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It's a hot, humid July night in New York City. Where were you when the lights went out?As Zapped begins, the Reillys return home from a summer weekend to the loft in Tribeca they are in the agonizing process of renovating and expanding. They are looking forward to a quiet supper on their newly acquired rooftop terrace. But it's not meant to be. While Jack goes to pick up Chinese food, Regan enters their apartment, unaware that a nervous thief, who preceded her by minutes, is hiding in the front closet. A thief who knows about a hidden safe that Regan and Jack have yet to discover. Minutes later, the blackout strikes, and both Reillys are called into action. A new gallery in SoHo, featuring treasured glass sculptures from all over the world, has been burglarized. As head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, Jack oversees several departments. Art theft is one of them. PI Regan hears from her best friend, Kit, who is in Manhattan on business. She's been abandoned at a comedy club by a colleague from an insurance convention, Georgina Mathieson, who ran out for a cigarette moments before the blackout struck and never came back. Kit gets a call that Georgina is disturbed and dangerous. Fueled by her rage at a college boyfriend who dumped her, Georgina seeks revenge on unsuspecting young blond men. She was last seen getting into a cab outside the club—with a tall blond. Regan heads the search for Georgina and her potential victim. Meanwhile, Lorraine Lily, an almost famous actress, returns to New York City the night of the blackout, after spending three months in England doing a play, and is informed by her estranged husband, Conrad Spreckles, that he'd sold his loft to their next-door neighbors, the Reillys. Lorraine had never told him about the hidden safe she'd had installed in the closet. If she doesn't get back what's in there, she's sure her budding career will be ruined. In Zapped, Clark takes readers on a tour of the city they won't forget and introduces them to a wonderful cast of colorful, eccentric characters whose stories intersect in precarious and often humorous ways during one very dark and hot summer night.
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 8, 2008
155 people are currently reading
1317 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 301 reviews
August 23, 2019
I enjoyed 'Zapped' in my own way. I was glad that there were not too many characters to keep track of. I only thought that the stakes weren't high enough. But what Carol Higgins Clark does is not simple.
She is the author whose work gives me the most pause, because I know it took a lot of her to create stories like these, with thankless fans like me. Her work is amazing.
However, the reader with moderate to average intelligence will have to discount the difficulty in the making of a book. Only the enjoyment of said novel counts. Here the promising characters were not developed fully.
But I will be a fan of the author. Her main characters, Jack and Regan Reilly are simply adorable. I wish I could attempt to do them justice in a fan fiction effort. One can dream.
She is the author whose work gives me the most pause, because I know it took a lot of her to create stories like these, with thankless fans like me. Her work is amazing.
However, the reader with moderate to average intelligence will have to discount the difficulty in the making of a book. Only the enjoyment of said novel counts. Here the promising characters were not developed fully.
But I will be a fan of the author. Her main characters, Jack and Regan Reilly are simply adorable. I wish I could attempt to do them justice in a fan fiction effort. One can dream.
October 18, 2011
A fluffy novel, big on coincidence, and built on unreasonable overreactions. For example, why didn't Lorraine Lily just phone the Reillys, explain the situation, and ask to retrieve her items from the hidden safe rather than attempt breaking into their apartment. The items and cash in the safe were legitimately hers, and the Reillys seemed like reasonable people.
Similarly, the bungled attempt at breaking into the hidden safe by Arthur (via Wally) could have been done easily during working hours whilst Wally was working legitimately at the apartment. The rushed attempt based on some hearsay that Lorraine Lily had returned from England seemed a major overreaction. Even linking Lorraine Lily to the hidden safe in the first place was a quantum leap that seemed completely out of character for this otherwise obtuse pair.
As for the formation of a civilian lynch mob based around a Manhattan bar, roaming aimlessly through one of the world's biggest cities searching for Chip Jones (including P.Conrad Spreckles and his daughter in their Rolls Royce), the less said the better.
In essence, I felt the plot was rather weak and banal, with the threads being tied together by people serendipitously running into each other on a hot New York evening during a power blackout. My first Regan Reilly mystery and most likely my last. A light and quick read without any substance.
