Mary Higgins Clark

Almost 2 weeks ago the world lost one of the greatest writers: Mary Higgins Clark.  She wasn't the most brilliant writer in the world.  If you read her mysteries too close together you would figure out the killer too quick.  But she was captivating.  She was one of the most captivating writers to ever write.  She drew suspense out of each page.  She was just simply the best. 
When I was about 12ish or so I was in my aunt's bedroom.  She was just out of high school and still lived "at home".  I was looking through her books which consisted of primarily Harlequin Romance paperbacks.  Dozens of them.  When there wasn't a Harlequin, there was a Jackie Collins.  I have never cared too much for romances, though I gotta admit a good Jackie Collins is divine.  When suddenly I came across "Where are the Children?"  I started to read and was immediately enthralled.  Who was this author?  I needed more!  My aunt also had "A Stranger is Watching" and then "Stillwatch".  I knew I had found my author.  About once a year she would publish a book.  I would then read this book.  It went on for decades.  Each year, gotta read the newest Mary Higgins Clark.  I also read her autobiography.  Getting to know the story behind the strong, smart, sleuthing heroines was such an eyeopener. 
I have felt bad when celebrities died before.  I might even watch the movie or listen to the songs a few times afterwards just to pay homage.  But I don't think I especially cared.  Not really.  Not as if it were a person I knew.  I cried instantly when I read that she had died.  I didn't just feel bad that there would never be anymore books (though I do terribly), I felt sorrow that the world no longer had Mary Higgins Clark in it.  I felt as if I had lost a mother figure.  This woman poured her words into my head every year.  Teaching me to be a lady while not lettering her fear keep her from finding the bad guy.  It was the thing I looked forward to every year.  Like Christmas.  I will miss the woman with accessory skills and pumps who was always making her way in the world alone and either fighting for her life, solving a murder, or just saving the world in general.  Ms Clark will be deeply missed.