The Sleeping Beauty Killer

The Sleeping Beauty Killer is one of Mary Higgins Clark’s Under Suspicion novels, co written with Alafair Burke and published in 2016. The Under Suspicion series follows Laurie Moran, a New York television producer who hosts a special investigations program that takes on cold cases in which someone close to the victim has fallen under suspicion but never been formally charged. Each book in the series centers on a new case, with Laurie’s team revisiting an old investigation while complications develop in her own personal life around the production.

In this entry, the case involves Casey Carter, a young woman who was convicted of murdering her wealthy fiance fifteen years earlier and who has just been paroled after serving her time. Casey maintains her innocence and has spent her years in prison studying law and trying to find evidence that would exonerate her. Laurie’s program is going to revisit the case on camera, bringing the original suspects and witnesses back together to take a fresh look at what actually happened on the night Casey’s fiance died. The sleeping beauty killer of the title refers to the way the prosecution painted Casey at trial, with the implication being that she drugged her fiance and killed him while he slept.

The Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke partnership produced several Under Suspicion novels across the late 2010s, with Burke handling much of the actual prose while Clark provided the structural ideas and the brand identity. The collaboration worked because Burke is an accomplished thriller writer in her own right, with her own legal procedural background, and the books deliver the kind of carefully plotted suspense that Clark’s audience expected with the polish of an active working writer.

The Under Suspicion series gives Clark and Burke room to handle multiple cases through the same recurring cast, and the television production framing lets them keep the procedural elements interesting without having to invent new investigators in every book. Laurie’s continuing personal storylines, including her relationship with her son and her father, provide the ongoing emotional content that gives each entry its particular character beyond just the central mystery.

For longtime Mary Higgins Clark fans, The Sleeping Beauty Killer is a satisfying late entry. For new readers, the series can be picked up at any point and works as accessible domestic suspense.