Dashing Through the Snow

Jan 01, 2009 Janelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

M.H. Clark have written 5 Christmas mysteries. Laurel and I have read them all, Fun holiday reading!

Feb 13, 2009 Rhonda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In Branscombe, New Hampshire, the townsfolk are excited and volunteering as the village prepares for its first ever Festival of Joy with plans to hold annual galas. Visitors are expected from the rest of New England and especially New York. In fact novelist Nora Regan Reilly and her daughter private investigator Regan Reilly accompanied by their close friends Alvirah and Will Meehan, are in town for the event.

On the night before the opening ceremony, four employees of Conklin's Market win $160...more

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Dec 09, 2008 Terrie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-suspense

Seriously, how STUPID can a book get?

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Jan 28, 2009 John Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a wonderfully entertaining book. Quite the little Drama/Mystery. I had trouble putting it down. The story follows a bunch of different groups of people involved in the same story. A story about life in a small New Hampshire town having a winter festival for the first time, to get people out to their town. There are the local store lottery winners. There are the crooks. There is the couple failing in love. There are different town folk involved in their little part of the festivities. I...more

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Dec 23, 2011 Gina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club, cozy-mystery, holidays-christmas, mystery, suspense, women-of-mystery-club, library, new-england

Book Description- In the picturesque village of Branscombe, New Hampshire, the townsfolk are all pitching in to prepare for the first Festival of Joy. The night before the festival begins, a group of employees at the local market learn that they have won $180 million in the lottery. One of their co-workers, Duncan, decided at the last minute, on the advice of a pair of crooks masquarading as financial advisers, not to play. Then he goes missing. A second winning lottery ticket was purchased in t...more

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Dec 08, 2008 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a quick read. Was as good as the other books I have read by this author. Its a love story and mystery in one.

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Jan 27, 2012 Natalie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I believe I'm getting attached tho these (Regan Reilly)books....this is the third one I've read and love how everything seems to really come together for everyone in these books. (Yes the happy endings).And two of them have been christmas books, which I love reading.I would recommend these books to read if you like warm fuzzy comforting endings.

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Dec 27, 2010 Luann rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: christmas, mystery, audio, 2010, adult

It's been years since I last read anything by Mary Higgins Clark. I really enjoyed her early books, but at some point she ran out of new ideas. At least that's what it felt like to me. All of her books started to feel the same so I stopped reading them.

This one has been sitting on my iPod for a couple of years. I got a good deal on it from iTunes, but then never listened to it. I wasn't sure how much I would really enjoy it. But I wanted something light and easy after spending WAY too much time...more It's been years since I last read anything by Mary Higgins Clark. I really enjoyed her early books, but at some point she ran out of new ideas. At least that's what it felt like to me. All of her books started to feel the same so I stopped reading them.

This one has been sitting on my iPod for a couple of years. I got a good deal on it from iTunes, but then never listened to it. I wasn't sure how much I would really enjoy it. But I wanted something light and easy after spending WAY too much time on audio with Moby Dick. Also, I thought that I would probably enjoy this more right before Christmas than any other time of the year.

I gave it three stars, but my real rating would be 2.5 stars. It did fit the bill of something light and easy. In fact, very light and quite cheesy and silly in some places. Some of the characters were laughable, and not in a good way - although I do really like Alvirah Meehan. Mary Higgins Clark wrote this with her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark. It has characters from both of their books: Alvirah and Willy Meehan (from MHC books) and Regan and Jack Reilly along with Regan's mom (from CHC books). It felt like too many cooks in the kitchen - or maybe I should say too many sleuths in the mystery! Apparently there is a series of books they have co-written with all of these characters and all set around Christmastime.

The audio version was read by Carol Higgins Clark. For the first little bit her speech seemed very stilted and forced. I wasn't sure I would be able to listen to the entire book. I continued, though, and after a while I didn't notice it as much. Either I got used to her speech patterns or she relaxed and sounded more natural. She did some nice women's voices, but her men's voices could be better - which is a common complaint I have with many female narrators.

