Before I Say Goodbye, by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster, £16.99 in UK)

Higgins Clark is an old hand at the psychological thriller, what with 21 bestsellers worldwide behind her

Higgins Clark is an old hand at the psychological thriller, what with 21 bestsellers worldwide behind her. Here she gives us a heroine for the times that are in it: Nell McDermott, grand-daughter of old-time politician Cornelius McDermott and a candidate for the US Congress. However, tragedy occurs when her husband, Adam Cauliff's new cabin cruiser blows up in a New York harbour, killing him and several of his business associates. Devastated by this event, Nell is persuaded by her Aunt Gert to consult a medium, one Bonnie Wilson, in whom Gert has great faith. Bonnie, who claims that she is acting on instructions from Adam, gets Nell to engage in a series of happenings, some of them of a bizarre nature. The more she becomes involved, the more Nell places herself in danger, and in a tautly written and exciting climax, she just about escapes with her life. Although I guessed at an early stage the identity of the person behind the various events, I still read on, persuaded by Higgins Clark's stylishly ingenious method of elucidating the conundrum. Nothing like watching a professional at work.