Book Review: Santa Cruise by Mary Higgins Clark

Synopsis
Alvirah Meehan, the lottery winner turned amateur sleuth, and her husband Willy, private detective Regan Reilly, her new husband Jack, and Regan's parents are all guests on the Royal Mermaid's maiden voyage, the Santa Cruise. The ship's passengers include members of the Oklahoma Readers and Writers group - who are planning a mystery seminar dedicated to a Ghost of Honour, the late Left Hook Louie - as well as assorted other charitable folk all planning on a restful post-Christmas vacation. What the guests don't know is that two escaping criminals have been smuggled on board. The hoped-for tranquility quickly vanishes when a terrified mystery fan swears she has spotted the Ghost of Honour in the ship's chapel, and soon after - while a storm develops outside - an attempt is made on the life of a feeble passenger. As the Royal Mermaid sails on through troubled waters, Alvirah, Regan and Jack are uncovering clues that lead them to dangerous criminals.

Well, I was looking forward to reading this - I've never read any of Mary Higgins Clark's books and I'd heard that she was good. BUT, I have to say that I just couldn't finish it.

I just found it very disappointing and boring. I didn't care about any of the characters and there were so many of them! I didn't know who was who.

All in all, it was a complete waste of my time even reading 3/4 of it.

I do have another Mary Higgins Clark book to read (You Belong To Me) so I hope that that's much better.

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For instance, if I wanted to know about Patricia Cornwell I would just type in her name under Search Author: a new page then opens up, there is some personal blurb (usually) and - this is the bit that I love - all her books are listed in chronological order, you can click on any one which will open up again with information about that particular book. This page contains a short synopsis of the book.

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Book Review: Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

This is not your usual John Grisham court room drama. I've only read one of his books before (A Time To Kill) which was very serious. This book is nothing like that!

Luther wants to 'skip Christmas' this year - his only daughter won't be there, she's in Peru for the next 12 months. So he's booked a wonderful sunshine cruise for his wife and himself. He thinks of all the $thousands he's going to save, not to mention the stress of fighting the crowds in the shopping mall. Bliss! Some people are jealous but most can't believe it and think the family are scrooges.

But, as we all know, the best laid plans don't always work out.

I really enjoyed this - if you want an enjoyable light Christmas read that's not too heavy then I'd definitely recommend it.

7/10