Imagine Nick and Nora Charles with a taste for politics and none for gin, and you'd be pretty close to Mary Higgins Clark's Henry Parker Britland IV and his attractive young wife, Sandra O'Brien Britland, known as Sunday. Henry, possessor of an enormous inherited fortune and known as one of America's sexiest men, has just finished his second term as president of the United States and is happily retired at 44, puttering around his New Jersey country estate. Sunday, who bootstrapped her way up from a modest working-class background, is a junior congresswoman with a reputation for smarts. The two met, romantically enough, on the eve of Henry's leaving office, fell madly in love, and were married six weeks later. In this collection of four pleasantly readable stories, the sleuthing duo catch the murderer of a statesman's flashy amour, endure Sunday's kidnapping and mastermind her rescue, solve the 34-year-old mystery of the disappearance of a foreign prime minister from the Britland family yacht, and reunite a ransomed boy with his parents at Christmas. Of the four, "They All Ran After the President's Wife" may be the best plotted, and has a particularly amusing McGuffin in the character of a caviar-loving terrorist. While the suspense is on the mild side throughout, the romance is lighthearted but sincere, and the occasional flashes of wit are dryly appealing. It's a bonbon, to be enjoyed for its brief sweetness. --Barrie Trinkle


From Publishers Weekly
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. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
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.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times Book Review, Justine Elias
The most vivid characterizations ... exist on the fringes of the action, reminders that Ms. Clark can be a far more engaging writer than she's letting on here.


From Kirkus Reviews
Like Dorothy Sayers's memorably subtitled Busman's Honeymoon, Clark's new cycle of four longish tales is best described as ``A Love Story with Detective Interruptions.'' Certainly her newlywed detective team comes with the most impeccable credentials. Sandra (a.k.a. Sunday) O'Brien Britland, 32, is a beautiful congresswoman from New Jersey; her bridegroom, Henry Parker Britland IV, is the handsome former US President who must have been elected hours after he was old enough to run for the office. Between their Gothic Revival country home in suburban New Jersey and their vacation home in the Bahamas, Henry and Sunday, who apparently aren't affiliated with any political party or platform, might seem to lead a charmed life, but there are perils. In ``A Crime of Passion,'' they set out to clear Henry's former secretary of state of a murder charge, and Sunday ends up looking down the barrel of the killer's gun. Then Sunday is kidnapped herself in ``They All Ran After the President's Wife,'' apparently in exchange for a murderous terrorist who'll stop at nothing--custom-made suits, champagne, caviar, an SST escape--in his demands. ``Hail, Columbia!'' asks what really happened to a Latin American prime minister who disappeared from the Britland family yacht 32 years before Henry buys it back for Sunday. And ``Merry Christmas/Joyeux No‰l'' brings back that old Clark standby, the kidnapped child, in a pale seasonal echo of Silent Night (1995). The real interest here, as in Clark's Alvirah and Willy stories (The Lottery Winner, 1994), is in the romance of wealth, coupled this time with the potent fairy-tale mix of power, glamour, gentility, and a certain endearing obtuseness (``Neither my husband nor I believe in ostentation or in conspicuous consumption,'' Sunday tells her kidnapper). Clark's army of fans won't find any unseemly surprises here- -and will know better than to expect much in the way of mystery or suspense in this gentle, upscale epithalamion. (First printing of 800,000; Literary Guild main selection) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Review
USA TodayMary Higgins Clark does a fine job with this duo. The collection of...stories ends too soon...


Book Description
A dashing ex-president and his young congresswoman bride become an irresistible sleuthing duo in four acclaimed stories from the Queen of Suspense. Henry Parker Britland IV -- wealthy, worldly, and popular -- is enjoying an early retirement. His new wife, Sunday -- as clever as she is lovely -- has just been elected to Congress in a stunning upset victory that has made her a media darling. Henry and Sunday make a formidable team...and never more so than when they set out to solve baffling high-society crimes. From a long-unsolved case they reconstruct aboard the presidential yacht to a kidnapping that brings Henry frantically back to the White House, the former president and his bride engage in some of the most audacious and original sleuthing ever imagined. Only Mary Higgins Clark can so seamlessly meld spellbinding suspense, wit, and romance. My Gal Sunday is entertainment of the highest order.


Download Description
Topping her bestselling success with Alvirah and Willy, in The Lottery Winner, America's Queen of Suspense introduces a new sleuthing couple, Henry and Sunday, an ex-president and his young congresswoman bride.