Similarly, the bungled attempt at breaking into the hidden safe by Arthur (via Wally) could have been done easily during working hours whilst Wally was working legitimately at the apartment. The rushed attempt based on some hearsay that Lorraine Lily had returned from England seemed a major overreaction. Even linking Lorraine Lily to the hidden safe in the first place was a quantum leap that seemed completely out of character for this otherwise obtuse pair.
As for the formation of a civilian lynch mob based around a Manhattan bar, roaming aimlessly through one of the world's biggest cities searching for Chip Jones (including P.Conrad Spreckles and his daughter in their Rolls Royce), the less said the better.
In essence, I felt the plot was rather weak and banal, with the threads being tied together by people serendipitously running into each other on a hot New York evening during a power blackout. My first Regan Reilly mystery and most likely my last. A light and quick read without any substance.
June 11, 2009
Hated it. This lady is a terrible author and I think the only reason she gets published is because her mother is famous. The only reason I read this is because my mom had it on her shelf. What a waste!
May 25, 2014
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
October 31, 2022
A quick read, but a fun one, and clean-cut, too. Reminds me of the old-school TV mystery series.
October 17, 2013
This is a harmless little story – weak mystery with way too many coincidences. All the characters know each other and run into each other during the NYC blackout of 2003. It turns out that this is the 11th in a series by Carol Higgins Clark featuring the detective Regan Reilly. This might be a book you would recommend to someone that wants to read while laying on the beach in the summer.
March 5, 2009
This was one of the most pointless books I have ever read. I was wondering if she needed to put a book out, and just "threw" together whatever.
October 10, 2019
Too many characters that found out they knew each other. Very predictable ending.
January 5, 2021
Shoot me in the head NOW. First and LAST of these books. UUGH.
January 12, 2009
I had two major problems with this: many of the characters whipped themselves into more of frenzy than circumstances seemed to call for, and the coincidences were just piled too high. One character decides to hire a friend to break into her old apartment to retrieve some letters; seems to me she could have just asked the neigbors who bought the place if she could go in and get them. The guy who breaks into the apartment (not the same guy the character in the last sentence hired, but a different guy hired by a different character) stumbles across the stolen property in the case being investigated by the husband and comes up with a key piece of information for the situation the wife is investigating--both in the middle of a blackout in NYC. Color me skeptical. Pretty much every character in the book ends up in the same place not once but twice--again in NYC. Color me really skeptical. It did make me appreciate the value of a good audio book reader; too bad the author is not one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2019
Ridiculous is the word that kept coming into my mind throughout this book. Too many coincidences and seriously exaggerated situations that just made the characters look like foolish idiots.
The story and the way it was told gave me the impression of being written for the "tween" or MAYBE young adult age groups. Although I've read far better books written towards those age groups.
I've followed and read this author/series for several years now so my only conclusion can be that my tastes have SERIOUSLY matured. I think I've done Reader's Advisory for so long now and read so many beautiful, fun, well-written books that this kind of writing no longer holds my interest.
The story and the way it was told gave me the impression of being written for the "tween" or MAYBE young adult age groups. Although I've read far better books written towards those age groups.
I've followed and read this author/series for several years now so my only conclusion can be that my tastes have SERIOUSLY matured. I think I've done Reader's Advisory for so long now and read so many beautiful, fun, well-written books that this kind of writing no longer holds my interest.
April 2, 2021
This book was a nice, quick, and enjoyable read. Lots of twists and all the characters somehow are known or intertwined somehow with one another. I wouldn't go out of my way to read another in this series, and not because it was bad, just because it didn't strain my grey cells trying to solve it, nor have me holding my breath wondering what would happen next.
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September 14, 2008Terrible, don't start it
March 24, 2023
Read this for a book group
January 5, 2014
I was turned off pretty early by the plot. Lorraine came back from England and was notified by her husband that he had sold their apartment to their neighbors (by coincidence, the Reillys) and he was getting a divorce. Lorraine had some letters that she didn't want to be made public, in a safe in that apartment, so she immediately started dreaming up an idea for breaking and entering, etc. etc. etc. to get the letters .... corny. She could have just told the Reillys about the safe and they would have given her her possessions. ?? The rest of the book was spent with people running around trying to catch an unbalanced girl who doped and branded her blonde male friends ... also not very plausible.
