Mary Higgins Clark is the Agatha Christie of our day. 

Clark is an extremely prolific mystery novelist; she has written more than 24 suspense novels in her long career and those books have sold over 80 million copies. She’s the number 1 selling fiction writer in France. Needless to say, she has a knack for creating lives full of mystery.

Her own life also took surprising turns. Originally a stewardess and a secretary, Higgins Clark began writing radio scripts and, on a whim, decided to start penning books. She sold her first short story to Extension Magazine in 1956 for $100.  Higgins Clark has never rested on her mystery writing laurels, however, inking collections of short stories, romance novels and several books with her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark.