Deck the Halls

By Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark

Three days before Christmas, Alvirah Meehan, the famous lottery winner and amateur detective, meets Regan Reilly in a New Jersey dentist's office. Regan is there in search of her busy father, who is scheduled for a routine visit. However, it is soon apparent that Luke Reilly is not going to keep his appointment.

But Regan's worry turns to panic when a call comes through on her cell phone telling her that her father and his driver, Rosita Gonzalez, are being held for $1,000,000 ransom. She turns to Alvirah, because although Regan is a licensed detective in L.A., it is Alvirah who has the valuable contacts amongst the ranks of New York's law enforcement community.

As Regan and Alvirah desperately try to meet the harsh demands and tough deadline of the kidnappers, Luke and Rosita, held captive on a decrepit houseboat moored in the Hudson River, are becoming increasingly terrified. And to make matters worse, a winter storm is gathering, putting their lives in even greater danger....

DECK THE HALLS is filled with twists and turns, intrigue and danger, as well as a hearty dose of holiday cheer. Mary and Carol Higgins Clark have created a breathless, yet heart-warming story of suspense in their first collaboration - a Christmas classic for many holiday seasons to come.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Dec 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781471103025

Mary Higgins Clark

The #1 New York Times bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark wrote over forty suspense novels, four collections of short stories, a his­torical novel, a memoir, and two children’s books. With bestselling author Alafair Burke she wrote the Under Suspicion series including The Cinderella Murder, All Dressed in White, The Sleeping Beauty Killer, Every Breath You Take, You Don’t Own Me, and Piece of My Heart. With her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, she coauthored five suspense novels. More than one hundred million copies of her books are in print in the United States alone. Her books are international bestsellers.

Reviews for Deck the Halls

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Easy-reading mystery/suspense combining characters from each author's individual works.

[callmejacx · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[adeyinka abiola · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Really really Silly app!!! I can't imagine calling this excuse an app

[greymowser · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A good little Christmas detective story.

[murderbydeath · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A very quick, entertaining read in true Carol Higgins Clark style. A fun way to add some holiday mystery to the season.

[dverdecia-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

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 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!

[askum_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed reading this and it kept my interest throughout.

[bookconcierge · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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. 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.

[gpangel_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

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. 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-

[susiesharp_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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 either of these authors and those who enjoy a cozy mystery.3 stars

[dbhutch_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of Luke Rielly andRosita 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 and all is well on Christmas eve when they are rescued

[rv_winnie · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

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.