Death Wears a Beauty Mask: and other stories by Mary Higgins Clark MYS Cla

What a disappointment this book was. Mary Higgins Clark has been a favorite author of mine for a long time, and I think I’ve read all of her novels. She established herself long ago as an accomplished writer of mysteries. And I mean long ago. She is now 87 years old and the quality of her work is not up to her reputation. However, she is a guaranteed sales maker (and she rakes in a cool $12 million per book), so she and her publisher will continue to produce and sell her work because readers and libraries continue to buy them. And then we get stuck with a dud like this.

Death Wears a Beauty Mask is a collection of short stories written a long time ago. And nothing was done to update them at all. Mentions of the Watergate scandal, Jackie Kennedy seen leaving her apartment, and a small house in New York City that cost $20,000, for example. Some of the stories are weak; because of their brevity, there is very little character development; several have ended with very little sensible resolution.

It’s just a guess, but I doubt Ms. Clark needs the income from the sale of this book to be able to pay her bills. It is, in my opinion, a black eye on her reputation. Sometimes authors fail to realize – or care, maybe? – that their loyal readers have expectations for them, and when those expectations aren’t met, readers feel betrayed and suckered in. And some of them, like me, write about it on a public forum.  Maybe it’s time for this author to cap her inkwell and put away her quill.  There is a lot to be said for knowing when it is time to retire.

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