Stillwatch [electronic resource] :

Title:

Author:

Description:

Intrigue abound in the Queen of Suspense Mary Higgins Clark's Stillwatch I told you not to come... Slipped under the door of her Georgetown home, the note was an ominous reminder of Pat Traymore's past. The beautiful young television journalist had come to glamorous, high-powered Washington to produce a TV series. Her subject: Senator Abigail Jennings, slated for nomination as the first woman vice president of the United States. With the help of an old flame, Congressman Sam Kingsley, Pat delves into Abigail's life, only to turn up horrifying facts that threaten to destroy senator's reputation and her career. Worse still, sinister connections to Pat's own childhood and the nightmare secrets hidden within are surfacing—secrets waiting to destroy her.

Publisher:

Simon & Schuster,

Date:

2000

Digital Format:

CLOUDLIBRARY EPUB

Language:

English

Summary

With a new foreword by Riley Sager, a thrilling mystery from the Queen of Suspense about a journalist who uncovers political schemes and revisits hidden secrets from the past.

I told you not to come...

Slipped under the door of her Georgetown home, the note was an ominous reminder of Pat Traymore's past. The beautiful young television journalist had come to glamorous, high-powered Washington to produce a TV series. Her subject: Senator Abigail Jennings, slated for nomination as the first woman vice president of the United States.

With the help of an old flame, Pat delves into Abigail's life, only to turn up horrifying facts that threaten to destroy the senator's reputation and her career. Worse still, sinister connections to Pat's own childhood and the nightmare secrets hidden within are surfacing--secrets waiting to destroy her.

The past and present collide in a battle for truth and survival with every revelation in this suspenseful, thrilling tale from the inimitable Mary Higgins Clark.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

Patricia Traymore, you must not come to Washington. You must not produce a program glorifying Senator Jennings. And you must not live in that house."" Will TV-journalist Pat Traymore let this scary anonymous phone-call stop her from joining the Potomac Cable Network in D.C.? Of course not. She'll plunge right ahead--starting work on a profile of Sen. Abigail Jennings, the beautiful middle-aged widow who just might be appointed VP (to replace the critically ill incumbent). Furthermore, Pat will move into ""that house""--the Georgetown house where Rep. Dean Adams and his wife died in a 1950s murder/suicide, their three-year-old daughter dying from mysterious injuries too. But did the Adams child really die? Of course not. Pat's secret is that she's the renamed grownup child of that bygone tragedy--and she has come to Washington partly to stir up cathartic memories of the murder night. (What went wrong with her parents' marriage? Did one of them truly try to kill the three-year-old Pat?) Meanwhile, Pat is hoping to rekindle a romance with glum Rep. Sam Kingsley, a 50-ish widower whom Abigail Jenning dotes on. Meanwhile, too, her diggings into Jennings' past are annoying the queenly senator, enraging the senator's loyal old chauffeur/bodyguard, and unhinging a homicidal maniac (who has befriended one of the skeletons in Sen. Jenning's closet). So Pat will soon be threatened and mildly terrorized from two different sources, especially when she gets hints of some major scandals--about the long-ago airplane death of Sen. Jennings' husband (foul play??), about connections between beautiful Sen. Jennings and the deaths of Pat's parents. And the finale has Pat in that house, stalked by both killers--tied up and about to burn to death. . . before rescue by Sam and the friendly neighborhood psychic. Clark's details from the worlds of journalism and politics are always unconvincing, sometimes downright laughable. As in A Cry in the Night, there are great gobs of coincidence at every turn. But this is again a welcome, semi-classy departure from the exploitation/horror of Clark's earlier bestsellers--with a lively pace, a cheerfully busy plot (combining a couple of reliable mystery/gothic formulae), a blandly likable heroine, and moderate suspense. . .if few surprises. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Excerpts

from Chapter 16 On the twenty-third of December at 2 P.M. Senator Abigail Jennings sat in the library of her home with Toby and Philip and watched the telecast as the Vice President of the United States formally tendered his resignation to the Chief Executive. Her lips dry, her fingernails digging into her palms, Abigail listened as the Vice President, propped on pillows in his hospital bed, ashen-faced and obviously dying, said in a surprisingly strong voice, "I had expected to withhold my decision until after the first of the year. However, I feel that it is my clear duty to vacate this office and have the line of succession to Chief Executive of this great country uncompromised. I am grateful for the confidence the President and my party expressed when I was twice chosen to be the Vice Presidential candidate. I am grateful to the people of the United States for having given me the opportunity to serve them." With profound regret, the President accepted the resignation of his old friend and colleague. When asked if he had decided on a replacement, he said, "I have a few ideas." But he declined to respond to the names suggested by the press. Toby whistled. "Well, it's happened, Abby." "Senator, mark my words . . ." Philip began. "Be quiet and listen!" she snapped. As the scene in the hospital room ended, the camera focused on Luther Pelham in the newsroom of Potomac Cable. "A historic moment," Luther began. With dignified reticence he recounted a brief history of the Vice Presidency and then came to the point. "The time has come for a woman to be selected for the high office . . . a woman with the necessary experience and proved expertise. Mr. President, choose her now." Abigail laughed sharply. "Meaning me." The phone began to ring. "That will be reporters. I'm not in," she said. An hour later the press was still camped outside Abigail's home. Finally she agreed to an interview. Outwardly she was calm. She said that she was busy with preparations for a Christmas supper for friends. When asked if she expected to be appointed Vice President, she said in an amused tone, "Now, you really can't expect me to comment on that." Once the door closed behind her, her expression and manner changed. Even Toby did not dare to cross the line. Luther phoned to confirm the taping schedule. Abigail's raised voice could be heard throughout the house. "Yes, I saw it. You want to know something? I probably have this in the bag right now, without that damn program hanging over my head. I told you it was a rotten idea. Don't tell me you only wanted to help me. You wanted to have me obligated to you, and we both know it." Abigail's voice lowered, and Philip exchanged glances with Toby. "What did you find out?" he asked. "Pat Traymore was up in Apple Junction last week. She stopped at the newspaper office and got some back issues. She visited Saunders, the guy who was sweet on Abby when she was a kid. He talked his head off to her. Then she saw the retired school principal who knew Abby. I was at Pat's house in Georgetown when Saunders phoned her." "How much damage could any of those people do to the Senator?" Philip asked. Toby shrugged. "It depends. Did you find out anything about the house?" "Some," Philip told him. "We got to the realty company that has been renting it for years. They had a new tenant all lined up, but the bank handling the trust for the heirs said that someone in the family was planning to use it and it wouldn't be for rent again." "Someone in the family?" Toby repeated. "Who in the family?" "I would guess Pat Traymore," Philip said sarcastically. "Don't get smart with me," Toby snapped. "I want to know who owns that place now, and which relative is using it." Copyright © 1984 by Mary Higgins Clark Excerpted from Stillwatch by Mary Higgins Clark All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.