Overall, this was okay to listen to since I was in the mood for something light and easy, although I most likely won't ever want to listen to it again. I also won't buy any others in this series, but might listen to another if I found it at the library and it was around Christmastime.(less)

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Dec 30, 2010 Ryan G rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm going to be the first to admit that I'm a junkie for this series now. Once again this mother/daughter duo have proven to me that I really need to try their separate books. This was another fun light hearted mystery that allows the heroes to not only have fun but lend a helping hand to some deserving individuals.

This will be a rather short review because once again I really can't go into too many details without giving away a lot of the story itself. What I will say is that this is a fun romp...more

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Dec 04, 2009 Night rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've always want to read the Lottery Winner series and this is the first one for me, though it's not the first book in this series.

This book is about 5 supermarket workers who always pooled money to buy a lottery. But the only time that Duncan decided to trust his financial adversors and not pool in, it was the winning lottery! And the winning power-number was his!

Moreover, there was no Christmas bonuses, thanks to the owner's new wife. And Duncan found out that his so-called financial advisors...more

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Dec 27, 2008 aizjanika rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I picked this book up on impulse when I saw it in the bookstore. I have a soft spot for Christmas stories and this one had a pretty cover, and I had at least heard of the author. I think that this is the first book that I've read from either of these authors, and I think that this one is maybe the fifth of a sort of a series, though I'm not sure. I enjoyed reading it, but something felt missing. The characters didn't have a lot of depth and it felt like there was a bit too much explanation of ev...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Sarah Udall rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It was a fun read. The chapters are short so it is easy to read just one more chapter. I was nervous that it would be a big murder mystery. But it was not. It is about a small home town that has a couple of visiting crooks. A group of employees get together and by a lottery ticket. Duncan didn't play that time but his friends cut him in cause he picked the numbers. the Crooks also get the other ticket. Duncan finds out the have cheat him and many others out of there hard earned money. He steels...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Janet rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

With character names like Muffie and Flower, you know you are not in for a deep read. It was improbable, predictable and cheesy but it was a light fun read. Not one of MHC best by a long shot. It starts with a Christmas festival being held in a small New Hampshire town. Four employees from a local market win big in the lottery and mayhiem starts and the festival gets lost in the shuffle of things. Without going into any detail, everything works out and a happy ending is had by all. I'd only reco...more

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Feb 23, 2010 Molly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, books-i-own, read-in-2010

Dashing Through the Snow is a duo book written by Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark. In a small town in New Hampshire a group of employees buy in together on a winning lottery ticket. The catch, two winning lottery tickets were sold in the same area and a foul plot is afoot. One of the lottery winners goes missing and everyone believes he bought the second ticket and left town. They will all find out this little town has some big secrets to hide.

I liked the book but it wa...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Kari Anderson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book

In the picturesque village of Branscombe, New Hampshire, the townsfolk are all pitching in to prepare for the first (and many hope annual) Festival of Joy. The night before the festival begins, a group of employees at the local market learn that they have won $160 million in the lottery. One of their co-workers, Duncan, decided at the last minute, on the advice of a pair of crooks masquerading as financial advisers, not to play. Then he goes missing. A second winning lottery ticket was purchase...more
In the picturesque village of Branscombe, New Hampshire, the townsfolk are all pitching in to prepare for the first (and many hope annual) Festival of Joy. The night before the festival begins, a group of employees at the local market learn that they have won $160 million in the lottery. One of their co-workers, Duncan, decided at the last minute, on the advice of a pair of crooks masquerading as financial advisers, not to play. Then he goes missing. A second winning lottery ticket was purchased in the next town, but the winner hasn’t come forward. Could Duncan have secretly bought it?

The Clarks’ endearing heroes – Alvirah Meehan, the amateur sleuth, and private investigator Regan Reilly – have arrived in Branscombe for the festival. They are just the people to find out what is amiss. As they dig beneath the surface, they find that life in Branscombe is not as tranquil as it appears. So much for an old-fashioned weekend in the country.

Oh another Clark book to add to my ever-growing collection. I liked the characters in this one, I am really growing fond of Alvirah and Regan, but the story fell flat for me, specifically at the end.

