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PI Regan Reilly moved from Los Angeles to New York City when she married Jack “no relation” Reilly, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad. To help a friend, Regan takes on a case that takes her back to her old stomping grounds. . . .
On a snowy day in New York City, PI Regan Reilly gets an urgent call from her former neighbor, Abigail Feeney. A Hollywood hairdresser, Abigail believes her life has been cursed since the day she was born— Friday the 13th.
Always unlucky in love, Abigail now needs Regan’s help in tracking down an ex-boyfriend who was just spotted in downtown Los Angeles—a “nogood bum” who borrowed $100,000 from her three months ago, then promptly disappeared. Abigail desperately needs to get that money back, money given to her by her grandmother who is heading to L.A. Grandma Feeney, no shrinking violet, has plans to buy an old friend’s condo for Abigail and will need that hard-earned money to make the deal.
With hubby Jack away, the weather in New York miserable, and the guiltprovoking memory that Abigail had brought her chicken soup when she was sick, Regan agrees to hop a plane. Before long, the hunt for Abigail’s ex takes some dangerous turns. . . . But when Abigail becomes a suspect in a murder investigation, Regan begins to wonder if the curse is real—and possibly contagious!
On a snowy day in New York City, PI Regan Reilly gets an urgent call from her former neighbor, Abigail Feeney. A Hollywood hairdresser, Abigail believes her life has been cursed since the day she was born— Friday the 13th.
Always unlucky in love, Abigail now needs Regan’s help in tracking down an ex-boyfriend who was just spotted in downtown Los Angeles—a “nogood bum” who borrowed $100,000 from her three months ago, then promptly disappeared. Abigail desperately needs to get that money back, money given to her by her grandmother who is heading to L.A. Grandma Feeney, no shrinking violet, has plans to buy an old friend’s condo for Abigail and will need that hard-earned money to make the deal.
With hubby Jack away, the weather in New York miserable, and the guiltprovoking memory that Abigail had brought her chicken soup when she was sick, Regan agrees to hop a plane. Before long, the hunt for Abigail’s ex takes some dangerous turns. . . . But when Abigail becomes a suspect in a murder investigation, Regan begins to wonder if the curse is real—and possibly contagious!
305 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 7, 2009
133 people are currently reading
1328 people want to read
About the author
Carol Higgins Clark
68 books835 followersCarol 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 229 reviews
August 29, 2019
The Goodreads crowd agrees with me that this book is among the best in the series. It's all about a young woman who thinks she's cursed. She was born on a Friday the 13th. And recently her arm broke in two during work. Her bosses don't want to compensate for her injury.
This was short in terms of page, but not small in terms of ambition. I loved losing myself in this tale where many people are neither knights nor dames in distress. Regan Reilly is the person who does little things that have effect muy pronto.
I've always believed that Carol Higgins Clark has oodles of talent. Her voice in the written word is unique and totally independent of her more successful mother's. I've spoken my peace. I have high hope for the upcoming book.
This was short in terms of page, but not small in terms of ambition. I loved losing myself in this tale where many people are neither knights nor dames in distress. Regan Reilly is the person who does little things that have effect muy pronto.
I've always believed that Carol Higgins Clark has oodles of talent. Her voice in the written word is unique and totally independent of her more successful mother's. I've spoken my peace. I have high hope for the upcoming book.
June 18, 2010
The first Regan Reilly mystery I read and I was pretty ho-hum about the story. Interesting how all the seemingly non-connected people in the story all seemed to entertwine in some way. I called the ending at about the middle of the book which always ruins the fun of a mystery. Also, I wasn't happy (I guess I should have been) about the tidy wrap up with the individual who stole his girlfriend's money.
Ho-hum.
Ho-hum.
February 22, 2021
In this book from 2009, private investigator Regan Reilly is in her new home of New York City cleaning out items from her parents garage. Her former neighbor in Hollywood Hills calls her for help. The no-good boyfriend has disappeared with $100,000 of her money. Regan's husband is out of town, it's really cold in New York, and she owes her neighbor a favor, so she hops on a plane to track down the money.
