Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #397939 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

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.

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

About the Author
Mary Higgins Clark's books are world-wide bestsellers. In the U.S. alone, her books have sold over 85 million copies.

She is the author of twenty-seven previous suspense novels. Her first book, a biographical novel about George Washington, was re-issued with the title, Mount Vernon Love Story, in June 2002. Her memoir, Kitchen Privileges, was published by Simon & Schuster in November 2002. Her first children's book, Ghost Ship, illustrated by Wendell Minor, was published in April 2007 as a Paula Wiseman Book/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

She is co-author, with her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, of four holiday suspense novels Deck the Halls (2000), He Sees You When You're Sleeping (2001), The Christmas Thief (2004) and Santa Cruise (2006).

Mary Higgins Clark was chosen by Mystery Writers of America as Grand Master of the 2000 Edgar Awards. An annual Mary Higgins Clark Award sponsored by Simon & Schuster, to be given to authors of suspense fiction writing in the Mary Higgins Clark tradition, was launched by Mystery Writers of America during Edgars week in April 2001. She was the 1987 president of Mystery Writers of America and, for many years, served on their Board of Directors. In May 1988, she was Chairman of the International Crime Congress.

Carol Higgins Clark is the author of nine previous bestselling Regan Reilly mysteries. She is coauthor, along with her mother, Mary Higgins Clark, of a bestselling holiday mystery series. Also an actress, Carol Higgins Clark studied at the Beverly Hills Playhouse and has recorded several of her mother's works as well as her own novels. She received AudioFile's Earphones Award of Excellence for her reading of Jinxed. She lives in New York City.

Her website is www.carolhigginsclark.com.

Customer Reviews

Is Carol the Weak Link? (2.5 Stars)
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)

Pretty bad
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".

Skip this book!
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.