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A Bronx, N.Y. native, Higgins moved to Bergen County and even set many of her works in the Garden State.
She had more than 50 novels published, 40 of which were bestsellers, and millions were sold across the U.S.
Simon & Schuster, her publisher, announced her death Friday, affectionately remembering her as the "Queen of Suspense."
"Nobody ever bonded more completely with her readers than Mary did," her longtime editor Michael Korda said in statement.
"She understood them as if they were members of her own family. She was always absolutely sure of what they wanted to read — and, perhaps more important, what they didn’t want to read — and yet she managed to surprise them with every book."
Clark first moved to New Jersey in 1956 when she bought a home in Washington Township (Bergen) with her first husband. She also had a house in Spring Lake, but later moved to saddle River when she married her second husband in 1996.
Her New Jersey-set novels include "The Cradle Will Fall" (1980, Saddle River), "While My Pretty One Sleeps" (1987, Ridgewood), "All Around the Town" (1992, Ridgewood), "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" (1995, Ho-Ho-Kus, Hackensack, Old Tappan, Englewood Cliffs and Oradell) and "My Gal Sunday" (1996, Bernardsville).
Several of her books were bestsellers, earning her the honor of being named a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in France in 2000, among numerous other national and international awards.
Click here for a more complete obituary from FOX News.
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