My Gal Sunday

October 2, 1996
An appealing husband-and-wife sleuthing team are the stars of the four stories in Clark's new collection. Her protagonists are Henry Parker Britland IV, the 44-year-old former president of the U.S., and his recent bride, plucky congresswoman Sandra ("Sunday'') O'Brien Britland. Debonair, wealthy Henry and smart-as-a-whip Sunday enjoy their estates in New Jersey, Florida, the Bahamas and Provence, and other perks of Henry's patrician background, such as a private jet and an elegant yacht. But they keep getting embroiled in dicey situations. The best entry, "They All Ran After the President's Wife,'' features two genuinely eccentric and creepy evildoers and a kidnapped Sunday in peril. Although nicely set up and suspenseful, it suffers from a rushed denouement. A pleasant diversion, "Hail, Columbia,'' takes place aboard the Britlands' yacht, from which the prime minister of Costa Barria had disappeared 32 years earlier after having given the then 12-year-old Henry an envelope, which has also vanished--until clever Sunday finds the missing link. A kidnapper from the wrong side of the tracks who improbably speaks fluent French is the drawback to credibility in "Merry Christmas/Joyeux Noel,'' and the lead entry, "A Crime of Passion,'' is a clunky no-brainer. But Clark uses every occasion to celebrate her gorgeous newlyweds' delirious happiness and misses no opportunity to cater to those readers who favor a little romance with their mild suspense. 800,000 first printing; Literary Guild main selection.

June 15, 1996
Once U.S. president, Henry Parker Britland IV now has a better job: with his young congressional wife, he solves crimes. His first assignment? Clear the name of a former secretary of state accused of killing his mistress. A Literary Guild main selection.

April 15, 1997
Lacey Farrell, a Manhattan real-estate agent, gets involved with murder when one of her clients, Isabelle Landi, is killed in front of her. Isabelle has confided in Lacey that she believes the car crash in which her daughter died was no accident. Before Isabelle takes her final breath, she pleads with Lacey to bring pages from her daughter's diary to the girl's father. Lacey does so, but because of what she knows, including her ability to identify the hit man, she lands in the witness-protection program, where she uses her time to find out why Heather and her mother were killed. Lacey is a particularly obtuse heroine, always doing the exact thing that will get her into more trouble, but the story is briskly paced and features a few surprises. Clark's legion of fans will find this pleasing enough, though not top drawer. ((Reviewed April 15, 1997))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1997, American Library Association.)