Customer Reviews

Santa Cruise: A Holiday Mystery at Sea

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

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)

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".

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!

This book reeked of Carrol's horrible writing style. I think Mary said, "This is what I want to happen with my character," and left the writing up to Carrol. It was so bad, I made it to page 38 and then threw the book back on the shelf. I couldn't stand the agony anymore. Please, Mary, don't let Carrol ruin another of your books.

Yikes....this is really a stinker. The plot is unrealistic, the characters
are shallow and the writing is bad!! Other than that, it's great. They should both be ashamed to collect a paycheck on this one. P U!! Move along quickly to find another book to read.

I've been a fan of Mary Higgins Clark for decades, and there is no way she could have had anything to do with the writing of this book. Too many characters (many of whom are unlikeable), too many names to remember, phrases like, "She opened the door with infinite care," awkward transitions. Painful reading at best.

This book was filled with cliches "He thought craftily..." - Really? The plot was anemic, and the concept absurd. While reading this book, I kept thinking of it in terms of a vaudeville melodrama, with the "villian" and his moustache, the bumbling commodore, and a clever gal friday. PLEASE. We know these authors could do better. Save yourself a couple of hours and pick up a good book that won't leave you shaking your head in disbelief.

Sad to say, but the Clark duo didn't come through this time (or last, with The Christmas Thief). It seems to have been written in a hurry, with poor editing also. Two-dimensional characters, predictable and many times absurd plot and sub-plot, and silly rather than funny moments.

Mary Higgins Clark's earlier books were far better, and the earlier mother-daughter Christmas-themed books were somewhat better, too.

I was hesitant to buy this book, but because I am such a sap for anything "Christmas", I gave in and forked up the cash. I will not read anymore of the Higgins Clark Christmas fodder ever again, even for free! I too, DETEST Alvirah Meehan, but hoped that if she wasn't going to be killed off, at least the other characters (Jack, Regan, the Reileys, and the criminals) would detract from her annoying presence. They didn't. Not only were the characters underdeveloped in this story, they, along with the dialogue, plot strands, and climax were ridiculous. I've read all of Mary Higgins Clark's previous books, and I have to say that while the quality has certainly diminished throughout the years, none of them were this poorly executed, or as poorly received as "Santa Cruise", by this writer. There was no suspense, no pull at my inner detective, and frankly, beyond the ten Santas aboard the ship, no holiday magic! Note to the authors: Please respect the loyal readers who deserve quality and consistency when they are spending their hard earned money for your work!

I cannot say that I have ever been this disappointed in any book that I have ever read.

First off, you have Alvirah Meehan in the the story. She was in Mary Higgin's book "The Lottery Winner." It was fine to throw her in this novel due to the fact that the story is based on a rich man, Commodore Randolph Weed, buying a cruise ship that belonged to another rich man who vowed to never leave the ship.

The reason why Alvirah was on the ship is due to the fact that the Commodore gave away a few cruise to many other do-gooders as a Christmas present. Of course, Alvirah being the little detective that she is, picks up on the Commodore's nephew as hiding something, after he gives her a ticked off look about her taking his suite from him when the ship was overbooked. I would have given her a dirty look too, however, Alvirah automatically becomes suspicious of him. Why suspicious? Hmmm, too obvious for me here.

This book was unbelievable and it seemed that it was just written with no effort. Another reason why I am disappointed is due to the fact that Mary Higgins writes wonderful books. Why is this book so bad? I'm not sure, but don't waste your money on it. It's boring, unrealistic, and honestly, I see no reason why the felons who were stowed away on the cruise ship didn't get away. Sure, one of the felons looked like an author whose posters where everywhere on the ship, but, people actually thought they were seeing a ghost. The only other thing Alvirah had to go on was chips scattered in Eric's suite before she took it over, and yes, a deck of cards that had odd numbers on them, not seen by the bare eye unless you hold up a microscope. Huh? Who would actually think to do that to a deck of cards. Too obvious here again.

How she came to the conclusion that felons were on the ship from this little bit of information, startles me. I think there should have been better evidence leading up to it for instance, when Ivy Pickering spots "the so called writer ghost" jumping up and down in the chapel (by the way - too giving also due to the fact that he was suppose to look like the felon)why did the others not run inside the chapel to investigate? Surely, someone would have been curious and they could have caught the culprit sooner. There are just too many inconsistencies for me on this novel. I am a very disappointed fan.

It almost makes me want to take up writing novels - rewrite this book the way it should be told - and then, give a great story. But, I'm no writer, just a reader and write poetry.

I'm so happy I only paid $5 for this book while standing in line at Walgreens. The only reason why I picked it up was because of the authors. It has an inscription on the front of the book that says:
Sissy, Merry Christmas. Love Always, Your brother, Shawn. '06

Well dear Sissy, if you are reading this, I know why you got rid of this book honey. I am taking it to my local swap-a-book-store tomorrow. Maybe I can find a better cheaper book for $5.