This story is what I would call very light reading, much lighter then what I normally read. I would call it a cozy without the food. The best part is the quirky characters. Not much of a mystery but it was a cute story with some laughable moments.
This story is what I would call very light reading, much lighter then what I normally read. I would call it a cozy without the food. The best part is the quirky characters. Not much of a mystery but it was a cute story with some laughable moments.
June 17, 2009
My mom loves mystery books, and she's gotten me into some of her favorite authors. Here, we had a new Carol Higgins Clark book lying around and I thought I'd pick it up and have a nice read. I had read her Christmas novel with Mary Higgins Clark, so I wanted to give her solo stuff a go.
Abigail feels she's cursed - born on a Friday the 13th, she's had a string of bad luck from her birth, and now she's gone and lent $100,000 dollars to her boyfriend who ran off with it to make a movie. She calls up her friend Regan Reilly, Clark's recurring privite investigator, to find the scumbag who took it before Abigail's grandmother shows up to use the money to buy her granddaughter a new house in California. Reilly's got to track down the guy, plus maneuver around a recent murder in the area who Abigail had been an aquaintance of.
The storyline sounds complex written out in summary like that, but it's really not. In fact, the book's plot seems a little thin as a mystery novel because Reilly is not on a giant, earth-shattering case. She's only trying to find some missing money, forcing Clark to bring in extra characters to lengthen the drama unfolding. The side story about a death in California really shouldn't be too big of a deal; it's only there to halt the progress of Reilly and Abigail in finding the money and to create some much-needed action to the story.
The pacing is fairly even though, even if not much actually happens between Reilly and her investigation. Instead of seeming like a prestigious private eye, Reilly actually resembles Encyclopedia Brown trying to track down a missing wallet, mainly because her skills aren't put to good use in Cursed. She barely tracks down the money, owing most of the work to the police force rather than her own detective work.
It's not that big of a deal, though, that the story is rather shallow. Clark uses short chapters to her advantage, which allow her to explore other characters at each break. On the other hand, some characters seem unimportant to the novel and their narratives are more filler to add complexity to the plot. One may think that Cursed could have succeeded better as a Regan Reilly short story instead of a novel.
But I'm focusing too much on my dislike of the plot. Cursed is well-written, engaging, and fast-paced because of the short chapters and likable characters. However, the characters seem a bit too likable and perfect. Reilly has a magnificent life, it seems, with a wonderful husband. The latter she talks about like he's some sort of superhero hubby, because she comes off as a bit too enthralled with him. Even the characters with flaws seem like they are perfectly flawed. For a mystery, everyone is a bit overly nice, and it may be a positive outlook on the population but it sure as hell ain't a realistic one.
I'm not writing the book off, though - it's an entertaining read, and I can't think of anyone who wouldn't like it, unless one is sick of bestseller-list mysteries. Take it for what it is, and you can't go wrong with the book in one hand, an iced tea in the other, and the sun slowly frying your skin like a chicken breast.
Abigail feels she's cursed - born on a Friday the 13th, she's had a string of bad luck from her birth, and now she's gone and lent $100,000 dollars to her boyfriend who ran off with it to make a movie. She calls up her friend Regan Reilly, Clark's recurring privite investigator, to find the scumbag who took it before Abigail's grandmother shows up to use the money to buy her granddaughter a new house in California. Reilly's got to track down the guy, plus maneuver around a recent murder in the area who Abigail had been an aquaintance of.
The storyline sounds complex written out in summary like that, but it's really not. In fact, the book's plot seems a little thin as a mystery novel because Reilly is not on a giant, earth-shattering case. She's only trying to find some missing money, forcing Clark to bring in extra characters to lengthen the drama unfolding. The side story about a death in California really shouldn't be too big of a deal; it's only there to halt the progress of Reilly and Abigail in finding the money and to create some much-needed action to the story.
The pacing is fairly even though, even if not much actually happens between Reilly and her investigation. Instead of seeming like a prestigious private eye, Reilly actually resembles Encyclopedia Brown trying to track down a missing wallet, mainly because her skills aren't put to good use in Cursed. She barely tracks down the money, owing most of the work to the police force rather than her own detective work.
