Mary Higgins Clark hits the ground running in her latest romantic thriller, THE MELODY LINGERS ON.

The novel opens with 30-year-old Elaine Marsha "Lane" Harmon on her way to work in New York City. She is a widow and the mother of five-year-old Katie, who is going to start kindergarten. When Lane graduated from college, she didn't want to be a teacher, so she enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Technology and got a job as a decorator/designer. On this day, Lane is greeted by her boss, Glady Harper, with the news that they may have a new client. Well, sort of new. Ten years ago, Lane did the interior design on a mansion in Greenwich when Parker Bennett bought it. The new job is not for Bennett, who has disappeared with billions of dollars he has stolen from investors in his business, but for his wife, Anne. No one is sure if he is dead or alive.

"Fans of Mary Higgins Clark can feel certain that THE MELODY LINGERS ON is as good as her best books. And newcomers will find a treasure in the narrative and imagination of the 'Queen of Suspense.'"

Anne hired Glady and Lane to decorate the condominium she has bought in New Jersey, and her son, Eric, called to make the arrangements. He wants the job done for free because his father spent so much money on the mansion in Greenwich. Glady surprises Lane and agrees to this deal. They help Anne decide which of her furnishings would fit well in her new townhouse. When Lane asks how Glady expects to cover the expenses, she says they’ll bury the costs in the account of Countess de la Marco, another client who seems to have a fortune to spend. Soon Eric is on the scene with a keen eye for Lane.

The two start seeing other, and in a short time Eric declares his love for Lane. She knows that the FBI and other law enforcement officials think that Eric was in cahoots with his father in draining the life savings from the many people who invested with Bennett. Readers may also question if Eric is indeed the kind and innocent man he shows to the public.

Clark keeps readers in the dark about Bennett for a little while before she unveils him in the Caribbean. He has a disguise of sorts, a fake English accent, and doesn't get too friendly with his neighbors. But he has more than his share of troubles in addition to staying under the police radar; he is being blackmailed by the Countess, who could and would blow the whistle on him in the flash of an eye.When Bennett talks to the Countess, he realizes how vulnerable he is with her on his trail. She is the only one who knows he's alive and where he is. He decides he must go to Switzerland and use the fake IDs he has with him.

Meanwhile, back in the states, Anne and Eric continue on their crusade to prove that Bennett is innocent. Eric, too, is trying to prove himself innocent because of all the bad press and gossip that is being thrown at him.The decorating job continues in the background, and Lane is getting more and more drawn into the lives of the two remaining Bennetts. She doesn't have an inkling that she has put herself and her daughter in danger.

Fans of Mary Higgins Clark can feel certain that THE MELODY LINGERS ON is as good as her best books. And newcomers will find a treasure in the narrative and imagination of the “Queen of Suspense.”