Deck the Halls

Regan Reilly Mysteries # 4.5

by Carol Higgins Clark, Mary Higgins Clark

Mary Higgins Clark, America's Queen of Suspense, and her daughter, bestselling author Carol Higgins Clark, have joined forces for the first time to create a brilliant and exciting story of high-stakes intrigue and detection in a kidnapping played out against a holiday setting.Three days before Christmas, Regan Reilly, the dynamic young sleuth featured in the novels of Carol Higgins Clark, meets Alvirah Meehan, the famous lottery winner and amateur detective who has appeared in several previous books by Mary Higgins Clark, when they both arrive at a New Jersey dentist's office. Alvirah is to accompany her husband home after a particularly grueling session, while Regan is there in hopes of connecting with her busy father, who is scheduled for a routine visit.

Once it becomes apparent that Luke Reilly is not going to keep his appointment, Alvirah offers the deeply troubled Regan a lift home. When a call comes through on Regan's cell phone, telling her that her father and his driver, Rosita Gonzalez, are being held for $1,000,000 ransom, Alvirah insists that Regan allow her to lend a hand in trying to gain their release, for while Regan may be a licensed private detective, based in Los Angeles, Alvirah has many valuable contacts among the ranks of New York's law enforcement community.

Further complicating the situation is the fact that Regan's mother, the popular and very successful mystery writer Nora Regan Reilly, was hospitalized only the day before with a badly broken leg, and Regan must comfort her while trying to meet the harsh demands of her father's kidnappers -- and their tough deadline.

With Alvirah's help, Jack Reilly, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, is calledback from his Christmas holiday to lead the investigation, which becomes more and more tricky as the kidnappers, two men who are not just rank amateurs but also laughably inept -- and, therefore, all the more dangerous and unpredictable -- make known their demands.

Meanwhile, Luke and Rosita, held captive in a decrepit houseboat moored in the Hudson River, become increasingly concerned not only for their welfare, but for that of their loved ones as well. Luke's wife is in the hospital, and Rosita's two small boys are with a young, unreliable babysitter, while a winter storm gathers force, further endangering them and complicating events.

In "Deck the Halls," a story filled with twists and turns, intrigue and danger, as well as a hearty dose of holiday cheer, Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark have created a breathless and at the same time remarkably heartwarming story of suspense -- a Christmas classic for many holiday seasons to come.

Genres: Mystery, Christmas, Fiction, Suspense, Holiday, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

656 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2000

About the author

Carol Higgins Clark was an American mystery author. She was the daughter of author Mary Higgins Clark , with whom she co-authored novels, and the former sister-in-law of author Mary Jane Clark.

Born in New York City, Clark received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in 1978 and then studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. She was the author of the Regan Reilly mystery series. She also acted in several films.

Clark's New York apartment building, The Belaire, was hit by a small plane flown by New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle on October 11, 2006. Her 38th floor condominium was just a floor below the main impact zone. She was not injured in the accident.

She appeared on the game show, To Tell The Truth.

Carol died at the age of 66 on June 12, 2023 of appendix cancer.

Reviews

[Luffy Sempai · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a kidnapping plot situated three days near Christmas. The reason why it didn't get 4 stars is because the authors (count them), ran out of ideas sooner. But I heaved a sigh of relief when having read it, as its brevity was its saving grace.

This book, written by Mary Higgins Clark, and her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark, is a crossover of two series. In the more popular author's corner, we have Alvirah Meehan, a sexagenarian, and her husband Willy.

On Carol Higgins Clark's side, there is Regan Reilly. She is a PI and is part of the crew trying to foil the kidnapping and rescue the victims. A crossover is a tricky task to execute. I thought it was well done. I'm in two minds regarding which character was ultimately the more useless. Still this is a solid book, and introduces Jack Reilly, Regan's future hubby.

