Let Me Call You Sweetheart

May 1, 1995
The latest from the Clark suspense factory has a spunky New Jersey prosecutor, Kerry McGrath, as its heroine in danger. Kerry has taken an interest in a 10-year-old murder case, in which Skip Reardon had been found guilty of slaying his beautiful wife, Suzanne, and has since been pleading his innocence from his jail cell. When Kerry's small daughter, Robin, goes to a New York plastic surgeon after a car crash, it is apparent that Dr. Smith, who was Suzanne's father, is weird. He seems to be fashioning the faces of young women to resemble his dead daughter--and it was his testimony that sent Skip to jail. Kerry's interest in the case (and her parallel interest in Skip's good-guy lawyer) may harm her chances of a judgeship, and it also draws the ominous attention of another possible suspect, James Weeks, a wealthy real-estate magnate with rumored mob connections. Then there's elegant, tasteful art burglar Jason Arnott, who had also known Suzanne.... As usual, Clark's plot, unfolded in dozens of short chapters, is convoluted, full of red herrings and finally wrapped up with a villain out of left field. The writing is crisp but colorless, characterization minimal, atmosphere nonexistent; but the cozy evocation of a deserving damsel in distress who attains a happy ending seems never to disappoint her legions of fans. One million first printing; major ad/promo; Literary Guild selection; author tour.

January 1, 1995
Plastic surgery figures largely in Clark's latest thriller, which boasts a million-copy first printing.

September 1, 1995
YA-Kerry McGrath, a young attorney on her way to a judgeship, seeks the medical assistance of plastic surgeon Dr. Charles Smith when her daughter is injured in a car accident. While waiting for Robin in the doctor's office, Kerry is amazed to see two women sharing the same face. She is further confused to discover that the face is that of Dr. Smith's own daughter, Suzanne Reardon, murdered 10 years earlier. Skip, Suzanne's husband, is serving a life sentence for her death. His attorney soon gets Kerry's interest in appealing Skip's conviction as well as attracting her romantically. The cast of characters includes Kerry's boss; her benefactors and great friends, State Senator Jonathan Hoover and his invalid wife; and her former husband, who is defending a Mafia client. All of their paths cross as Kerry must choose between her professional future and her belief in Skip Reardon's innocence. A suspenseful novel that's sure to please Clark's fans and create some new ones.-Katherine Fitch, Lake Braddock Secondary School, Burke, VA

April 1, 1995
Addicts of the queen of suspense won't be able to resist her latest novel, in which Kerry McGrath's chance encounter with a creepy plastic surgeon sends her on a mission to right a past injustice. As an attorney with a judgeship in her future, Kerry's energies suddenly turn to protecting her young daughter and to finding out who really killed Suzanne Reardon 10 years earlier. Could it be Dr. Smith, the surgeon who keeps creating Suzanne's beautiful face for his female clients? Or Kerry's boss, who convicted Suzanne's husband of the murder? Or Jimmy Weeks, a rich thug? (Or any of Clark's other suspicious characters?) With an assorted cast of manipulators and truth seekers, Mary Higgins Clark reveals the real crime--in her own inimitable style. A one million first printing guarantees demand. ((Reviewed Apr. 1, 1995))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1995, American Library Association.)