From the Publisher, Simon & Schuster
Topping her bestselling success with Alvirah and Willy, in The Lottery Winner, America's Queen of Suspense introduces a new sleuthing couple, Henry and Sunday, an ex-president and his young congresswoman bride. Henry Parker Britland IV is wealthy and worldly -- a beloved former president who, still youthful, is enjoying early retirement. His new wife, Sunday, is beautiful, smart and seventeen years younger than he, and has just been elected to Congress in a stunning upset victory that has made her the darling of the media. Henry and Sunday make a formidable team of sleuths -- and never more so than when they set out to solve crimes occurring among their friends in political high society. When Henry's former secretary of state is indicted for the murder of his mistress, Henry and Sunday suspect he is taking the fall for a crime of passion he did not commit. But why? With cases ranging from a crime on the presidential yacht to a kidnapping that brings Henry back to the White House as he races against time to unravel the plot, there is never a dull moment for the ex-president and his bride -- or the reader. With her wit and gift for characterization, the creator of the popular Alvirah and Willy stories brings us another marvelously endearing sleuthing duo, destined to return again and again.


About the Author
Mary Higgins Clark is the author of twenty-seven worldwide bestsellers. She lives in Saddle River, New Jersey.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Henry Parker Britland IV is wealthy and worldly - a beloved former president who, still youthful, is enjoying early retirement. His new wife, Sunday, is beautiful, smart and seventeen years younger than he, and has just been elected to Congress in a stunning upset victory that has made her the darling of the media. Henry and Sunday make a formidable team of sleuths - and never more so than when they set out to solve crimes occurring among their friends in political high society. When Henry's former secretary of state is indicted for the murder of his mistress, Henry and Sunday suspect he is taking the fall for a crime of passion he did not commit. But why? With cases ranging from a crime on the presidential yacht to a kidnapping that brings Henry back to the White House as he races against time to unravel the plot, there is never a dull moment for the ex-president and his bride - or the reader.

SYNOPSIS

Fresh from her smashing success with the Alvirah and Willy stories of The Lottery Winner, the Queen of Suspense has gone straight to the top to create an extraordinary new sleuthing couple -- Henry and Sunday, a dashing ex-president and his young congresswoman bride.

FROM THE CRITICS

Justine Elias - New York Times

Anyone looking for a modern-day Nick and Nora Charles will be disappointed by this slender collection of short stories.... The most vivid characterizations — a fashion-obsessed terrorist, a dictator's spineless henchman and a small child lost in the woods — exist on the fringes of the action, reminders that Ms. Clark can be a far more engaging writer than she's letting on here.

Publishers Weekly

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 vanisheduntil 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. (Oct.)

Library Journal

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.

Kirkus Reviews

Like Dorothy Sayers's memorably subtitled Busman's Honeymoon, Clark's new cycle of four longish tales is best described as "A Love Story with Detective Interruptions."

Certainly her newlywed detective team comes with the most impeccable credentials. Sandra (a.k.a. Sunday) O'Brien Britland, 32, is a beautiful congresswoman from New Jersey; her bridegroom, Henry Parker Britland IV, is the handsome former US President who must have been elected hours after he was old enough to run for the office. Between their Gothic Revival country home in suburban New Jersey and their vacation home in the Bahamas, Henry and Sunday, who apparently aren't affiliated with any political party or platform, might seem to lead a charmed life, but there are perils. In "A Crime of Passion," they set out to clear Henry's former secretary of state of a murder charge, and Sunday ends up looking down the barrel of the killer's gun. Then Sunday is kidnapped herself in "They All Ran After the President's Wife," apparently in exchange for a murderous terrorist who'll stop at nothing—custom-made suits, champagne, caviar, an SST escape—in his demands. "Hail, Columbia!" asks what really happened to a Latin American prime minister who disappeared from the Britland family yacht 32 years before Henry buys it back for Sunday. And "Merry Christmas/Joyeux Noël" brings back that old Clark standby, the kidnapped child, in a pale seasonal echo of Silent Night (1995). The real interest here, as in Clark's Alvirah and Willy stories (The Lottery Winner, 1994), is in the romance of wealth, coupled this time with the potent fairy-tale mix of power, glamour, gentility, and a certain endearing obtuseness ("Neither my husband nor I believe in ostentation or in conspicuous consumption," Sunday tells her kidnapper).

Clark's army of fans won't find any unseemly surprises here—and will know better than to expect much in the way of mystery or suspense in this gentle, upscale epithalamion.