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.
