Mobbed

Regan Reilly Mysteries #14

by Carol Higgins Clark

Book by Clark, Carol Higgins

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Cozy Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Audiobook

272 pages, Hardcover

First published April 5, 2011

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

[Rahma.Mrk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Le style 'd'écriture m''étouffée.

23/juill/19 🌹

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

All the CHC books I've read so far have been pretty fluffy concoctions. This one was even more so - the plot is implausible, and the characters are superficial and unrealistic. A quick, somewhat fun read, but it's like cotton candy - don't expect much substance.

[CD · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great title and storyline about the Jersey Shore, garage sales, movie stars, dates from hell, stalkers and the book has a great cover! A dust jacket that teases the reader with all the pertinent highlights and really doesn't give away too much but just enough. Wow! So what went wrong and earned this a two star rating of 'it was ok'?

The book has a weak opening. The pacing of the story line is not to my liking. What is presented in the first twenty pages is close to sophomoric writing. This 255 page book has 80 chapters! Yes, 80 chapters. Why? Well ...

It's a television screenplay at best. The book comes off as just having emerged from the computer application for writers who want to generate various presentations and treatments from the same work. There is complete dialogue for each character in each scene/chapter. There are descriptions of the appropriate establishing shots for each scene buried in the prose that begins chapter after chapter. This book is cut up like a looooongggg treatment for some made-for-TV show. 80 chapter. 80 scenes. 30 seconds to two minutes each. Two hour movie or three night mini-series with some additional filler scenes and an added flash back or two so that it isn't so, so, well just G-rated.

The reveal of the 'bad guy' is anti-climatic. The opening characters don't do anything at the end other than go to a picnic at the beach and they want to do it again next weekend. Not having read any other Regan Reilly book and unlikely to now, I have no knowledge to add to the quality or relationship of this book to the series. Sincerely do I wish that this is the worst. This style of formula based writing has potential to churn out readable fun books one after another. The application here however leaves me unsatisfied and perhaps mildly annoyed. I am disappointed that a book at first blush had all the ingredients for one of my favorite types of entertainment reading and failed so miserably to deliver.

I even ran across a few switches in tense that slipped through the grammar parser. Sentences that grammatically are perfect, but suddenly for one or two 'lines' switches the narration to first person and then just as suddenly back to the third person. Weird, but typical of a mass market generated work. I just wish after all these decades of this happening in popular literature, it would not.


Mobbbed had great potential and a definite catchy outline; it doesn't deliver.

[Amber Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was horribly slow and hard to get into. There were far too many characters and I didnt have an emotional bond with any of them! At the end when the big reveal of the stalker happened they said his name and I immediately though "i dont even know who that is". Definitely not up to par with her mothers brilliant writing style.

[Linda Munro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another easy reading, Regan Reily mystery. Sometimes we just need a book that you can breeze through without engaging your brain and Carol Higgins Clark is a master in this arena. Regan's cases get always entangled, this mystery is no exception; but, how can one conceive that having a potential mate investigated, the mysterious disappearence of a well-known celebrity and a yard sale could cause such an adventure? Only in the life of private invstigator Regan Riley can such an adventure entangle then weed itself into a tale of happily ever after.

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like these mysteries. They're wholesome and clean, and full of fun too. That being said, I'm noticing that Carol Higgins Clark has the same problem her mother does: introduces WAY too many characters. I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and by disc 4 (out of 5) there were STILL new characters being introduced. This is why I get frustrated with Mary Higgins Clark Books...it wasn't as noticeable in the first Carol Higgins Clark book I listened to, but this one drove me crazy with it. Otherwise, I'd give it more stars.

[Judy Churchill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing. No substance.

[Erica Angilletta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to the audio book on my drive with my dad. I love mystery but this one didn’t get my attention. While listening I found myself coming in and out of a daze, confused on the plot. She has so many characters doing so many different things that it is hard to keep track. I suppose it worked in the end because each person played a part. I didn’t find myself rooting for anyone and even the main detective didn’t have much personality. This might have been how the reader sounded but some of the dialogue seemed trivial. Overall entertaining first read for 2024

[Susan Ashcraft · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Regan Reilly Mystery

Cleo Paradise, a rising new star with an Oscar nomination, is nowhere to be found and is not answering her cell phone. Leaving only a note, she abruptly leaves the New Jersey shore home she was renting from Edna Frawley.

In San Diego, Karen Fulton receives an upsetting email from her mother. With the sale of her childhood home and a large garage sale set to happen that very day on the East Coast, Karen asks her old friend Nora Regan Reilly to go check on her mother in Bay Head as she can't get a flight out til later that day.

Jody and Jillian ran there own business called Garage Sale Gurus and they're helping Edna out. But there is something that just seems off about them.

Hayley Patton, has asked her investigator friend to check out her boyfriend of 4 months, Scott, who recently went through a divorce. While she understands that he wants to spend as much time with his son, Hayley doesn't see a 16 year old boy wanting to spend every Saturday night with his dad.

