Zapped (Regan Reilly Mysteries, No. 11) by Carol Higgins Clark
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Book Reviews of Zapped (Regan Reilly Mysteries, No. 11)
Book Review: Really enjoyed the book!
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, CHC's books are a little far fetched. But I love them. I don't look for deep meanings, just read for enjoyment and entertainment. I started as a fan of her mother's writing and now I enjoy her style more. Love finding out what the character is up to next.Book Review: Believable plot? - no zappin' way!
Summary: 3 Stars
Having a thing for a good series, I looked forward to reading Carol Higgins Clark's mystery Zapped.
A mystery - and that's where everything starts: To me, a mystery shouldn't give away the all so important `whodunit' question after the first thirty pages. Besides that, Zapped has a few other flaws I can't ignore:
Clark's often colorful, but believable characters are way over the top.
Just one example: An aspiring actress, whose obnoxious behavior makes Paris Hilton look like Miss Congeniality, needs to break into her (owned by her soon to be ex-husband's) apartment to retrieve some nasty letters she'd written as therapy. Frantically she tries to recover those letters, which are written to people she despises, before someone finds them and ruins her career by sending them off.
Unfortunately for her the airline she used for her trip back from Europe lost her luggage, including her shoes.
The story is trying to convince me that in a city like New York, a woman can't possibly round up some sort of footwear after hours, and therefore is forced to be carried by her co-conspirator after she broke a heel of her pumps. Needless to say the actress, Lorraine Lily, nags and nags and nags some more.
The story grows flatter as I turn the pages. It just seems much too convenient that half of the cast knows each other and that doesn't leave any room for suspense or any unforeseen twists, which makes the continuance of the story predictable. But what drove me over the edge was how the female predator, an ominous gal named Georgina, uses her weapon on her victims. If I may, I'd like to quote from page 206:
"Georgina was heating up the branding iron with her lighter. The black metal was getting hotter and hotter. I'd have made a great girl scout, she thought, glancing at the words on the brand - I AM A SNAKE."
Psychologically damaged, thanks to her cheating ex-boyfriend, Georgina uses a branding iron to brand her victims. Okay - let's just pretend it's believable that a cheating boyfriend in college can drive a woman to such measures later in life; she drugs guys who resemble her ex and then the story really gets ridiculous: Georgina uses a cigarette lighter to heat up a piece of metal not only large enough to spell out an entire sentence, but also HOT enough to brand this sentence permanently into her victim's flesh.
Truthfully, I have to cut Clark some slack because I very much enjoyed some of her other work, but I'm not sure what happened when she wrote Zapped. Despite the fact that the dialogue was boring, most of the characters unreal, and the plot hair-raisingly silly, I still give it three stars because Clark took me on a very descriptive journey through the dark streets of New York City during a black-out. Also, I liked the way she arranged the timeline in short and snappy chapters.
On a personal note; though a mystery is fiction, believability is a huge issue for me and Zapped clearly lacked believability right from the start.
And by the way: girl scouts don't use lighters.
Rebecca Lerwill, author of Relocating Mia
Book Review: Oh man....this is BAD!
Summary: 2 Stars
I am a HUGE Mary Higgins Clark fan - and I've read pretty much everything she's ever written, including a few that she wrote with her daughter Carol. Why did I think that Carol's writing would be similar to Mary's. What a dummy I must be. Carol Higgins Clark's writing is really pretty bad. But, what's FAR worse is her attempt to narrate her audio book. Oh dear! The tone of her voice just grates on the nerves, her attempt to dramatize is pathetic, and her overall 'acting' is a total joke. Book Review: Keep you guessing
Summary: 5 Stars
True to form, Carol Higgins Clark keeps you on the edge of your seat right to the end.Book Review: Guilty pleasure
Summary: 5 Stars
Carol Higgins Clark never disappoints. I know when I open one of her books that I am in for a good time. This book is no exception. The idea that the action occurs over the course of one evening adds a fast pace. You won't want to put it down. As always, great characters and unexpected plot twists. Highly recommend this novel.