Santa Cruise: A Holiday Mystery at Sea

Product Description IN THE BESTSELLING TRADITION OF THE CHRISTMAS THIEF . . . A HOLIDAY MYSTERY AT SEA America’s Queen of Suspense — Mary Higgins Clark — joins forces with her daughter Carol — bestselling author of the Regan Reilly mysteries — in this fast-paced novel set on a special holiday cruise that sets sail from Miami the day after Christmas. Alvirah Meehan, the lottery winner turned amateur sleuth; recently “hitched” private detective Regan Reilly; and their husbands Willy and Jack, are guests on the Royal Mermaid’s maiden voyage, the Santa Cruise. The cruise is Commodore Randolph Weed’s gift to a select group of people who in the last year made the world a better place. What he doesn’t know is that his ne’er-do-well nephew, Eric, has smuggled two escaping criminals on board. As the Royal Mermaid sails through troubled waters, Alvirah and Regan uncover clues that lead them to the dangerous men who were not on the original guest list! Filled with suspense and humor, Santa Cruise is a holiday mystery you won’t want to miss. Join the Clarks as they bring this unpredictable voyage to a hair-raising and heartwarming conclusion and ring in the New Year. From Publishers Weekly At the start of the lighthearted fourth yuletide mystery from the bestselling mother-daughter Clarks (after 2004’s The Christmas Thief), Randolph Weed, “self-styled commodore,” launches his newly refurbished boat, the Royal Mermaid, from Miami with a “Santa Cruise” to raise money for charity and reward 400 “Do-Gooders of the Year.” Meanwhile, Weed’s greedy nephew, Eric Manchester, has made a secret $2 million deal with escaped felons Bull’s-Eye Tony Pinto and Barron Highbridge to keep them hidden aboard the Royal Mermaid until it reaches Fishbowl Island, where they can make trouble out of federal jurisdiction. Fortunately, there are plenty of Do-Gooders to foil the bad guys, notably the mystery mavens of the Oklahoma Readers and Writers group and sleuthing philanthropist Alvirah Meehan. Full of mystery-lite cheer but lacking in style and substance, this collaboration is never quite buoyant enough to really deck the halls for fans of the Clarks’ superior solo efforts. (Nov.) Copyright (c) Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. About the Author Mary Higgins Clark’s books are world-wide bestsellers. In the U.S. alone, her books have sold over one hundred million copies. She is the author of twenty-nine previous suspense novels. Her first book, a biographical novel about George Washington, was re-issued with the title, Mount Vernon Love Story, in June 2002. Her memoir, Kitchen Privileges, was published by Simon & Schuster in November 2002. Her first children’s book, Ghost Ship, illustrated by Wendell Minor, was published in April 2007 as a Paula Wiseman Book/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. She is co-author, with her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, of five holiday suspense novels Deck the Halls (2000), He Sees You When You’re Sleeping (2001), The Christmas Thief (2004), Santa Cruise (2006), and Dashing through the Snow (2008). Mary Higgins Clark was chosen by Mystery Writers of America as Grand Master of the 2000 Edgar Awards. An annual Mary Higgins Clark Award sponsored by Simon & Schuster, to be given to authors of suspense fiction writing in the Mary Higgins Clark tradition, was launched by Mystery Writers of America during Edgars week in April 2001. She was the 1987 president of Mystery Writers of America and, for many years, served on their Board of Directors. In May 1988, she was Chairman of the International Crime Congress. From Booklist If you want substance in your crime fiction, look elsewhere; if you want intrigue that keeps you guessing, keep looking; but if you want a frothy, holiday-themed whodunit starring the affable PI Regan Reilly, her D.A. husband, and mystery-writing mother–all aboard a luxury liner’s three-day maiden cruise–then this