"Action-packed thriller"
Regan Reilly and her boy friend Jack "not related" Reilly
visit the California wine country until he has to return to
his work as the head of the NYPD Major Cases Squad.
Private sleuth Regan goes back to her office in Los
Angeles. Almost the moment she arrives at work, Regan
receives a call from the Weldon siblings, who she met when
she and Jack toured their winery. Apparently their ninety-
six going on ninety-three years old stepmother, former
silent screen star Lucretia Standish, is getting married
once again. If the Weldon trio plus the daughter of one of
them all attend the ceremony, Lucretia will give them two
million dollars each; if even one fails to show up they
receive zero. The Weldons hire Regan to find the daughter
off on one of her vanishing act weekends. Regan begins investigating and receives help from Jack via
email. However, the forty something groom has other plans
for his fiancee's money, which include leaving the Weldons
with nothing. If it means killing a detective to insure a
Weldon fails to appear so be it. JINXED is an action-packed thriller that moves at the speed
of light, which leads to a fun time for the audience if one
does not mind escapist cerebral cotton candy. The story
line is fluff yet the audience will enjoy every page of it
and most will finish in one sitting. Regan is a wonderful
protagonist while readers will find the antics of the
support cast quite pleasant and amusing. Carol Higgins
Clark does what she does best entertain her fans. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted September 24, 2002
|
|
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, who made a killing in a dot-com
before it went bankrupt. Lucretia had been married to the
Weldons' Uncle Haskell and had invested the money she
inherited from Haskell in the dot-com. 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, aka
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.
Edward knows Whitney will recognize him as the con man
she'd met in acting class in New York. 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. Meanwhile, Lucretia is befriended by a gang of bikers, the
story of her upcoming nuptials is featured on national
television news, and wildfires are threatening to consume
the barn where Whitney is being held captive. 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.
|