Its up to NYC private investigator Regan Reilly and her husband Jack, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, to find a way of bringing all these different people together and solve these seemingly unrelated cases before someone gets hurt.

While I enjoyed the novel, I find that this series is becoming to episodic and predictable. I would still recommend this book for the good characters, even writing and amusing scenes.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this Regan Reilly mystery as I always do, the characters even entertwined more seemlessly and obviously than is sometimes the case. All the connections felt natural not wildly coincidental. But I felt that after the mystery was solved I was disappointed that there were one or two loose ends not accounted for. Who put the tracking device under her car, or was it just a Lo-Jack? So a guy on a motorcycle dropped off the flowers at her apartment in LA? Did he ride all the way to NJ to leave flowers at the beach house?

[Ellen Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book set at the Jersey Shore and involving Regan and her mother Nora, a missing beautiful young actress, a case of Regan's concerning a friend's cheating boyfriend, an old friend of Nora's who is selling her house and her property in a large garage sale managed by a company, and the celebration of Nora's birthday. All of these strange events manage to be connected before the book ends.

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started reading this series bc I am a huge fan of Mary Higgins Clark, so I thought I'd check out her daughter's books. They have been easy, entertaining reads. I was disappointed in this one bc there were too many characters, the mystery was lacking, and the tie-in of all the characters in the end was too cheesey for me.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't a bad book, in fact, it was entertaining and easy to read. It did seem a little cheesy, but I am okay with that occasionally.

The plot wasn't too predictable, though it was a little far fetched at the end. Just an awful lot of coincidences.

Would make a good beach book. :)

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like watching the next installment in a weekly hour long show. Way too many characters, and it wants to build and build suspense and then boom it's done and over, all solved in ten pages. Harmless fluff.

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would say that this book was written for someone with ADHD except there's too many characters. Most chapters are only a page and a half long. Keeps jumping from one group of characters to another. Not much of a story.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a fast paced funny mystery. It has lots of twists and turns.

[Sussie Hansen]

It was cute, an awful lot of characters, so it was quite a muddle at times.
Fast moving and keeps your interest. Light reading.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very formulaic (is that a word?), not enough character or plot development. Yawn.

[Cara W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mobbed - Carol Higgins Clark writes detective stories with screwball events, but I think Janet Evanovich does screwball better.

But she does write an entertaining story. In this one, there are so many side stories which ultimately resolve in the last few chapters.

Regan (Private Eye and Daughter of famous author Nora) go to a garage sale at the Jersey Shore to keep an eye on the sale when the Edna after her daughter Karen asked Nora to do so. It was an unusual sale because the house had just been rented to a successful young actress (Cleo) who left early abruptly and left a note to do whatever she wanted to whatever she left behind. Cleo didn't realize her parents had sent a trunk of a collection of artifacts they had bought during trips around the world.

Cleo was to meet Daisy, a colleague, after Daisy completed a movie. Cleo ran to a log cabin resort in Western NJ because someone left dead flowers at the Edna's rented house. This had also happened in CA - so Cleo changed locations without leaving word where she went.

Cleo's parents and Daisy are worried. Call the house and end up talking with Regan. Parents hire Regan to find Cleo. No one knows where she was.

Cleo was at the log cabin, under false name (Connie) and befriends the owner and manager of the resort.

Side stories - Regan's friend Hayley had Regan follow a boyfriend (Scott)- found out he proposed to another woman (Jillian) while lying to Hayley. Jillian was at the garage sale - Jillian and Jody had a garage sale business to run the sale for homeowners.

Scott owed money and conned a large amount of money from an elderly company.

Cleo's apartment super was on the Jersey shore.

ANother Regan friend, Kit, had just stiffed a boyfriend Regan had set up. Regan sees this guy, Winton, at the garage sale.

All the side stories result in clues to find Cleo, just before she is knifed by Cleo at the log cabin.

All is well. The reason Regan was at the Jersey Shore was to celebrate Nora's Birthday. They have a party with all the good guys from the story.

[Rafaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book. Witty, entertaining, great plots. This is the first of the Regan Reilly Mystery series that I have read, but will look for others. Truly worth your time to read. Regan is a rich character, her mother Nora, and father the calming characters, Regan's NYPD husband her support, particulary entertaining is Edna Frawley a school friend of Nora's. Edna gets it into her head to sell her home, and sell the majority of her belongings, without consulting her children. Needless to say her children are not happy, and to make matters more interesting Edna had been renting her home to a widely known actress, who disappeared before the end of the rental period, and left a slew of treasures behind along with a note giving permission to Edna to dispose of whatever was left behind. Imagine how Edna advertised her garage sale. Now where is the actress? A few twists in this mystery, and comedic relief. Definitely worth reading.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, low-stress mystery that never had me blushing or worried about someone looking over my shoulder. One thing that I struggled with was the multiple characters. Without much character development it was hard for me to separate who did what and what not. It was kind of like meeting siblings who look alike and not really being able to tell them apart until I spend some quality time with each so I know them well enough to remember. The wrap up at the end was the moment that I remembered who all the characters were, which made some of the story hard to follow. Also, I didn't realize this was part of a series until 3/4 of the way through it and even through till the end thought it was a solid stand-alone novel. Not thing mind blowing or pensive but a good "light and fluffy" break for my brain.

