Scan barcode
alidottie's review against another edition
3.0
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.
tobyyy's review against another edition
4.0
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.
tomaind's review against another edition
4.0
The 12th Regan Reilly book (not counting the books Carol did with her Mom) was a quick, but enjoyable read. This was the standard mystery-lite story from Higgins Clark , that includes the usual quirky characters. I seemed to enjoy this story a little more than the last few she wrote. The storyline kept me guessing and I never did figure out the murderer on my own (as I have with some of her other books). I enjoy the Regan Reilly books.
ryneb's review against another edition
3.0
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.
luffy79's review against another edition
4.0
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.
ssejig's review against another edition
4.0
I like the Reagan Reilly mysteries because they are consistent. Maybe not excellent but always consistent. It's going to be a light story that's enough to keep me interested but won't keep me up if I need to get to sleep early.
This story has an old neighbor of Reagan's, Abigail Feeney, calling up and asking for help because an ex-boyfriend of hers borrowed a hundred thousand dollars and she needs it back. So Reagan goes to LA to help out Abigail, who is convinced she's cursed. Not only was Abigail born on Friday the 13th, she has 13 letters in her name. And she's had a long run of bad luck in all areas of her life culminating in a broken arm on the last set she was on.
So Reagan flies out and immediately gets caught up in an earthquake, a stalker, and a whole host of other mysteries including who murdered the old man whose hair Abigail used to cut who was also thinking about financing the movie Abigail's ex-boyfriend is trying to make.
This story has an old neighbor of Reagan's, Abigail Feeney, calling up and asking for help because an ex-boyfriend of hers borrowed a hundred thousand dollars and she needs it back. So Reagan goes to LA to help out Abigail, who is convinced she's cursed. Not only was Abigail born on Friday the 13th, she has 13 letters in her name. And she's had a long run of bad luck in all areas of her life culminating in a broken arm on the last set she was on.
So Reagan flies out and immediately gets caught up in an earthquake, a stalker, and a whole host of other mysteries including who murdered the old man whose hair Abigail used to cut who was also thinking about financing the movie Abigail's ex-boyfriend is trying to make.
ryneb's review
3.0
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.
dorindaturner's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so good. I really love the way Carol Higgins Clark writes