Deck the Halls

by Mary Higgins Clark

Other authorsCarol Higgens Clark (Author)
Hardcover, 2000

Collection

Description

Three days before Christmas, young sleuth Regan Reilly meets amatuer detective Alvirah Meehan at a New Jersey dentist's office. When a call comes through on Regan's cell phone demanding $1,000,000 ransom for her father and his driver, the two team up to crack the case.

Library's rating

Rating

(168 ratings; 3.2)

User reviews

LibraryThing member RV_Winnie
I wanted to give this author a chance... This book brings together alot of characters from her other books. I found the book vague and superficial to the point of giving up 2/3 of the way through the book.
LibraryThing member dbhutch
This is the story of Luke Rielly and
Rosita his driver getting kidnapped, while his wife Nora a author of mystery books is in the hospital with a broken leg... and of course Alvirah Meehan is on the case right along with Ragan the Riellly's daughter , a PI in California.
They go thru a few leads
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and all is well on Christmas eve when they are rescued
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LibraryThing member susiesharp
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
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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 either of these authors and those who enjoy a cozy mystery.

3 stars
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LibraryThing member gpangel
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
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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. 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-
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LibraryThing member askum
I really enjoyed reading this and it kept my interest throughout.
LibraryThing member murderbydeath
A very quick, entertaining read in true Carol Higgins Clark style. A fun way to add some holiday mystery to the season.
LibraryThing member Greymowser
A good little Christmas detective story.
LibraryThing member DVerdecia
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
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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 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!
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LibraryThing member christinejoseph
quick — only thing

While Regan's mother, Nora, the famous mystery writer, is in the hospital with a broken leg, her husband, Luke, and his chauffeur, Rosita, are kidnapped and held for a million-dollar ransom. Together, Regan and Alvirah track the case as the inept yet dangerous kidnappers make
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their demands known. Meanwhile, Luke and Rosita are held captive on a houseboat on the Hudson River and a fierce winter storm is gathering force.
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LibraryThing member BookConcierge
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
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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.

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.

I’ve 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. I think I’ll have to read something by each of these authors in the future.
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LibraryThing member ChazziFrazz
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
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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.
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LibraryThing member bookwyrmm
Easy-reading mystery/suspense combining characters from each author's individual works.
LibraryThing member callmejacx
Every year around Christmas time I like to pick a book with a Christmas theme with a fast pace and to help me get into the spirit of the holidays.

I picked the first book on my shelf that looked like it was a Christmas book. I was pleased that I noticed the title, Deck the Halls. I so looked forward
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to cuddle up with this book.

I was disappointed. This was not a Christmas book. I don't recall anything about decking any halls. It was a murder mystery that happened to be taken place at Christmas. I never got the feeling of holiday or celebration. 98% of the time I finish a book whether I enjoy it or not, hoping that it will get better. I did read it to the end, but maybe I should have found a book that was more fitting than this one for the holidays.
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LibraryThing member JoniMFisher
One American woman and one Irish trade homes for the summer. Each have a family tragedy they want to distance themselves from to sort out their new realities. Through meeting one another’s friends and family, they learn much about each other and themselves.
Tara Road represents the home we believe
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in and the reality of how far that dream may be from the truth.
Perceptions and relationships are deeply explored in this tale of two families an ocean apart.
Healing from tragedy comes in its own time and way which the author masterfully delivers.
I came upon this book in the swap shelves of a cruise ship exploring Norway. Now I want more of Binchy’s work:
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LibraryThing member JoniMFisher
One American woman and one Irish trade homes for the summer. Each have a family tragedy they want to distance themselves from to sort out their new realities. Through meeting one another’s friends and family, they learn much about each other and themselves.
Tara Road represents the home we believe
Show More
in and the reality of how far that dream may be from the truth.
Perceptions and relationships are deeply explored in this tale of two families an ocean apart.
Healing from tragedy comes in its own time and way which the author masterfully delivers.
I came upon this book in the swap shelves of a cruise ship exploring Norway. Now I want more of Binchy’s work:
Show Less

Publication

Simon & Schuster (2000), Edition: First Edition, 208 pages

Original publication date

2000

Pages

208

ISBN

0743212002 / 9780743212007

Language

Original language

English
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