[Christine Goodnough · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mega-yard sale of a ditzy New Jersey widow, Edna, is attracting fans who want to claim one of the belongings left behind by Edna's past renter, actress Cleo Paradise. Poor Cleo's just had her first and only major hit, but a few characters are seriously unhappy with her role. Which of them has been stalking her, and is planning to take their dislike all the way to murder? She has fled to a wilderness campground and forced into concealing her identity.
I enjoyed this compelling story, a mild mystery with hints of danger, but no visible violence. However, there are a lot of characters to keep track of--each with his or her issues or criminal intent. It's wise to jot them down as you read. Chapters are short, scenes hop from one person to another, with Regan Reilly taking center stage. The author manages to tie them all together in a creditable way at the end.

[Deb S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regan starts her day by giving her friend Hayley some bad news. It doesn't get any better when her mother Nora calls in a panic because her Highschool friend's mother has gone off the deep end. Nora asks her to get down to the Shore ASAP. Karen is also on her way there from California to stop her mother from going through with her wacky plan. A one hit wonder Movie star has fled to the Shore to escape a stalker, but he finds her. Jack meets up Regan & they try to find Cleo. A more pressing matter pops up for them & what they finally find is a total surprise because several of the culprits have connections with the other group.

I read this book years ago & thoroughly enjoyed it a second time!

[Jo Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though this woman has published 16 novels of her own and five in conjunction with her famous mother, the story was pure cotton candy fluff. The one and two page chapters reveal the lack of story and detail as too many unrelated, under developed characters continue to be introduced right up until the final chapters.

At one point I found myself hoping there would be a fire at a barn dance to eliminate some of the extraneous characters, and two chapters later we got some plot resolution in a barn full of those least attractive/ credible characters.

Stuck at home with only this one unread book, I finished this book. Had the weather been better, I would have abandoned it way before the final pages.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started off slowly. Again there are a lot of characters being introduced up to 80% of the way through the book. I read these to be entertained and not for some dramatic insight. Therefore, I did like it even though I felt as if it was less of a Regan Riley book as a Jersey Shore book.

I felt that not all the loose ends were wrapped up. There should have been fewer characters and more development of them. I really felt indifferent to the plight of Cleo and the garage sale. I did enjoy the ending and without giving anything a way – the group got what they deserved.

[Kristie J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light, easy, fun, quick, clean read. The plot was a bit complex with lots of characters who seem unrelated in the beginning. There are jumbled up mysteries that all get neatly solved in the end. A pleasant read, good for relaxing, as long as you don't worry too much about the plot being realistic. Who's mother would really sell their childhood home and everything in it on a whim that fast? What 20-something woman would run away without at least texting her best friend that she was doing it? I'm planning to read more books from this author because they are so relaxing.

[Ronell Warren 'Brooklyn' Alman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book of the Regan Reilly Mystery series. Carol Higgins Clark does a fabulous job here with Mobbed. Regan and her husband Jack the head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, head to the New Jersey shore for a weekend getaway. This of course turns into a mystery involving an aspiring actress Cleo Paradise. Cleo is on the run because she is fearful of a stalker. The suspect was not revealed until nearly the very end. This of course keeps the reader's attention. There was also another twist here involving a garage sale as well. All in all, another good read here.

[Toby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unread shelf project 2021: book 31.

I forgot how fast-paced books by Carol Higgins Clark are! I also forgot that:
1) her books are mysteries but rarely involve murder
and
2) she has so many plots and characters that her books are like weaving on a loom — so many threads at the beginning and it can be aggravating because they don’t seem at all related but then they somehow all come together at the end.

Genuinely I’ve never seen another author balance as many unique storylines and then have them all be cohesive at the end. It’s always a nice surprise!

[Rob Paczkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5. Ouch. I can see a bit of redeeming value. But too many moving pieces, too many people, way too much of a coincidence for it to fit together.And to have just about everything happen in the last 20ish pages. Double ouch. Then to have the person who actually was the potential killer be the guy with the least clues be the guy. Triple ouch. For the size of the book, all the gushing and camping and the over the top drama of the side character “friends”, just made it a tough slog.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot in this book is basically a light mystery. Regan is asked to investigate a movie star that no one has heard from and there is also a garage sale organizer group that just doesn't appear to have the interest of their customer. Although there are many characters, some who are quirky, they are likeable. The bad guys are always caught in this series and everything ends well. This was a quick, fun read. Just the thing for a lazy afternoon