Mary Higgins Clark owes her enormous popular success as the "Queen of Suspense" to her penchant for the news. All of her novels have drawn from American current affairs, whether child abduction, capital punishment, or health maintenance organizations. In Before I Say Good-bye, Clark again buttresses her murder mystery with two newsworthy topics: corruption in the construction industry and fraud in the burgeoning field of psychic communication.

The mystery revolves around a cabin cruiser that was purposely blown up in New York Harbor, apparently killing four business associates, but the answer to the mystery lies in the criminal activities of New York's construction and psychic industries. Drawing from articles in the New York Times on the graft and fraud in the construction industry, Clark fictionalizes the bid-rigging and bribery among architectural firms, building contractors, and real-estate developers as a springboard for murder. ESP is also at...