I've Got You Under My Skin

“I’ve Got You Under My Skin” by Mary Higgins Clark

Review by Gerti

I’m as irritated as the next guy by the fact that Mary Higgins Clark always uses old songs titles for her book titles, but this book is much better than the title might indicate. It tells the story of Laurie Moran, a TV series producer who has had a bad stretch of luck. Her last two shows bombed, and her husband was killed. On top of that, the killer told her young son that he was coming after him and his mother, too. Fortunately for Laurie, her dad used to be a powerful NY cop, and he retired to watch over his grandson Timmy. The only clue to the killer is that he has blue Eyes, but we don’t find out till the end that they are only contact lenses.

Because of her affinity for crime victims, Laurie pitches a story idea to her boss for a series of shows on unsolved murders. She chooses to start with a doozy – the case of wealthy socialite Betsy Powell, found smothered in her bed the night after a Graduation Gala for her daughter and 3 of her friends. Turns out, each of the girls hated the lady, and each had a good motive to kill her. Betsy was such a witch, though, that other people wanted her dead as well, and hundreds of people were invited to the house party. So whodunit? Old Mr. Powell wants to find the answer before he dies, and so he’s willing to pay each of the girls (now women) $250K to reenact the night of the party at his house – and be questioned by a lawyer.

Laurie’s new show is so high profile, however, that the man who killed her husband hears about it, and he’s ready to put his own high-caliber spin on the ending by killing her. His name is Bruno Hoffa, but of course that’s an alias. He’s pursuing revenge on Laurie because her father, when he was still a cop, put him away for 30 years.

Sounds like a pretty hackneyed plot, but Clark is such a good writer, that this novel really works. Her characters are well-drawn, distinct, and likable, so I found myself caught up in the story. It’s a delight finding out how evil Betsy Powell is, and how she ruined the lives of the 4 girl murder suspects. The only thing I don’t like about this book (besides the title, which doesn’t appear anywhere in the book), is the romance between Laurie and the lawyer who interviews the graduates, named Alex. It is irritating that Clark has to have her protagonists find love in many of the books she writes, but perhaps that’s part of their appeal to many of her readers. Romance novels with mysteries attached, or Mystery novels with a touch of romance? To me, the book would have been stronger if she had left that out. There are so many other juicy relationships going on, the budding romance between Laurie and Alex is the least interesting in the book.

In summary, Clark’s style is easy breezy, and I would recommend this quick and satisfying read to anyone. The characters are great and the plot moves fast