Bestselling US author Mary Higgins Clark dies

Best-selling American author Mary Higgins Clark, known by her fans as the "Queen of Suspense", has died aged 92, her publisher confirmed Friday.

She was still producing a book a year at the age of 90, with her page-turners earning her a legion of fans across the world -- and even making her one of the top-selling fiction authors in France.

Clark's publisher Simon & Schuster announced her death, tweeting she died peacefully "surrounded by family and friends".

With sales of more than 100 million in the United States alone, she achieved success in her 40s after a series of personal tragedies.

Her father died from a heart attack when she was 11 years old and, with her mother struggling with three children, Clark was obliged to work from 15.

After working as a stewardess for a year, she left to marry Warren Clark and raise a family, before he died suddenly when she was just 35.

To support her family, Clark touted her short stories, receiving 40 rejection letters before eventually achieving success.

Her first suspense novel in 1975, "Where Are the Children?", is now in its 75th printing.