Stillwatch

Stillwatch by Mary Higgins Clark 1984 Pocket Books Thriller mystery

This book is written like a puzzle where all the pieces come together at the end to form the perfect picture.

TV journalist Pat Traymore has been offered her dream job in Washington D.C. doing a series on strong women with the first about Sen. Abigail Jennings, who hopes to replace an ailing vice president and become the first woman president of the United States.

Another draw to D.C. is Congressman Sam Kingsley. She fell in love with him two years ago, but the romance was cut short because his wife was dying of cancer, and he wouldn’t betray her. It’s eight months after her death, and Sam calls Pat, but thinks he’s too old for her. She makes her feelings clear.

Her news director Luther Pelham kisses her in her home and wants to see the bedroom. She ushers him out the door even though it may cost her job.

Pat receives a warning note and phone calls to stay out of the house where Congressman Dean Adams murdered his wife, Renee, and killed their daughter, Kerry.

We soon learn that Pat Traymore is Kerry, adopted by her aunt and uncle and her name changed to protect her from the scandal. She is trying to remember what happened that night when she was four years old.

This is a great idea to keep the reader interested in the story. Not only does the heroine have a personal mystery to resolve, someone is threatening her. On top of all that she has the pressure of impressing her boss who has ambitions of his own and doing the story she wants while Abigail wants to control the image she has cultivated over the years.

Against Abigail’s wishes, Pat goes to her hometown of Apple Junction where she discovers Abigail’s secrets. Ones she does not want revealed.

Pat also goes through her father’s files trying to piece together her past. She has troubles with Sam, Abby, and threats that all need to be resolved.

Clark uses different POV to reveal thoughts and motives of the characters which adds suspense. She adds several new characters who reveal more about the main suspects and shed light on the motives.

The ending speeds up to a fiery ending as the program is aired, a woman is killed, another confesses to a crime, and Pat finds herself remembering the night her parents died.

The book is filled with so much detail important to the story, it’s worth reading twice. The characters were easy to keep apart and well developed. Clark also used more than one villain, and the reader is left guessing about Abby until the final pages.

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