Santa Cruise: A Holiday Mystery at Sea [Paperback]

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

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2009

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.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

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 © 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

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 is your ticket. The Clarks, mother and daughter, stick to formula, but they deliver predictable entertainment for the easily entertained. Expect their latest effort to please the target audience. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Reprint edition (October 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439173060
• ISBN-13: 978-1439173060
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,098,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Is Carol the Weak Link? (2.5 Stars), December 12, 2006

By 

Janet Boyer "Author, Blogger, Radio Host" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Santa Cruise: A Holiday Mystery at Sea (Hardcover)

Although I've read almost every Mary Higgins Clark book (including her memoir), I haven't read any of Carol Higgins Clark. That's because I bought one of her books that sat on a remainder table, and the writing was so bad, I put it down and never read another.

I had just finished The Christmas Thief and thought I'd read the newest book, Santa Cruise. (I got both from the library, thankfully!) The Christmas Thief is a *bit* better than Santa Cruise, but both have unbelievable plots and cardboard characters.

Alvirah Meehan, MHC's elderly lottery winner, gets on my NERVES. I was hoping that she'd get whacked by the middle of the book. The plot was unbelievable, the gaggle of elderly people were tiresome, and there was much to be desired in terms of evoking atmosphere.

There was a time when MHC would describe a character making a salad, and I'd get hungry for one just reading about it!

I'm beginning to wonder if the weak links in the holiday novels is actually MHC's daughter, Carol. Would Carol have come this far without having a famous mother? I wonder. Regan, Nora, Luke, and Jack ("The Reillys") are the most thinly drawn of the characters, after all...

If you're a rabid fan of MHC and her daughter Carol, you may enjoy this light read. (I finished it within 24 hours). Me...I'm glad I didn't spend the $ buying the book. If you want to read a great holiday book (although it has touches of mystery, it's not a crime novel) that also has a lot of heart, try Finding Noel by Richard Paul Evans.

Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (coming Fall 2008 from Hampton Roads Publishing)

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pretty bad, December 23, 2006

By 

Silly Sister (South Carolina) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Santa Cruise: A Holiday Mystery at Sea (Hardcover)

Remember the Gong Show, where the annoying little guy with the stick would bang on the huge metal gong when an act was really bad, and the performer had to leave the stage in disgrace? There was the sound of a really loud "gong, gong, gong" from the very first page of this book.

I don't want to insult MHC - I have been reading and enjoying her books for decades - but nepotism has no place in the publishing world. I think Carol Higgins Clark looks and sounds like a very nice person, but she is no writer, and I truly think if she'd attempted to break into the fiction market anonymously, using the name C. H. Clark or whatever, she would still be collecting rejection letters on her first manuscript. I have mistakenly picked up one or two of her books thinking they were MHC novels and been extremely disappointed in myself for not being more careful.

I could compose paragraphs about the horrific misuse of words and phrases in the book, The Santa Cruise, but those points would be nit-picky. Sort of like looking at a car wreck and noticing a crooked antenna. The entire book is just one huge fiasco on every level. The only thing that could have saved it would have been to market it in the category "For ages 7-12".

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Appalling!!, January 8, 2007

By 

Steven James (Washington State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Santa Cruise: A Holiday Mystery at Sea (Hardcover)

This was, without a doubt, the worst book I've read in over a year. The plot was completely ridiculous and full of cliches. The characters were mere caricatures of real people and the outcome was just plain silly. The two authors must be getting greedy or spending beyond their means because any author worth their salt would have flushed this down the toilet before subjecting the masses to it. Thinking maybe I was delusional I gave the book to my mother, without commenting on it, she told me today that she can't remember the last time she read such a terrible book. I love Mary Higgins Clark, but "Santa Cruise" (cute title) is a real sinking ship!