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Searching... | 30000010046663 | PS3553.L278 J56 2003 | Open Access Book | Creative Book | Searching... |
Searching... | 30000010046662 | PS3553.L278 J56 2003 | Open Access Book | Creative Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
Carol Higgins Clark, bestselling author of Fleeced and co-author with Mary Higgins Clark of He Sees You When You're Sleeping, returns in top form in her new Regan Reilly mystery, blending her talent for intriguing locales, eccentric characters, and fast-paced suspense laced with humor.
In Jinxed, smart, saucy sleuth Regan Reilly faces a new challenge--the case of the missing wedding guest. Regan, an L.A.-based private detective, returns to her office after a vacation with her beau, Jack "no relation" Reilly. Their tour of the wineries in Napa Valley and Santa Barbara County is cut short when Jack has to fly back to New York City, where he is the head of the Major Case Squad of the NYPD. Their last stop had been at Altered States, a run-down winery owned by three siblings who are all former hippies--Lilac, Earl, and Leon Weldon. Not knowing how soon it would be put to use, Regan leaves her business card behind.
Within minutes of being back to work, Regan gets an excited call from Lilac. The Weldon family has been invited to the wedding of ninety-three-year-old Lucretia Standish, a former silent-screen star. Lucretia's maid, Phyllis, clues Lilac in on the fact that Lucretia plans to give the Weldons $2 million each--if they all show up at the wedding. The wedding is two days away, and there is only one problem: Lilac's daughter, Whitney, a.k.a. Freshness, a young actress, has taken off on one of her go-with-the-flow weekends. Whitney is out of touch and goes where the wind blows. If it doesn't blow her back into town by Sunday morning, the Weldon family will be out $8 million.
Regan's job is to find Whitney. But unbeknownst to Regan, there's someone else on the hunt. Lucretia's fiancé, the much younger Edward Fields, has hired an accomplice in crime to locate Whitney and keep her away from the wedding. He wants to say "I do" to Lucretia and her millions before Whitney can protest. When Edward finds out that Regan Reilly has been hired to find the missing Whitney, he gives the order to get rid of her as well.
As in her previous novels, Carol Higgins Clark has created a novel that is both exciting and vastly entertaining. As no less a master of suspense than Nelson DeMille has said, "Clark's writing is elegantly clear and concise, her characters are witty and engaging, and her plots and pacing are perfect." And in Jinxed, she is at her very considerable best.
Author Notes
Carol Higgins Clark was born in New York City in 1956 to suspense writer Mary Higgins Clark. She received a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College before studying acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.
She is the author of the Regan Reilly mystery series. Her novel Decked was nominated for both an Agatha and Anthony Award for Best First Novel. She has also co-authored several books with her mother including Deck the Halls, The Christmas Thief, Santa Cruise, and Dashing through the Snow.
As an actress, she has appeared in numerous television, film, and theater productions, including A Cry in the Night, a 1992 television movie based on a novel written by her mother.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews 3
School Library Journal Review
Adult/High School-A fun detective romp set in California wine country. Regan, a private investigator, must find Whitney, an actress, before her great-aunt Lucretia's wedding as Whitney's family, former hippies running the Altered States Bed & Breakfast and Meditation Center, will receive a fortune if everyone attends. Lucretia, an aging silent-film star, inherited a fortune and then made more money in a dot-com enterprise. Of course, the groom and his cronies are criminals out to thwart the family attendance by kidnapping Whitney so that they will receive more money. Add to this framework a motorcycle gang, two friends in their 90s, buried treasure, news coverage, and wildfires for an exciting mystery. The story moves quickly with snappy dialogue and short chapters. Locales change frequently until the conclusion with everyone on location at the B & B.-Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Clark's sixth rollicking mystery featuring L.A. PI Regan Reilly (Fleeced, etc.) boasts a wonderful cast: Lucretia Standish, a wealthy 96-year-old former silent-film star (who claims to be 93); Lucretia's sneaky, fortune-hunting fianc, 40-ish Edward Fields; as well as the old lady's late (fifth) husband's family, a clutch of superannuated hippies who manage Altered States, a winery/hotel near Santa Barbara. Regan must track down a missing young actress and scion of Lucretia's late husband's family, Whitney Weldon, aka "Freshness Lilac," the name her hippie mother gave her. Adding to the fanciful mix are 21 tattooed bikers who have made Lucretia their pet; Regan's mother, who, like the author's own, is a successful novelist; television and movie people; and a host of other amusing California types. The redoubtable Lucretia made $60 million by being smart enough to dump some dot.com stock that Edward had foisted on her, but she's not smart enough to see through his schemes as their wedding day approaches. She drags him to Altered States to meet her eccentric family in her brand-new Rolls Royce, escorted by her idolizing bikers. It's up to Regan to sort everything out, and thanks to the transcontinental e-mail aid of her sweetheart, Jack "no relation" Reilly, she's more than equal to the task. As usual, Clark provides plenty of fast-paced fun, with all the substance of a soap bubble, and best of all, nobody gets hurt. (Aug. 27) FYI: Clark has coauthored two novels with her mother, Mary Higgins Clark, He Sees You When You're Sleeping and Deck the Halls. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Lucretia Standish, the eccentric former silent-film star, is set to marry husband number three, Edward Fields, a thirtysomething consultant who helped her become megarich when she got in and out of the dot-com market at the right time. Feeling generous, she decides to give $1 million to each of her second husband's relatives, a motley crew of four latter-day hippies who run a new-age winery in Southern California. The youngest of the bunch, Whitney Weldon (born Freshness Weldon) is an up-and-coming actress, and when the rest of her family learns that their uncle's crazy old widow is about to leave them a million each--but only if they all show up at her wedding that weekend--they do their best to locate Whitney. Apparently, after a week of shooting a film, she wanted to get away, sans cell phone, and is unreachable. Enter our heroine, P.I. Regan, who's hired to find the elusive Whitney. But that's not what groom-to-be Edward wants, for surely Whitney will recognize him from his days in an acting class where he confessed that he's got some old lady thinking he's a legitimate financial advisor. So the chase is on, and it's a pleasure to follow. --Mary Frances Wilkens