Deck the Halls

By Carol Higgins Clark and Mary Higgins Clark

Book Overview

Mary Higgins Clark, America's beloved "Queen of Suspense," and her daughter, bestselling mystery novelist Carol Higgins Clark, team up to write a spine-tingling and heartwarming story.

Combining Carol Higgles Clark's ongoing central character, the young and feisty Regan Reilly, and Mary Higgins Clark's Willy and Alvirah, featured earlier in the bestsellers The Lottery Winner and All Through the Night, the story begins when Regan's businessman father Luke Reilly goes missing just before Christmas, held hostage for ransom by his partner's angered and disinherited son. Regan turns for help to her parents' Central Park South neighbors, Willy and Alvirah, with whom she shares not only a talent for detection, but an unusually accommodating genius of a dentist who brings them together.

Together, as New York City prepares for Christmas, the three of them join forces to find Luke, only to discover that he is not just missing, but kidnapped, along with the driver of the taxi in which he was riding, a Hispanic single mother of two.

The result is a fast-paced novel of suspense perfect for the Christmas season.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1982187972
• ISBN13: 9781982187972
• Release Date: October 2022
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.7" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Tendrils of Tension

The Mother/Daughter Author Team merges two sets of detectives in this tightly written kidnapping at Christmas saga. In 202 pages, they craft a very suspenseful "night before Christmas" mystery with an amazing set of characters including Santa and two young boys looking at life without their mama. The tension takes over and the reader is privy to the pressures of time that police work under every day. As the minutes tick, the ever delightful Alvirah and Willy and Regan Reilly join the police in pursuing clues and rushing down empty alleys. Will the incredibly inept bad guys be successful? Will sifting through the clues provide the answer in time to get Luke & Rosita to their respective homes for Christmas? Or, will grim luck take over and everything go wrong? And could romance possibly be lurking? Quite an AMAZING read, and one I highly recommend.

Deck the bookshelf

It was with reluctance that I started to read this book. I had read reviews and had decided not to buy this book even though I don't miss a MHC book that is released. I borrowed Deck the Halls from a relative and sat down one afternoon to read it. And boy was I surprised! This wasn't the horrible book it was made out to be. In fact, I quite enjoyed it. Yes, you do find out the whodunit part quite early in the story but I found myself reading a breakneck speed to see if Luke and Rosita would be saved. I liked the comedy aspect of this book. It added a new dimension to the story. I found myself laughing at Petey all the way through If you are looking for a light, quick read pick up this book. You'll definitely enjoy it. (And now it's time for me to go buy my own copy)

Delightful Christmas Read

I have yet to read either a Carol Higgings Clark or Mary Higgins Clark book that has let me down. They always have a little happiness, suspense, intrigue and normal everyday happenings that we don't realize are normal everyday happenings. And the ending on this one was just perfect for the holiday season. Good work, ladies. You should be very proud of yourselves.And, Mary, I know it is long overdue but Congratulations on your marriage! What wonderful children you have watching out for you!I'll be waiting for the next books from you ladies. PLEASE HURRY!

What a duo!

This is a fantastic book by mother and daughter. The characters were colorful and the plot exciting. It's not too long of a read - so I'd reccomend taking this with you if you have a flight planned. I started reading during take-off and closed the book with a smile before landing. A+

Delightful team effort

California private detective Regan Reilley flies home to New Jersey to spend the holidays with her parents. Regan visits her mother, Nora a patient at the Manhattan Hospital for Special Surgery for a leg she broke tripping over a rug. At her mother's room, Regan also sees her father Luke, a funeral home owner, who quickly races off to attend the Goodloe funeral before going onto a dentist. However, Luke never makes his appointments as Petey the Painter and C.B. Dingle kidnap him. C.B. felt he was cheated by Luke providing "ill advice" that cost him his inheritance. C.B. demands that successful mystery writer Nora send them one million dollars for the safe return of her spouse and his driver. Regan begins searching for her abducted father starting at the dentist's office where she meets local amateur detective Alvirah Meehan, who offers her help. Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter Carol Higgins Clark collaborate on a mystery tale that unites sleuths from some of their previous solo efforts. The basis for the kidnapping of Luke seems a stretch. However, the tale will entertains readers well because the writing duo in their first pairing imbues humor into the story line while insuring their two protagonists blend well together to make an entertaining novel.Harriet Klausner