[Peiman E iran · Rating 3 out of 5]

‎دوستانِ گرانقدر، این کتاب از 190 صفحه و 11 فصل تشکیل شده است و از آن دسته از داستانهایست که زندگی های مختلف را همزمان مورد بررسی قرار داده و هرکدام را به نوعی به داستان مرتبط میسازد
‎داستان به نوعی هیجانی و جنایی است... اصلِ داستان حول محور خانواده ای میگردد که با شکستنِ پای مادر خانواده یعنی «نورا» برنامه هایی که برای کریسمس داشته اند خراب شده است و فرزند خانواده «ریگان» خود را مقصر میداند، چراکه زیر اندازی را برای مادر خریده و پاشنهٔ کفشِ «نورا» در آن گیر کرده و پایش شکسته است و سعی دارد تا با رساندنِ خود به خانواده در شب کریسمس، این موضوع را جبران کند
‎در این میان، دو آدم ربا به نام های «سی بی» که از ارث و میراث کلان چیزی نصیبش نشده است و «پیتی» نقاش ساختمانی که همیشه تنها بوده و حالت های روان پریشانه دارد.. که در داستان در موردِ آنها توضیح میدهد، پدر خانواده یعنی «لوک» و رانندهٔ لیموزینش «رزیتا» را دزدیده و طلب پول میکنند و «سی بی» اهدافی دارد که با دزدیدنِ «لوک» قصد رسیدن به آنها را دارد
‎تمامی خانواده ها و اشخاصی که در داستان از آنها یاد شده، به نوعی در شب کریسمس به یکدیگر مربوط میشوند
‎آیا هر کدام از شخصیت های داستان میتوانند شبِ کریسمس در کنار خانوادهٔ خویش باشند؟؟ از میان تمامی این شخصیت ها هر کدام برای کریسمس و تعطیلات برنامه ای دارند... کدامیک نمیتواند به هدفِ خود دست یابد؟!؟
‎عزیزانم، بهتر است خودتان این داستان را خوانده و از سرنوشتِ آن آگاه شوید
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‎امیدوارم این توضیحات، جهتِ معرفی این کتاب، کافی و مفید بوده باشه
‎«پیروز باشید و ایرانی»

[Shahram · Rating 2 out of 5]

کریسمس در خانه خواهم بود
اثر مری کلارک
ترجمه مهین قهرمان
به سختی کتاب را تمام کردم
بجز هیجان و تعلیق نسبی داستان چیز دیگری برای جذب نبود

[Melody McNamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This is my second reading of this holiday kidnapping tale. With bumbling crooks, featuring the recurring characters Alvirah and Willy Meehan along with Regan Reilly, this is a light, entertaining story taking place in the three days leading up to Christmas. No real thrills, but a quick, easy read.

[Ariannha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Muy corto, súper sencillo y con muy poca intriga y misterio y hasta cierto punto, algunas situaciones poco fiables o creíbles.

[Lynnette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. The kidnappers are reminiscent of the Home Alone bandits, adding a bit of lightheartedness to a tense situation.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick, easy and entertaining Christmas read. I was kind of drawn to the book because it started on Thursday December 22 and I started reading it on Thursday December 22. It was also by Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter. MHC is one of my favourite authors so it was like spending Christmas with an old friend. One thing that bugged me in this book, and maybe it’s the case with her other books as but I just never noticed, was all the main characters were described as attractive, handsome or good looking. In the case of Regan her attractiveness was mentioned repeatedly. Glad I was reading a book full of attractive characters. Lol

[Takoneando entre libros · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uno más de la saga y aunque no son obras maestras sí son muy entretenidos.

[Jill-Marie McGert · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun Christmas mystery 🎄

[Jo Anne Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and easy read

[Amanda Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very mediocre. Only read it because I use it as decor every year and was intrigued 🤪

[Beth Holmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the whole thing picturing it in black and white, and everyone with a transatlantic accent. I can't really express why but I enjoyed it.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice to revisit an author I read a lot of many years ago. Mary Higgins Clark has the formula worked out to a tee — and this book is full of her style of characters. Fun read.

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review updated on re-read: Dec 2025

Book on CD read by Carol Higgins Clark

This was a re-read for me; this time I listened to the audiobook.

Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark, combine their talents in a new mystery series featuring the collaboration of the two writers’ lead characters – Alvirah Mehan, former cleaning lady who won the lottery and is now an amateur sleuth, and Regan Reilly, daughter of a famous mystery writer and a licensed private investigator. Regan’s mom, mystery writer Nora Reilly, sustains a broken leg in a household accident. Her hospitalization just three days before Christmas makes news, and gives a couple of kidnappers the perfect opportunity to nab Regan’s father, Luke Reilly.

This is an interesting and fun mystery. Of course, the reader always knows who the culprit is, but it’s fun to watch the police, Regan and Alvirah arrive at the solution. They have plenty of suspects and follow several wrong leads, but I found their thought process as they examined various clues and red herrings interesting.

When I first read it I had never read anything by either of these authors before, so the characters were completely new to me. But I never felt lost and the way they come together seemed plausible. I also thought the writing was seamless; I certainly couldn’t tell if one section was written by Mary and another by Carol. All told, this is a quick, entertaining cozy with a satisfying ending.

Carol Higgins Clark does a good job of voicing the audiobook. She has a number of characters to deal with and manages to give them sufficiently unique voices that I was never confused about who was speaking.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The danger , for me, in reading the same author or same genre or series too close together is that I tend to get bored with the same characters etc. I am afraid that happened here with this book. I read The Christmas Thief just a few weeks ago and I maybe should have waited a little while longer before I read this one.
The premise is that Nora had tripped on a rug and broke her leg, landing her in the hospital. While recovering, Luke plans to attend a funeral and his driver , Rosita, picks him up the hospital. But, while she is waiting for Luke a man jumps in the car with a gun and once Luke arrives, proceeds with a bizarre kidnapping scheme.
Nora and Luke's daughter, Regan, Alvirah and Willy and Jack Reilly all work together to find Luke and Rosita, while Rosita's cop friend watches her boys.
The kidnappers are inept and silly, much the way the criminals were in " The Christmas Thief". To me they were just too similar. Alvirah's role in this one was toned down a great deal and I really missed her involvement. After getting through the first section, I found myself enjoying the book a lot more as I went along. It isn't a bad read. If you are looking for very light, non violent, cozy sort of holiday fare, then this is the book for you. Over all a C-

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was short, festive, and the criminals were so dumb. I know that last part might sound like an insult, but they were dumb in a "home alone" kind of way.

I really want to read more of the Mary Higgins Clark series this is a part of because of this. Luckily for me, those look to be mostly on Kindle Unlimited. (unrelated but my goal with keeping KU is always to read enough to cover my membership as often as I can and if possible read enough that amazon has to pay authors more than my membership cost)

Probably the best book I've picked up from a Little Free Library. Definitely will keep this on my shelves.

[Karen ⊰✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok . The kidnappers were carictatures and we knew from the beginning who kidnaps the pair and why, so there was really no suspense or thriller aspect. I'm actually not sure what the novel was trying for? Other than an opportunity for mother and daughter to write together?
I'm being generous and giving it 3 stars as it wasn't awful, it just wasn't anything really.

[Carrie Daws · Rating 2 out of 5]

In my mystery/suspense books, I like a bit of, well, mystery and suspense. Within the first few pages, readers are told both the bad guys and their reasons for committing the crime, so the only mystery was waiting for the good guys to catch up. I slogged through a significant portion of the book, but truthfully didn't care to finish it.

[Marlo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for Christmas books at the holidays. This one is of the "Home Alone-ish" category -- silly, buffoonish criminals that are good for a few snickers and eye rolls. It was an extremely quick, entertaining read.

[Lynlee4 · Rating 1 out of 5]

A kidnapping by dumb and dumber.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delectable Yuletide mystery/suspense novel from this mother/daughter writing duo! Plenty of edge-of-your-seat moments, along with a bit of holiday charm, make this great Christmas reading.

[Rita · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found the story rather dull. By cover description, I felt it would be a lot more interesting and suspenseful.

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the action in this suspenseful novel comes over four days of Christmas, 22-25 December, and it provides an ideal Christmas read for the mother and daughter duo of Mary and Carol Higgins Clark admirably capture the Christmas feel even though the taut situation that develops is far from a Christmassy one.

