Product Description

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

• Amazon Sales Rank: #181544 in Books
• Published on: 1995-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This collection of six mystery stories featuring Alvirah Meehan and her husband, Willy, spent 12 weeks on PW's bestseller list.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Clark's books are always megahits, and her fans love the nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat suspense that is her trademark. So it's a little surprising that this collection of six interrelated stories featuring Willy and Alvirah Meehan lacks Clark's usual energy and pizzazz. The Meehans, who first appeared in Clark's Weep No More, My Lady, have struck it rich in the lottery. No longer do they slave away at housecleaning (Alvirah) and plumbing (Willy). Their days are spent pursuing the hedonistic pleasures of the idle rich, although, to their credit, Alvirah and Willy haven't lost touch with their roots. Alvirah seems to have a "talent" for murder, both for being in the general vicinity when one occurs and for uncloaking the villain before anyone else. For readers who enjoy the nouveau riche approach to crime solving ({ }a la Jonathan and Jennifer Hart or Nick and Nora Charles), these stories may prove mildly entertaining, but because they're so short, there's little opportunity for any real development of motive, plot, or character. And while the Meehans are basically nice, easy-to-like folks, the stories about their escapades are flat, facile, and distinctly lacking in suspense. Still, the Clark name ensures demand, and with a 500,000-copy first printing, you can be sure Simon & Schuster plans a full-throttle promotional effort. Buy accordingly. Emily Melton

From Kirkus Reviews
Six clean-cut criminal adventures for Alvirah Meehan, the $40- million-lottery-winning cleaning lady from Weep No More, My Lady, and her husband, Willy, who no longer sends bills for his plumbing jobs. Their homecoming to New York City in the first story is eventful, since Willy's playwright nephew is arrested for killing an importunate actress in their own Central Park South apartment, with Alvirah discovering both ``The Body in the Closet'' and the telltale clue. ``Death on the Cape'' asks why, and on whose behalf, the witness who sent Cynthia Rogers to prison for murder 12 years ago perjured himself. In the most inventive tale, ``A Clean Sweep,'' Alvirah takes up arms for a recent divorc‚e who claims her ex-husband dumped her so that he could redeem the joint lottery ticket he ``lost'' with his new wife. The title story shows a diamond thief returning to Alvirah's beloved Cypress Point Spa in Pebble Beach, Calif., to kill the man who hired him to perform a fraudulent robbery. Clark's heart isn't really in the details of plotting whodunits like this, but the remaining two stories of kidnapping (a neighbor's baby is snatched in ``Bye, Baby Bunting,'' Willy himself in ``Plumbing for Willy''), which ought to be closer to her home turf, are even thinner. After all, what chance do kidnappers stand when Willy's already fixed their plumbing, and Sister Cordelia and Sister Maeve Marie--who also happen to be his biological sisters--are patrolling the streets inches away from their lair, a Hell's Kitchen flophouse where Alvirah can hire on as a room-service waitress? What lingers in the memory are Clark's paeans to the kind of high-end bourgeois consumerism satirized by Bret Easton Ellis: not just brand-name products and generic crime-fighting gadgets, but the wholesome attitudes her relentlessly upbeat couple has been packaged to sell. (First printing of 500,000; Literary Guild main selection) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

A good, light read.
"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.

The Lottery Winner by Mary Higgins Clark
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.

4 Millions dollars!
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.