It's not that big of a deal, though, that the story is rather shallow. Clark uses short chapters to her advantage, which allow her to explore other characters at each break. On the other hand, some characters seem unimportant to the novel and their narratives are more filler to add complexity to the plot. One may think that Cursed could have succeeded better as a Regan Reilly short story instead of a novel.
But I'm focusing too much on my dislike of the plot. Cursed is well-written, engaging, and fast-paced because of the short chapters and likable characters. However, the characters seem a bit too likable and perfect. Reilly has a magnificent life, it seems, with a wonderful husband. The latter she talks about like he's some sort of superhero hubby, because she comes off as a bit too enthralled with him. Even the characters with flaws seem like they are perfectly flawed. For a mystery, everyone is a bit overly nice, and it may be a positive outlook on the population but it sure as hell ain't a realistic one.
I'm not writing the book off, though - it's an entertaining read, and I can't think of anyone who wouldn't like it, unless one is sick of bestseller-list mysteries. Take it for what it is, and you can't go wrong with the book in one hand, an iced tea in the other, and the sun slowly frying your skin like a chicken breast.
October 1, 2025
Back to L.A. we go. Now that Regan is married and living in New York, this was a quick trip back to her old stomping grounds to help a friend. It was a non-stop rollercoaster!
August 21, 2022
Looking for a fun, fast paced and satisfying mystery? You can't go wrong with a book by Carol Higgins Clark. Yes, she is the daughter of Mary Higgins Clark. Cursed is a book in her delightful Regan Reilly series. Regan , newly married to Detective Jack Reilly, no relation, and a private investigator, flies to LA to help a friend find her former boyfriend , who appears to have duped her out of a $100,000 loan. It's a fun book with a cast of interesting and unique characters and a well developed storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and look forward to future books.
November 30, 2009
I received a complimentary copy of this book through the First Reads giveaway, and from the time I was notified that I was chosen to get a free copy, I've been encouraged to review the book, both by Goodreads and by the publisher. As a result, I'm feeling somewhat ungrateful for being given the book and opportunity to review it, and not liking it. It's like many years ago having to call my Aunt Esther and thanking her for the argyle sweater she sent me for my birthday. Only I'm much too honest now to say that I liked the book. I could say that the genre isn't the sort of book that I read, but that would still be a bit of a cop out.
The plot is kind of half-baked and the detective solves the mystery almost by coincidence. The mystery itself is not much of a crime, a man borrows money from his girlfriend and promises to pay it back. He disappears. In the end, he's found, confronted and again promises to pay the money back, only this time he really means it. There's a murder tossed in, but as a subplot. All of the characters are interconnected, again almost by coincidence. I was glad the mysteries were solved, but felt no empathy, very little sympathy for that matter, for the victim.
The plot is kind of half-baked and the detective solves the mystery almost by coincidence. The mystery itself is not much of a crime, a man borrows money from his girlfriend and promises to pay it back. He disappears. In the end, he's found, confronted and again promises to pay the money back, only this time he really means it. There's a murder tossed in, but as a subplot. All of the characters are interconnected, again almost by coincidence. I was glad the mysteries were solved, but felt no empathy, very little sympathy for that matter, for the victim.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2014
Abigail Feeney loans her boyfriend $100,000 dollars on an IOU, and her boyfriend (Cody) runs off with her money. Abigail enlists her previous neighbor and private investigator friend to help her locate her run away boyfriend so she can get her money back before her grandmother finds out about it. Her grandmother had loaned her the money in the first place, and now needs it to purchase a new home for Abigail. Cody took off with the money with the idea that it would help get the script that he and a buddy wrote into production. Regan tries to find Cody so the money can be returned.
Ok well that’s what the story line is about. I just didn’t like the book. I almost gave it one star. The characters are shallow, everything is solved easily, plot is not well developed, and the solving of the problems seem to only be a coincidence. I really couldn’t find anything that the lead female character, Regan, did to solve the mystery.
Ok well that’s what the story line is about. I just didn’t like the book. I almost gave it one star. The characters are shallow, everything is solved easily, plot is not well developed, and the solving of the problems seem to only be a coincidence. I really couldn’t find anything that the lead female character, Regan, did to solve the mystery.