Regan Reilly, a private investigator, goes to the dentist to catch up with her father, Luke Reilly, who has an appointment but he is not there and he is never late. While there Regan bumps into Alvirah Meehan, a lottery winner and an amateur detective and when Regan receives a call on her cell phone telling her that her father has been kidnapped along with his driver Rosita, she teams up with Alvirah to try to discover what has happened and where her father is being held.

The kidnappers demand $1,000,000 as a ransom and Regan's mother, a detective fiction writer, who is laid up with a broken leg, insists that they arrange to get the money to meet the kidnappers' demand.

The kidnappers have an ingenious method of getting the money that, initially, nobody can work out. And with various other characters flitting in and out of the drama and looking like they could be involved in the plot, Alvirah, Regan and the police in the form of Jack Reilly (unrelated), is called in, look absolutely flummoxed. All the time investigations are ongoing, Rosita's two children are pining for their mother as Christmas Day is rapidly approaching while the injured Nora Reilly is decidedly anxious for the safe return of her husband.

The kidnappers' first attempt at getting hold of the ransom money goes terribly awry so they arrange for another drop but, interpreting some guarded words from Luke Reilly in a brief call to his daughter to say he is okay, the kidnappers are eventually apprehended and Luke and Rosita are freed and are back among their families for Christmas Day.

'Deck the Halls' is masterfully told, extremely suspenseful and holds the reader's attention throughout while maintaining a Christmas feel and giving an excellent portrayal of New York and its environs.

[Amy Moritz · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mom loved mysteries. And she loved Mary Higgins Clark. We both did. I remember reading Mary Higgins Clark myself, many moons ago.

At the library on Black Friday waiting for the local stores to open after we had already hit the mall early and had breakfast, I saw this book, along with The Christmas Thief, on the shelf. I needed something a little lighter in literary style after reading Joyce Carole Oates "Babysitter." And I miss my mom. Somehow, this felt perfect.

Thoroughly enjoyed this read. Loved the trouble that you saw coming with Alvin Luck and hoped that it wouldn't turn into to big of a subplot. But it was just the right amount, and helpful in the end, too.

[Barb Demuth Lamp · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick easy read, but if I'm going to read a mystery/suspense...I kind of would like a mystery/suspense. This story tells you who did it and why in the first chapter. You are basically waiting for the main characters to figure it out. There are no real twists. The characters are just a little too perfect. It wasn't so terrible I couldn't finish it though. It was lighthearted and predictable....kind of like watching a hallmark movie.

[Jacquelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t like the Regan Rielly series. The first book, and my first impression of Carol Higgins Clark, was not my favorite. I found that it had to many perspectives and I didn’t love how the characters were introduced.

Anyway, here’s a partial character cast:
Luke - JK Simmons
Austin Grady - Austin swift
Fred - Michael hall
CB: Stephen Tobolowsky?
Petey: Daniel Radcliffe specifically in the crazy gun meme (but without the guns and in a painting outfit)
Rosita: Gina Rodriguez

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm doing my annual Christmas story reading, and this one is a fun caper story which reminds me of Donald Westlake's stories. Regan Reilly's father and his chauffer are kidnaped and she assembles an interesting team to find them. The kidnappers are bumblers but dangerous in their bumbling, so although it is funny, there is also some suspense.

[Phylis Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that when you pick it up it is so hard to put down. I started reading it yesterday and finished it today. Very fast paced, I think you will enjoy it also.

Rosita drives a limo for her boss Luke Reilly who owns several funeral homes. Luke recently took an elderly gentleman to a luncheon he was invited too and the guy was so impressed with the group that when he passed away he left them a million dollars.

A relative was not happy about it and this book tells what happened.

A great fast paced read I think you will enjoy.

[Libby · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is nothing wrong with the story, it seems like there was a few characters that didn’t need to be in the book at all. There was also no mystery to it. You knew everything that was happening and you knew how it was going to end.

[Christine Douesnel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un roman qui tient en haleine, avec les personnages fétiches de Mary Higgins Clark, toujours aussi attachants . L’intrigue se déroule quelques jours avant Noël, donnant au lecteur un cadre bien agréable et une limite dans laquelle les enquêteurs doivent résoudre l’énigme et retrouver les deux personnes kidnappées.