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Before I Say Goodbye

by Mary Higgins Clark

Mary Higgins Clark has been titled 'The Queen of Suspense' by some, and Ms. Clark certainly has a wonderful way of telling a story, even though I wouldn't go quite that far. Regardless of the fact that I'm not sure whether or not it was her editor or Mary Higgins Clark herself who divided Before I Say Goodbye into sections of days, then further divided it into chapters by the various characters involved, it's assuredly a great way of presenting the tale. Before I Say Goodbye isn't one of Ms. Clark's latest accomplishments, but an interesting read even with some minor drawbacks.

The book begins with a Prologue in which a fifteen-year-old Nell MacDermott is caught in a vicious riptide and only makes it back to shore with the encouragement of her dead mother's voice. The actual story starts seventeen years later on a Thursday in June. Nell is thirty-two and living in New York City, happily married to the successful architect Adam Cauliff. Nell is summoned to a meeting by her politically legendary grandfather, Cornelius MacDermott, whom Nell affectionately calls Mac. Mac wants her to run for Bob Gorman's place in Congress – a post he himself held for a number of years. Nell has politics in her blood, but refused to run when Mac first retired from office because Adam had opposed it. Presently a columnist for a New York paper, Nell now feels she should go for the job.

Mac makes no bones about the fact he dislikes Adam, even though he got him his first job with Walters and Arsdale, an architectural firm of men who were Mac's friends and supporters. Mac disliked Adam even more when Adam moved out on his own. The next chapter introduces us to Jed Kaplan, whose mother once owned the land she'd sold to Adam Cauliff for a new building in New York. Jed is a loser and a criminal, jealous of Adam, his money and prestige. We next meet Lisa Ryan, wife of Jimmy Ryan, who got his job with Krause Construction through Adam. Lisa is concerned because lately Jimmy has appeared to have something negative on his mind, even though after months of unemployment the Ryans are finally beginning to pay off their huge debts.

Then in succession we meet Peter Lang of Lang Enterprises who is instrumental in Adam's building project, Gert MacDermott, Cornelius psychic sister, Dan Minor, a doctor searching for his long-lost mother, Winifred Johnson, Adam's secretary, Eight-year-old Ben Tucker, who witnesses a catastrophe that gives him nightmares, Jack Sclafani and George Brennan of the NYPD, and Bonnie Wilson, a professional psychic and medium.

All of these people are involved. Nell is dealing with the loss of Adam, who was caught in the catastrophe – especially since their last conversation had been a quarrel over her resolution to enter the congressional race. Lisa Ryan is also dealing with grief; her husband Jimmy had been blown apart in the same disaster. His body parts had been collected and given a funeral. But Lisa has discovered two boxes in Jimmy's file cabinet in the basement containing cash with the total amounting to fifty thousand dollars. Lisa feels the cash is tainted, which would account for her husband's worry before his death. Jimmy was always up-front about any unlawful shenanigans, and the reason for his long period without a job was due to his blowing the whistle at the last place he'd worked. Lisa decides to get rid of all the 'dirty' money, thinking at first just to throw it away. If she gives it to the police it would call Jimmy's character into question. And this is where I went cold and completely disagree with the author.

Although Mary Higgins Clark went through a skimpy financial period in her life, it was long before credit cards were around. And a lady who poses for her book jacket photo covered with diamonds, plus a biography which gives her three houses and a Manhattan apartment obviously knows little about being poor or owing large amounts of money
(all right, so I'm jealous!).

At any rate, the character Lisa Ryan owes fourteen thousand dollars in credit card debt – and now she's once more lost her husband's income. To find fifty K in cash in such circumstances would seem like a godsend instead of considering how 'dirty' the money is. The character could have taken ONE of the cash packages to the police and kept the other without anyone being the wiser. That way she could have not only paid off the credit cards but have something to start with. Sure, it's only fiction, but let's at least make it believable!

To return to Before I Say Goodbye, Nell also has extrasensory perception – as indicated in the Prologue, although she's inclined to disregard it (unlike her Aunt Gert). So it's only to satisfy her aunt that Nell goes to visit Bonnie Wilson. What Nell learns through the medium and how she progresses from there in attempts to follow her dead husband's instructions lead her directly into the arms of the murderer who planned the catastrophe in the first place. It's only then that Nell knows for certain who the explosion was planned to eliminate.

Each character contributes to the outcome of this mystery in their own way, with Nell MacDermott acting as the central pivot around which everyone revolves. The ending is carefully prepared in advance, so perhaps it's not as surprising as it might have been – although the plot twist gives one a jolt all the same. Mary Higgins Clark plunders her Irish heritage in relating a good story (the Irish are famous for story-telling) and once again regales us with a spine-chilling murder mystery. When I look at the author's jacket photo, I can't help but wish I also had the luck of the Irish!

Alan Paul Curtis

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