September 25, 2014
Another installment of the Regan Reilly series. I do not think this one was as good as the others. This one was pretty bland and the scenarios just seemed rather contrived. She was never hired, just happened to stumble onto a situation and set out to solve the problem. The other story line was pretty bad. An actress who is getting divorced finds out her husband has sold the apartment where she has hidden some pretty controversial letters in a safe. If they get mailed, it could ruin her career. She tries to break into the apartment with a friend to get them back. A rather lame storyline. Hope her next one is better or I will not be reading anymore.
July 28, 2011
she is defintly nothing like her mother as a writer. this book was so predictable and overly coincidental that it was unbelievable. she even put in some coincidences that really did not need to be in there and the book would have been fine if not better without having them. it's fine to have 1 or two coincidences in a book and even a couple of random things were you go - oh that is cool how that worked out but to have a whole book and story line based on that was just ridiculous,
August 28, 2015
Zapped: A Regan Reilly Mystery by Carol Higgins Clark
I don’t expect a whole lot from a mystery, but this one really disappointed me. The plot was choppy, the characters were shallow and the dialogue was often wooden. The 2003 New York City Blackout provides the setting for Zapped. I had hoped to get insight into what happened and how people reacted. I learned it was dark and hot and people partied all night long.
I don’t expect a whole lot from a mystery, but this one really disappointed me. The plot was choppy, the characters were shallow and the dialogue was often wooden. The 2003 New York City Blackout provides the setting for Zapped. I had hoped to get insight into what happened and how people reacted. I learned it was dark and hot and people partied all night long.
July 19, 2017
With multiple stories, it really keeps you busy trying to remember all the characters and story lines.
April 5, 2020
Jack and Regan Reilly return home to their Tribecca apartment after a weekend away. It’s a hot, sultry evening, Jack drops Regan and heads out to pick up some takeout; but the city plunges into a blackout.
Regan gets locked on the roof by a would be burglar and Jack is called to the scene of a robbery. Once Jack rescues Regan, her telephone rings; it’s her best friend Kit who was abandoned at a comedy club by a colleague from the insurance conventions. Regan tells Jack she is going to pick up Kit, she will ot be alone, he can return to work.
By the time Regan reaches Kit, Kit has learned that Georgina, her convention partner is wanted by police for shoplifting. She also learns that she has a darkly, disturbing and dangerous personality. She is known to seduce, drug and brand young blonde men. She was last seen getting into a cab with a young blonde male; now it’s a race to find the couple before she can brand another man.
In the meantime, Lorraine Lily has returned to New York City after a three month absence to learn that her husband has filed for divorced and sold the loft where she has stashed some damaging and potential career ending letters in a safe that no one knows exists. Now, she must break into Jack and Regan’s apartment(s) to retrieve the letters before anyone else finds them.
Adter rereading these books, I believe that this is the best book in the series!
Regan gets locked on the roof by a would be burglar and Jack is called to the scene of a robbery. Once Jack rescues Regan, her telephone rings; it’s her best friend Kit who was abandoned at a comedy club by a colleague from the insurance conventions. Regan tells Jack she is going to pick up Kit, she will ot be alone, he can return to work.
By the time Regan reaches Kit, Kit has learned that Georgina, her convention partner is wanted by police for shoplifting. She also learns that she has a darkly, disturbing and dangerous personality. She is known to seduce, drug and brand young blonde men. She was last seen getting into a cab with a young blonde male; now it’s a race to find the couple before she can brand another man.
In the meantime, Lorraine Lily has returned to New York City after a three month absence to learn that her husband has filed for divorced and sold the loft where she has stashed some damaging and potential career ending letters in a safe that no one knows exists. Now, she must break into Jack and Regan’s apartment(s) to retrieve the letters before anyone else finds them.
Adter rereading these books, I believe that this is the best book in the series!
