Dashing Through the Snow [Mass Market Paperback]

Mary Higgins Clark (Author), Carol Higgins Clark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2009

From the beloved mother-daughter duo of Mary Higgins Clark, America’s Queen of Suspense, and Carol Higgins Clark, author of the hugely popular Regan Reilly series, comes Dashing Through the Snow, a holiday treat loaded with as many surprises as Santa’s sleigh.

In picturesque Branscombe, New Hampshire, on the night before the village’s first (and many hope annual) Festival of Joy, a group of employees at the local market learn they have won $180 million in the lottery. But the one worker, Duncan, who decided at the last moment not to play, is nowhere to be found. And while a second winning ticket was purchased in the next town, that winner hasn’t come forward. Could Duncan have secretly bought it?

Alvirah Meehan, amateur sleuth, and private investigator Regan Reilly have arrived in town for the festival. And as they dig beneath the surface, they find that life in little Branscombe is not as tranquil as it appears. But while Alvirah and Regan have to put aside their visions of an old-fashioned weekend in the country, this fast-paced holiday caper is sure to keep you dashing through the pages.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The festive fifth holiday mystery from the bestselling mother-daughter Clarks (after 2006s Santa Cruise) focuses on a wish-fulfillment theme many Americans dream about—winning a fortune in the lottery. As Christmas approaches, the folks of Branscombe, N.H., are celebrating their first Festival of Joy. Visiting from New York City are novelist Nora Regan Reilly and her PI daughter, Regan Reilly, and their close friends Alvirah and Will Meehan, who won $40 million in the lottery a few years earlier. When four employees of Conklins Market win $160 million using numbers supplied by their associate Duncan Graham, they decide to share their winnings with Duncan. Duncan, alas, has vanished. The Reillys and Meehans soon get on a trail of intrigue involving an abduction, thieves, con men and a second winning lottery ticket. Though the plotting and the characterization can be as thin as early winter ice, this trifle still rates a cheerful ho ho ho. (Nov. 18)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In the fifth Christmas mystery by the real-life mother-daughter team (Mary and Carol), the fictional mother-daughter team (Nora and Regan) is on the way to Branscombe, New Hampshire, for an old-fashioned, small-town Christmas festival. With the carefully orchestrated festival only days away, the workers at Conklin’s market, which is set to cater the affair, are disgruntled by unfair treatment from Old Man Conklin’s newest wife, especially when she denies them their expected bonuses. But when four of the workers realize that they hold a winning lottery ticket worth $160 million, they gladly snub Conklin and his wife, leaving them shorthanded with the festivities approaching. The group is concerned, though, when a fifth worker, Duncan, who has been part of their lottery-buying co-op for years but had opted out this time, cannot be found, as they planned to share the winnings with him anyway. Duncan had been cutting back on “useless” expenses, based on the dubious advice of scam-artist “investors,” and now he finds himself holding secrets that put him in serious danger. The amiable cast of characters—from the townsfolk to the two bumbling crooks to Regan and Nora’s group of friends—gives this pleasant holiday diversion a light charm that would be welcome any time of the year. --Mary Frances Wilkens --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Reprint edition (October 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439130086
• ISBN-13: 978-1439130087
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #814,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Holiday Cheer from Our Favorite Mother & Daughter Writing Team, November 20, 2008

By 

D. Bell "Imzadi" (Olney, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dashing Through the Snow (Hardcover)

Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark have come up with another of their Christmas mysteries featuring Alvirah, former cleaning lady now lottery winner, her husband Willy, Nora Regan Reilly (MHC's alter ego, a mystery writer), her husband Luke, their daughter Regan, and her husband Jack (no relation) Reilly. As usual, it is a fast, fun read. There are the usual assortment of quirky characters, most of whom are good people. There are, however, a few who are not including The Skunk, wife of the local storekeeper. Of course there are a couple of bumbling criminals who really aren't evil when push comes to shove. But there are two others. . .

Set in a little town in New Hampshire, the short but sweet novel takes place during the first annual Festival of Joy, which the young mayor and his camera-happy wife hope will put their charming little town on the map.

A group of disgruntled employees of the local grocery, who have reason to be unhappy because the owner's wife has given them wedding pictures of herself and her husband instead of the monetary Christmas bonuses they were counting on, have won the powerball lottery. But another winning ticket was sold in the next town. Who has it? And where is it?

Add to that a lovestruck grocery clerk and his sweetheart, who has flown from California to surprise him but has gone missing, and you have a situation just made for Alvirah & Regan.

I enjoyed this book, and you will, too. Take it with you on your holiday flight--it should fill the time between airports. I look forward each year to the Clarks' Christmas novel and to Anne Perry's Christmas novel. They did not disappoint me.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dreck, December 3, 2009

By 

J. Joseph "reader" (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dashing Through the Snow (Mass Market Paperback)

Mary Higgins Clark is not bad. Her daughter has ridden to publishing success on her mother's coat tails. Shame on her and shame on those who publish her incredibly sloppily written work. This particular novel was clearly written in bulk by the daughter. It has all the earmarks of her slap dash dialogue, improbable plot lines and boring predictability. I have read just a few of Carol's novels in the hopes that experience might improve her product. I give up. And I wish her mother wouldn't put her name on the same book as her daughter's. Mary's books, while not destined for a spot on the 'classics' shelf, at least read well, are suspenseful and are not cringe-worthy.

Unless you are truly a fan of Carol Higgins Clark (I can't imagine such a creature.)don't waste your money.

And to the publishers of these woefully bad bits of dreck - what are you thinking? I guess it really is all about the money, isn't it? And that's a shame because there are a lot of excellent novelist out there whose work should be published. They just don't happen to have a famous author mom on whose success they can trade.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Tofu Christmas Sausage Has More Meat Than This Book, January 7, 2009

By 

Lynn (New Mexico United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dashing Through the Snow (Hardcover)

You can read a synopsis of the plot in any other review here, but the bottom line for me was that this was an incredibly boring book . . . and I ordinarily LOVE Christmas-themed books! The plot was thin and very predictable. The characters were one-dimensional and not fleshed out by any means. Perhaps, if I'd read the other books in the series they would be a bit more so, but after reading this one, I'd never waste my time doing that! The dialog was trite and left me yawning. The "action" was inane.

My sweet daughter bought me this book for Christmas, so I felt obligated to finish it. She's only fourteen and, after reading the enire book, I honestly feel that it was a total waste of her hard-earned money and a total waste of my (too little) free time. If they'll take it, I plan on selling it to a used book store, and give the proceeds to my daughter.

Don't waste your time or money on this book, as there are many, many good ones out there!