February 24, 2018
Finished in barely 12 hours. I love the Regan Reilly series; they’re brain candy but they’re always such a knotted confusing puzzle until the last few chapters. It’s enjoyable for me to see the five or six different plot arcs all twist together cleanly for a satisfying conclusion.
Would recommend for people who enjoy whodunnits that aren’t guaranteed to be murder mysteries and definitely aren’t psychological thrillers. I’d also recommend for those who enjoy personable characters. 4/5 stars overall for the series.
Would recommend for people who enjoy whodunnits that aren’t guaranteed to be murder mysteries and definitely aren’t psychological thrillers. I’d also recommend for those who enjoy personable characters. 4/5 stars overall for the series.
February 2, 2020
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 5 Stars!!
Review:
This was my first time reading a book by Carol and i really enjoyed it!!
The Suspense, Drama, Mystery and Thriller Vibes that this book gave off was what kept me intreged the whole time!!
It was funny at times too even tho one of the characters bugged me at times!!
I will defiantely read more books by her in the future!!
Rating: 5 Stars!!
Review:
This was my first time reading a book by Carol and i really enjoyed it!!
The Suspense, Drama, Mystery and Thriller Vibes that this book gave off was what kept me intreged the whole time!!
It was funny at times too even tho one of the characters bugged me at times!!
I will defiantely read more books by her in the future!!
October 16, 2011
I loved this book. Regan seems to always find an adventure. I loved the ending to the book. Fast paced reading that is a mystery but also funny.
Read
February 12, 2020Was an enjoyable read
May 4, 2022
Beaucoup d'erreur dans le livre.
Mais belle histoire qui se tiens et qui te reste intriguée jusqu'à la fin. Un peu d'humeur.
Mais belle histoire qui se tiens et qui te reste intriguée jusqu'à la fin. Un peu d'humeur.
November 2, 2025
I thought I was getting a book from the famous mystery writer, but it turns out this was the daughter. The book was fine. It would probably have been better if I had started with the first book in the series rather than #12, but I get what I can find in my library. I like to have a mystery to read at hand, as a nice escape that doesn't immediately put me to sleep. I didn't suspect the murderer, so that was good. It was a surprise. But the main character was a bit one dimensional. Cool, competent PI.
December 26, 2019
This is a Regan Reilly mystery. I believe I have mentioned in the past that these are quick fun reads’ and, sometimes you just need a no-brainer to get through the day.
Regan Reilly has moved to New York with her husband Jack and closer to her parents. Now, she is alone in New York City, her parents on a winter hiatus and her husband in Miami at a conference for detectives and Regan is begrudgingly beginning her task to clear out her old room in her parents home when she receives an urgent call from her former LA neighbor, Abigail Feeney.
Abigail has been unlucky all of her life, she claims she was cursed by being born on Friday the 13th. Now, her grandmother is coming to buy her an apartment, but the $100,000 that her grandmother had sent earlier is now gone and Abigail needs to get it back. She needs Ragen’s help tracking down her former boyfriend and collecting on the IOU he had given her at the time. The IOU comes due on Abigail’s birthday, the same day her grandmother is coing to town.
As things spiral out of control during their search for the elusive ex; Regan begins to wonder if her friend really is cursed.
Regan Reilly has moved to New York with her husband Jack and closer to her parents. Now, she is alone in New York City, her parents on a winter hiatus and her husband in Miami at a conference for detectives and Regan is begrudgingly beginning her task to clear out her old room in her parents home when she receives an urgent call from her former LA neighbor, Abigail Feeney.
Abigail has been unlucky all of her life, she claims she was cursed by being born on Friday the 13th. Now, her grandmother is coming to buy her an apartment, but the $100,000 that her grandmother had sent earlier is now gone and Abigail needs to get it back. She needs Ragen’s help tracking down her former boyfriend and collecting on the IOU he had given her at the time. The IOU comes due on Abigail’s birthday, the same day her grandmother is coing to town.
As things spiral out of control during their search for the elusive ex; Regan begins to wonder if her friend really is cursed.