October 6, 2025
#14 in the series and another fast read, mystery with a cast of characters. Regan and Jack Reilly
return home from a weekend in Cape Cod. Regan is waiting for Jack to pick up dinner so they can have a quiet evening on their roof top. Then NYC plunges into a blackout, but Regan now can't get to their apartment as she is locked out. Kit's best friend of Regan is on crutches after foot surgery and was abandoned at the comedy club by a person she met at a conference, Georgina Mathieson. Georgina has now disappeared and the group is finding out that she isn't who she appears to be. We now have a missing person Chip, who is believed to have been drugged by Georgina and they are attempting to locate him in the darkness. Lorraine Lily, an aspiring actress, needs to get back into Regan and Jack's apartment as it used to belong to her. She has a hidden safe with letters that she doesn't want anyone to find. Will they find Chip in time and save him from the Georgina? Will Lorraine get her letters back? Guess you will find out when you read the book
return home from a weekend in Cape Cod. Regan is waiting for Jack to pick up dinner so they can have a quiet evening on their roof top. Then NYC plunges into a blackout, but Regan now can't get to their apartment as she is locked out. Kit's best friend of Regan is on crutches after foot surgery and was abandoned at the comedy club by a person she met at a conference, Georgina Mathieson. Georgina has now disappeared and the group is finding out that she isn't who she appears to be. We now have a missing person Chip, who is believed to have been drugged by Georgina and they are attempting to locate him in the darkness. Lorraine Lily, an aspiring actress, needs to get back into Regan and Jack's apartment as it used to belong to her. She has a hidden safe with letters that she doesn't want anyone to find. Will they find Chip in time and save him from the Georgina? Will Lorraine get her letters back? Guess you will find out when you read the book
November 1, 2017
This is a fairly complicated mystery. The Reillys have purchased the neighboring apartment and are turning the two into one bigger home. Their neighbor had sold it to them while his wife was in England. She returns to find she has no where to stay and that the secret safe she had installed in the apartment still holds incriminating material she needs to get. Meanwhile Georgina, a psychopath who likes to brand tall blonde men, has just picked up a new prospect for her torture. At the same time a new glass museum is robbed just short of its opening. All this is happening when a major black-out hits Manhattan. Can Regan save the man from branding? Can the art pieces be found? Will Lorrainne get her papers back? …. It was a bit difficult keeping all the players clear in my head, but it was an exciting story.
January 22, 2023
A quick entertaining read! I enjoyed the connections between all the characters and it seemed like the author had a lot of fun orchestrating the plot. I laughed at the mishaps that befell the antagonists on the heist side of the storyline and thought the author created a complex character for the kidnapping side of the story.
Sadly, I didn’t feel much of a connection to Regan Riley, the title character of the series (maybe because this was a standalone and I’ve never read any of the 10 preceding novels). I also thought it got a little silly as the entourage tagging along with Regan grew to a sizable list. Still, I’m glad I read this book for the entertainment it provided. I might not go out of my way to read another in the series but I’d definitely pick one up if I found it during one of my used bookstore binge-buying trips. A great airport or beach read!
Sadly, I didn’t feel much of a connection to Regan Riley, the title character of the series (maybe because this was a standalone and I’ve never read any of the 10 preceding novels). I also thought it got a little silly as the entourage tagging along with Regan grew to a sizable list. Still, I’m glad I read this book for the entertainment it provided. I might not go out of my way to read another in the series but I’d definitely pick one up if I found it during one of my used bookstore binge-buying trips. A great airport or beach read!
February 17, 2017
This is a light mystery set in New York City when a power outage occurs. Newlyweds Regan & Jack Reilly return from a vacation and find their Tribeca apartment has been broken into. An actress returns from a successful theater run in England and is told by her wealthy husband that he is divorcing her and has sold their Tribeca apartment to the Reillys who live next door. A gallery in SoHo is robbed of highly valuable glass sculptures, and a business convention attendee deserts a colleague at a bar, disappearing in a cab with a handsome stranger. These diverse plots and numerous supporting characters are woven together to a satisfying conclusion. This is the 11th in a long series about Regan Reilly by this author, the daughter of Mary Higgins Clark.
June 12, 2021
As "Zapped" begins, the Reillys return home from a summer weekend to the loft in Tribeca they are in the agonizing process of renovating and expanding. They are looking forward to a quiet supper on their newly acquired rooftop terrace. But it's not meant to be. While Jack goes to pick up Chinese food, Regan enters their apartment, unaware that a nervous thief, who preceded her by minutes, is hiding in the front closet. A thief who knows about a hidden safe that Regan and Jack have yet to discover. Minutes later, the blackout strikes, and both Reillys are called into action.
A new gallery in SoHo, featuring treasured glass sculptures from all over the world, has been burglarized. As head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, Jack oversees several departments. Art theft is one of them.
