Rating: 
Summary: A Charming Holiday Read
Review: When reading Mary Higgins Clark's crime novels, it's easy to get caught up in her often-formulaic writing, the feeling that nearly every story is the same. In "Deck the Halls", Clark teams up with her daughter, a best-selling author in her own right, to create a decidedly different novel full of the suspense she's famous for - and without the traditional formula.
The tale revolves around Luke Reilly, a funeral home director who is mysteriously kidnapped with his chauffeur a few days before Christmas. The ransom note is for one million dollars, yet neither the police nor Reilly's family (including his daughter Reagan, a private investigator) know who is behind it - or why Reilly was targeted.
Everything seemingly goes according to plan: the ransom money is dropped off at the appointed place at the appropriate time, and Reagan and her mother are expecting Luke's release. When the bumbling kidnappers lose the money, however, the stakes are raised. What began as a quick way to get rich has become a dangerous game involving life and death. It's up to Reagan to find her father in time.
Brilliantly written, with some new twists Mary Higgins Clark's fans will enjoy, "Deck the Halls" is a charming holiday read from America's Queen of Suspense.
Rating: 
Summary: No suspense, no mystery, and not a thriller
Review: Why did the queen of suspense become involved with this novel? I assume it was to fulfill a lifelong goal for mother and daughter to write together or for a contract because that is all that was achieved. I've never read Carol Higgins Clark, therefore I do not know if her other books were as boring. Mary Higgins Clark, however, has kept me spellbound for hours. The plot was mediocre -- Luke Reilly and Rosita Gonzazles are kidnapped for ransom. They are held in a leaky boat until the inept culprits get paid. The stupidity of these criminals comes through in their conversation and actions. The characters were one-dimensional and gratuitous, and it seemed their only purpose was to give names for identification while reading. I was surprised by the immature style of writing. Even though we run into people with our name, it is not a good story approach because it can be confusing - two sets of Reilly's make for difficult character identification. Long time writers rarely make the mistake of switching the point of view (POV) multiple times within short segments or changing the verb tense from past to present while doing so. Perhaps I see this clearly because I'm an editor, but I think the sudden switches would be unwelcome by most readers. The book needed to be proofread, and may have been, but there were so many grammatical errors that I doubt if the authors even read it. Some of these items are question marks or periods immediately followed by a comma, or double period marks, and some misspellings. Every book has some proofread errors, and I, like most people, simply ignore them. There were too many to be ignored. In my opinion, this book was published because of the author's names. Period. I do not recommend it. Victoria Tarrani
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