higgins Clark wrote more than 50 novels, many of which were adapted for film and television. She also co-authored novels with other authors, including her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark, and authors like Alafair Burke. She was also known for her philanthropy, supporting causes such as literacy and education. In 2000, she established the Mary Higgins Clark Award, which is given annually to an author of suspense fiction.

Throughout her life, Mary Higgins Clark was deeply committed to her Catholic faith and was known for incorporating themes of faith and redemption into her writing. She was also a devoted mother and grandmother, often drawing on her experiences raising her own children in her novels.

Mary Higgins Clark passed away on January 31, 2020, at the age of 92. She was remembered by her fans and fellow authors as a trailblazer in the mystery genre, a beloved storyteller, and a generous and kind-hearted person who touched the lives of many through her writing and philanthropy.