The Lottery Winner [Paperback]

Mary Higgins CLARK (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2011

Alvirah Meehan, one of Mary Higgins Clark's most beloved characters, returns in these dazzling, intertwined tales of sleuthing and suspense. Alvirah, the former cleaning lady who struck it rich in the lottery, made her first appearance in Weep No More, My Lady. Now, with her devoted mate, Willy, the ever-resourceful Alvirah delves into crime-solving on a grand scale -- and with her own inimitable style. Among their many adventures, Alvirah and Willy find a dead actress in their Central Park South condominium upon their return from London in "The Body in the Closet." Needing a break from the big city, they escape to Cape Cod -- only to meet a would-be heiress framed for murder in "Death on the Cape." When Alvirah and Willy seek the tranquillity of the Cypress Point Spa, it's the perfect getaway -- until a jewel thief turns up in "The Lottery Winner." Back in Manhattan, the search for a neighbor's missing newborn makes for a suspense-filled Christmas in "Bye, Baby Bunting."

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (November 4, 2011)
• ISBN-10: 0671867172
• ISBN-13: 978-0671867171
• ASIN: B001NCA0UE
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,091,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

If I were to define myself in one sentence, I would say, "I'm a nice Irish Catholic girl from the Bronx."

I was a Christmas Eve baby all those years ago, the second of the three children of Nora and Luke Higgins. Mother was pushing forty when they married and my father was forty-two. My older brother was named Joseph. Nineteen months later I, Mary, was born. Three and a half years later, my little brother, John, came along.

We lived in a very nice section of the Bronx on a street off Pelham Parkway. I loved our house. I still love it. After my father died, when I was eleven, my mother had to sell it.

I went to Saint Francis Xavier Grammar School. Two years ago I went back and was Principal for a Day. Escorted by two of the tiniest children, I was led into the auditorium while the whole student body sang "Hello Mary. You're back where you belong." I still tear up thinking about it.

I was awarded a scholarship to Villa Maria Academy which is in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx, otherwise I couldn't have afforded to set foot in it.

I went to Woods Secretarial School and at eighteen had my first full-time job as Secretary to the creative director of Remington Rand's in-house advertising agency. If I were making that choice now I would have gone to college even though God knows we needed the income. On the other hand the three years I spent in Remington Rand was a tutorial in advertising which served me well when I was widowed with five small children. Another plus was that I left Remington to be a flight stewardess with Pan American Airways and when my contemporaries were seniors in college, I was flying to Europe, Africa and Asia.

Warren Clark and I were married on December 26, 1949 and had five children in the next eight years; Marilyn, Warren, David, Carol and Patricia. Warren died of a heart attack in 1964. The highest compliment I can pay my kids are that they are like him.

I sold my first short story when I was twenty-eight. It was alled 'Stowaway'. It had been rejected forty times before a magazine in Chicago bought it for one hundred dollars.

My first book was about George Washington. It was published in 1969 and disappeared without a trace. Three years ago Simon and Schuster co-published it with the Mount Vernon Historical Society and retitled 'Mount Vernon Love Story', it became a bestseller.

My first suspense novel 'Where Are the Children' was bought in 1974 for three thousand dollars by Simon and Schuster. Thirty-three books later, I'm still with S&S.

Time to wind up - at least for the present. As soon as I sold 'Children' I enrolled in Fordham College. Went there for five years at night and earned a B.A. in Philosophy. Summa cum laude, if you please.

I never thought I'd marry again but ten years ago I threw a cocktail party on St. Patrick's day. My daughter, Pat, urged me to invite John Conheeney. Her opening words about him were, "Have I got a hunk for you!" He came to the party and we were married eight months later.

I'm Honorary Chairman of FraXa Research. My grandson, David, has the Fragile X syndrome, which is the second leading cause of retardation after Downs Syndrome. Basically the brain of the people who have it can't send out the proper signals because there's a kind of short circuit in the synapses that carry the signals. We raise money for research with the goal of finding a medication that will work around that short circuit. I go all over the country to the fund-raisers as new chapters of FraXa are opened.

I'm always asked to name my favorite book. They're ALL my favorites. If there is one book that is very special to me, it is my memoir 'Kitchen Privileges' because writing it made me relive my early life including those first struggles to become a writer. I think 'Kitchen Privileges' is both tender and funny and it's me.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good, light read., February 2, 2003

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lottery Winner: Alvirah And Willy Stories (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Lottery Winner" is a compilation of 6 short stories and is ideal for the times that you're in the mood for picking up a book and enjoying a quick,light read with old friends Alvirah and Willie.Alvirah and Willie won the lottery several years ago but, unlike a lot of winners who find themselves out of money in a very short time, they have invested wisely and are thoroughly enjoying their retirement years in luxurious comfort. Alvirah, a former cleaner, has the knack of being in the right place at the wrong time and has developed into quite a sleuth, helping the police to solve murders and mysteries and sometimes finding herself in dangerous situations. Willie was a former plumber who adores his outgoing wife and tries to help her in her detective work to the best of his abilities.These 6 stories are quite diverse and just the thing to read if you have only 30 minutes or so to spare.I normally don't like short stories but these are an exception as I liked the main characters so much.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Lottery Winner by Mary Higgins Clark, January 12, 2005

By 

Reily (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lottery Winner: Alvirah And Willy Stories (Mass Market Paperback)

The Lottery Winner, by Mary Higgins Clark, is series of short stories about a couple the recently had won a forty million dollar lottery. Alvirah and Willy were the lucky couple. With their newfound money they take exotic trips and develop many friendships. Along with these trips Alvirah almost always stumbles upon a mystery, and always saves the day. In the Lottery Winner Mary Higgins Clark develops the two main characters superbly and in each of the short stories does an equally awesome job developing them. I really enjoyed her style of writing. Her fluency in switching viewpoints between the characters is phenomenal. Although this style of writing can be confusing, it keeps you guessing who did it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 4 Millions dollars!, April 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lottery Winner (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (School & Library Binding)

A Review by Holli

Alvirah and her husband Will never really had the best life they didn't have very much money but they always seemed to manage. Alvirah always had high spirits she even got excited when they got one number on their lottery tickets to match. But the one that would change their life was they winning ticket they won four million dollars. So their life style changed to a very ritzy life in a hurry but they always kept their poorer roots with them. They moved near high powered people and celebrities. Alvirah also was on the Donahue show she works her dream job and her dream life.

Three things that I liked and didn't like about this book was the beginning it really doesn't grab you like most of her books do. It seems to drag on for a while just describing their life style what they look like and what they do and have done. I think that she would have put it in the middle to so you find out more and more as you go along. Then in the middle when it finally gets going it almost seems to go really fast and just zoom by you before you realized what happened. I liked how descriptive it was though Mary Higgins Clark always seems to have very descriptive books and they seemed to always just grab you from the beginning but this one was lacking that aspect.

This book was a great book overall! I recommend it to people that enjoy mysteries and have just a little patience for slow starting books but also can keep up when it starts moving along fast.