Deck the Halls

I’m not sure how it is everyone gets a turn at being kidnapped in Clark’s Christmas books, but this time it is Regan Reilly’s father, wealthy owner of several funeral homes. Reilly is a private detective in LA but she engages the help of good friend of the family and NYC native Alvirah, an amateur but very good private detective herself. What I like about these stories are how the random characters and subplots come together to help solve the mystery and save some lives. This book features two little boys whose mother was kidnapped at the same time, elevating the level of tension, but who indirectly also have a role in solving the crime.

I’m not sure how it is everyone gets a turn at being kidnapped in Clark’s Christmas books, but this time it is Regan Reilly’s father, wealthy owner of several funeral homes. Reilly is a private detective in LA but she engages the help of good friend of the family and NYC native Alvirah, an amateur but very good private detective herself. What I like about these stories are how the random characters and subplots come together to help solve the mystery and save some lives. This book features two little boys whose mother was kidnapped at the same time, elevating the level of tension, but who indirectly also have a role in solving the crime.

Lets talk about Plastic. That is what this book is about. At least, everything in this book smells, acts and even looks like plastic. For those of you who are squeemish about bad reviews, please read no further. This review author is not responsible for any angry emotional outbursts by you, the reader of this review.

It seems that the two authors got together and put their respective heroines from other works together to solve a yule tide kidnapping. The main characters here are Regan Reilly and Alvirah Meehan. Two suppossedly super-slueths that are able to crack any mystery. The basis of this particular novel is that Regan's father Luke and his Chauffeur Rosita (Yes you heard that right, Hispanic Women should protest vehemently) get show more kidnapped two days before Christmas. All this while Luke's wife, Regan's mother, the famous novelist, Nora Reilly is in the hospital.

OK, where do I begin. First off Nora Reilly. She is in the hospital because she broke her leg. Yeah, like that's believable. In at least the last 20 years since the insurance companies took over healthcare, you break your leg, you go to emergency out-patient services, they cast it...you go home! None of this two to three day extended stay stuff. "Well Flyinfox, how did she break her legs? Were there complications?" No, she broke her leg tripping over a rug...yeah you read that right, tripping over a rug! Does that smell like plastic to you?

As expected, the bad guys one CB Dingle (Cuthbert Bonaface Dingle...who chose these names?) and Petey Commet were both evil and stupid. Petey was used for obvious comic relief because no one...and I mean no one who attempt to ransom some one else for a million dollars can be that stupid. Not to give the story away but...wait a minute, there really is no story here so I will just go ahead and say it. During the ransom pick up, Petey loses the million dollars that was in the duffle bag in the East River because he slipped and fell out of his boat as he was trying to give it a good-bye kiss. (Can you taste the plastic yet?) Why else were these characters stupid? Because they decided to follow the kidnapping pattern that was outlined in one of Nora Reilly's famous mystery novels. Here...let me skip to the end and catch these guys.

I guess that Alvirah Meehan was poor in the Mary Higgins Clark Novels because here, in order to have anything in common with these people that she was dealing with, she had to win the $40 million dollar lottery....otherwise she is just a poor schmo who knows her way in and out of bargain department stores.

The ending? What do you think? Of course the crooks got caught. Of course the money was safe. Of course everyone in the story descended on the Reilly home for a Merry Christmas. And of course all the loose ends were tied up at the end. As I said before, the story is plastic, the characters are plastic, the turn of events are plastic. "Gee Flyinfox, aren't you being a little harsh with this review?" Yes, I am offending the Plastic. At least plastic serves a purpose. I read this book to have something to release at the december meetup. I am kind of embarrased to have anyone take this off my hands. Its only redeeming qualities are that it is a short read and as enjoyable as bubble gum. But let the reader beware, once the flavor of the gum leaves you...spit it out! show less

Review Updated on re-read, Dec 2025

Book on CD read by Carol Higgins Clark
3***

This was a re-read for me; this time I listened to the audiobook.

Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark, combine their talents in a new mystery series featuring the collaboration of the two writers’ lead characters – Alvirah Mehan, former cleaning lady who won the lottery and is now an amateur sleuth, and Regan Reilly, daughter of a famous mystery writer and a licensed private investigator. Regan’s mom, mystery writer Nora Reilly, sustains a broken leg in a household accident. Her hospitalization just three days before Christmas makes news, and gives a couple of kidnappers the perfect opportunity to nab Regan’s father, Luke Reilly. show more

This is an interesting and fun mystery. Of course, the reader always knows who the culprit is, but it’s fun to watch the police, Regan and Alvirah arrive at the solution. They have plenty of suspects and follow several wrong leads, but I found their thought process as they examined various clues and red herrings interesting.

When I first read it I had never read anything by either of these authors before, so the characters were completely new to me. But I never felt lost and the way they come together seemed plausible. I also thought the writing was seamless; I certainly couldn’t tell if one section was written by Mary and another by Carol. All told, this is a quick, entertaining cozy with a satisfying ending.

Carol Higgins Clark does a good job of voicing the audiobook. She has a number of characters to deal with and manages to give them sufficiently unique voices that I was never confused about who was speaking. show less

Regan Reilly, Carol Higgins Clark's female sleuth, and Alvirah Meehan, Mary Higgins Clark's amateur detective are paired in this mystery. Regan's father, Luke, and his chauffeur, Rosita, have been kidnapped. A million-dollar ransom is demanded for the victims' release.

It seemed a little too light in the beginning, but about mid-way it picked up and became more solid with the characters and the action. The bumbling kidnappers were a fun touch, if at times annoying. They did give a good comedic touch.

This is definitely a fast and light read, set during the Christmas season. It was interesting to read a book written by two well established mystery writers that are mother and daughter.

I have read all the other Christmas mysteries this mother daughter team has written and thought I had read this one since it is the first but I hadn't. So this is the first meeting of Alvirah (Mary Higgins Clark’s lottery winner turned amateur sleuth) and Regan Reilly (Carol Higgins Clark's PI from her books). This is a cozy Christmas mystery that I enjoyed maybe not as much as the future books they would write together but it was good none the less.

The characters are fun especially Alvirah, she is quite a character! The one thing I found interesting was the red herrings were only for the characters because we as readers knew who kidnapped Regan’s father right from the beginning. It was a good book that I would recommend to fans of show more either of these authors and those who enjoy a cozy mystery.

3 stars show less

I read " A Christmas Thief" just a few weeks ago. I should have waited a little bit longer to read this one. For me the criminals in the this one were too similar to the criminals in " A Christmas Thief". Bumbling, inept and silly. While at times they were funny, other times it just fell flat.
Luke is kidnapped while Nora is in the hospital recovering from a broken leg. Luke and his driver, Rosita, are being held for a million dollar ransom. Regan, Alvirah, Willy, and Jack all work to find Luke and Rosita.
Alvirah's role was really weird in this one. She chased down a red herring, and butted into the whole affair as usual, but her role was really toned down. I missed her involvement and narrative. The story wasn't really all that bad. show more In keeping with holiday traditions of their past novels, the authors opted for non-violence, very light holiday reading suitable for all ages. Overall a C- show less