A new gallery in SoHo, featuring treasured glass sculptures from all over the world, has been burglarized. As head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, Jack oversees several departments. Art theft is one of them.
November 13, 2021
Zapped is the 11th Regan Reilly book by Carol Higgins Clark. I was familiar with the character thanks to the Christmas stories written with Mary Higgins Clark, but this is the first I've read without Alvirah and Willy. And it may be my last.
The good news is that it helped me finish my titles list for the Alphabet Soup challenge.
That's about it.
I remember the Northeast Blackout (that happened AUGUST 2003 -- not July). I was interested to see what Clark did with it. Unfortunately, what she did was confuse the heck out of me with too many characters and too many storylines and not enough pages to make them not feel like a rushed and jumbled mess.
Maybe it's just me.
Maybe it's because I read a couple of outstanding books back to back.
This will not be counted amongst them.
The good news is that it helped me finish my titles list for the Alphabet Soup challenge.
That's about it.
I remember the Northeast Blackout (that happened AUGUST 2003 -- not July). I was interested to see what Clark did with it. Unfortunately, what she did was confuse the heck out of me with too many characters and too many storylines and not enough pages to make them not feel like a rushed and jumbled mess.
Maybe it's just me.
Maybe it's because I read a couple of outstanding books back to back.
This will not be counted amongst them.
March 14, 2020
This is the second book I’ve read from CHC (Regan Reilly Mystery) and I liked it. It may not be that of a mystery since we already know the culprit but it still have that thrilling feeling without those graphics or gruesome description.
I liked the idea of searching the criminal in a blackout. It became even more interesting when a lot of searched parties were created which somehow were all connected with one another one way or the other.
I enjoyed reading Lorraine’s character. I just wish they were able to reveal her letters. I think that would be really fun.
I can’t wait to read more of her books.
I liked the idea of searching the criminal in a blackout. It became even more interesting when a lot of searched parties were created which somehow were all connected with one another one way or the other.
I enjoyed reading Lorraine’s character. I just wish they were able to reveal her letters. I think that would be really fun.
I can’t wait to read more of her books.
May 4, 2022
This would be a good script for an action movie. The premise is pretty simple and it’s Not a mystery. It’s a suspense & crime drama.
NYC in crisis genre: How will the people survive?
People are thrown together and forced to turn to strangers for help.
An entire bar full of people become involved looking for a predator female who has snagged a hapless victim…I got bored after 3/4 way in and other characters were still being introduced. But I did get pretty far into the book before I realized that I hadn’t put it down in hours/ it is exciting but it’s probably too long …(but it was written over 10 years ago!) and we are pretty jaded now to crises… sadly.
NYC in crisis genre: How will the people survive?
People are thrown together and forced to turn to strangers for help.
An entire bar full of people become involved looking for a predator female who has snagged a hapless victim…I got bored after 3/4 way in and other characters were still being introduced. But I did get pretty far into the book before I realized that I hadn’t put it down in hours/ it is exciting but it’s probably too long …(but it was written over 10 years ago!) and we are pretty jaded now to crises… sadly.
July 18, 2023
Action takes place during a powerful black out in Manhattan where personal items are stolen that could ruin one’s life if made public. It’s part of the Regan Reilly mystery series. Newlyweds Regan and her husband Jack, who is head of NYPD Major Case Squad, are among those involved in putting things right. There are several sub stories that add to the complexity. Characters are diverse, interesting, and believable. This is the first Carol Higgins Clark novel for me and I enjoyed it. I fell across the book. It wasn’t a planned read. What The News & Observer of Raleigh, NC said of another of her books in this series is true here: “Crime-solving with a humorous streak.”
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October 4, 2025J & R by the loft next door & are renovating. As they return from Cape Cod for the 4th, there is a blackout in NYC. Unknown to them, there is a secret safe in the back of a loft closet. Several people are trying to get what is in it! Meanwhile, R's friend Kit is at a comedy club on crutches. She is left there after the person she came with leaves. The comedian offers to help her home during the blackout. That person is being sought by the police for branding blond men. Regan leads the search for the victim & keeps his family apprised. The person is found by Regan. stolen art is recovered. Big party to celebrate!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 301 reviews