February 21, 2018
This book was a great book and I would recommend this book to people who like cliff hangers and unlucky events that get solved. This is a crime book and I do like books like this so anyone who likes crime books would like this book. I gave this book five stars because it was easy to read and follow along with, also it left you on a couple of cliff hangers and mysteries that made you think about the characters and if they may have done the things in the book. The last paragraph of the book really left you on a cliff hanger and made you think about what may have happened after that chapter needed. This book made me think a lot about the world that the characters are in. I would definite recommend this book to anyone who likes crime, mystery, and cliff hangers.
August 23, 2019
From The Regan Reilly Series. Private Investigator Regan Reilly flies from New York to her hometown of Los Angeles to help Abigail Feeney. The Abigail Feeney character feels that her entire life is a cursed one. Abigail Feeney' ex boyfriend Cody Castle borrows lots of money from her and ensures her that he would pay her back. The reason for Abigail getting in touch with Private Investigator Regan Reilly is to see if Cody can be tracked down and also if Abigail can get the money back. There a lots of twists, turns, cliffhangers and mysteries in this here book. All in all, this was a great book written by Carol Higgins Clark. If you love mystery and suspense, then you will love reading this book.
February 22, 2018
The book cursed is about a girl named Regan who moves to New York from Los Angeles , and her friend Abigail thinks she cursed because a lot of unexplainable things happen to her and she was born on Friday the thirteenth and her full name has 13 letters. I especially love this book because I love the mystery, and the suspense. While reading i always had the thought of "what is going to happen next?" , and i never wanted to put the book down. I recommend this book, if you like mystery stories, I don't recommend it if you don't like suspenseful books.
August 30, 2019
Meh. I listened to this book, that was read by the author. I don't know if that's what didn't work for me. It seemed maybe like a regional published book, not quite to the level of the national published book. It was sword of interesting, but just a little too oddball and almost keystone copish. this girl's dating a guy and loans him $150,000 on an IOU? maybe this was written in a different time., But that screams losing money to me.
April 21, 2021
Very fast read. Kept me interested. I had never read this author before, so was glad to find a new one I like, though this book was older. The only thing that kind of annoyed me was that any time Abigail and Regan spoke to each other, they addressed the other person by their name multiple times within the same conversation. It just seemed unnatural. Once I noticed it, I couldn't stop seeing it in every conversation!
November 23, 2021
True to expectations. I thoroughly enjoy the quirky characters and the somewhat complicated interconnections between characters. I listened to this one and did not have any trouble following all the many characters and how they turned out to cross paths. I love a Regan Reilly mystery for good, clean, campy fun.
March 15, 2021
What I truly love about both Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark is they are not only great mystery writers, they provide stories that are written with a purity in their language. If you’re looking for mystery novels that are written with a higher standard in their word choice, I highly recommend both of these writers.
May 14, 2019
I think of the Regan Reilly Mystery books as quick and easy reads. I've enjoyed most of them in the form of audiobooks. Fast paced and exciting. Very convenient that these novels can be read out of order!
November 13, 2019
I may be bit biased as I'm a Regan Reilly fan (main character in this series of books) so I was ready for the adventure of Regan returning to CA to help a friend locate her ex, who owed her money. Loved how the plot twisted, turned, and worked itself into an exciting ending!
January 6, 2021
Abigail's friend Lois is jealous of her. She kills an elderly gentleman (Nick Tendril) whose hair Abigail cuts. This creates issues for a cursed Abigail whose boyfriend absconded with 100 thousand dollars. Regan has been called into neatly wrap up the cases into a tidy bundle.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2021
What a fun mystery with quirky characters, many coincidences and some good laughs. Not sure if this is what the author intended but it was exactly what I needed at this time. I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them also.
Read
August 15, 2021This is a great series. I love how the story goes on, you are really getting involved and then the whole "whodunit" is revealed. There is no time to try and figure it out yourself. Fast paced read!!
August 28, 2021
Regan flies back to LA to help her friend Abigal find her cheating ex boyfriend and get him to repay his IOU. Lots of threads to weave all the characters into this story but Carol manages to wrap up everyone by the end for a happy ending
June 4, 2017
Always fun easy read books with funny characters.
September 25, 2017
A very quick and easy 1-day read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 229 reviews