I loved the idea of a group winning the lottery. We play at work when it gets really high. And that they want to help out a friend who decided to opt out this one time. What great people. And you get to learn all of their stories and why they are so worthy of the money and that they are good people and deserve it. Add a couple of bad guys to the mix and you have yourself a classic Clark novel.

In the past few books I’ve read by Clark, I’ve noticed the element of surprise was lacking. From the get-go, you know who the criminals are and there’s no mystery into trying to figure them out, just into how long it will take for them to get caught. And in Dashing Through the Snow, from the time the criminals are known until they are caught was like two minutes. Just seemed like there was a lot of buildup in this one for a dull climax.

I give Dashing Through the Snow 3 out of 5 bookmarks.

(less)

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Feb 27, 2012 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay, I know it is a Christmas book. But I love Christmas. I can read about it all year. (I can watch Christmas movies and sing Christmas music all year long, too.) I love the Christmas books by these two authors because they use five of my favorite characters all working together.

This one started slowly, but stay with it. The tension these two are known for began to build pretty quickly at the 1/3 of the way through the book mark and ended with a great climax. If you love these characters (esp...more

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Dec 20, 2009 Boof rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-and-review-copies, read-in-2009, thrillers-mystery-crime, usa

I am a huge fan of Mary Higgins Clark (her books are real comfort reads) but this one really let me down. It is the first I have read by both MHC and her daughter, Carol, and I noticed such a difference in the quality of both the plot and the narrative. The plot was really pretty terrible and had me rolling my eyes and groaning on a page by page basis. A small town is gearing up for a Christmas festival when a small group of shop-workers in a syndicate win the lottery, then the next day one of t...more

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Jan 20, 2010 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Good holiday read. Had some weird charcter twists that left me scratching my head, but really a quick read.
Fun and light hearted. I read it in 3 days.

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Feb 28, 2012 Sally Wolf rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When a group of workers at a small town grocery win the lottery their joy is overshadowed by the sudden disappearance of one of their co-workers. The amateur sleuth Alvirah Meehan and her friend Reagan Reilly, a private investigator, jump in to unravel a mystery so big that it takes the whole town on a wild ride. I liked this little book. It was worth the quick read and written in the classic Clark style. Great characters, wonderful story, and just when you thought you knew exactly what was goin...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

This was my first Mary Higgins Clark book that i've picked up to read, I have quite a few on my shelves but just haven't gotten to them yet. I was actually super disapointed in this book. I was hoping for a nice christmas related mystery book, considering this is the book I picked as my christmas book of the year. Other then the title and cover of this book this had nothing to do with christmas at all. In fact I have no idea what the title had to do with this actual storyline at all.

The employe...more

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Dec 21, 2011 Laura Williams rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This one was bad. The other Christmas-themed Carol Higgins Clark I listened to at least kept my attention, this one was rough to get through. I don't ask for a lot from generic, uninspired mysteries, but I needed a bit more from this one. It took less than a week to listen to on my way to and from work. Half the book was spent talking about the mystery. And I can take one crazy coincidence, a lady recognizes a ring that was stolen from a dead woman after another character purchases it for his fi...more

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Dec 06, 2010 Emiline rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 23, 2009 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In the picturesque village of Branscombe, New Hampshire, the townsfolk are all pitching in to prepare for the first (and many hope annual) Festival of Joy. The night before the festival begins, a group of employees at the local market learn that they have won $160 million in the lottery. One of their co-workers, Duncan, decided at the last minute, on the advice of a pair of crooks masquerading as financial advisers, not to play. Then he goes missing. A second winning lottery ticket was purchased...more

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Dec 03, 2008 Julenew rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

We picked this up on CD to listen to while driving to St. George for Thanksgiving.

We are about half way through, and so far find a bit too contrived in spots. A better read than "The Cat Who" series - - - have enjoyed a number of quite clever and humorous episodes.

At this moment, I would give it 3 stars. . . .

And now, having finished the book, I have to downgrade that to 2 1/2 stars. With every one of the 5 CDs, we kept asking each other, "How on *earth* are they going to keep this story going f...more

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Dec 27, 2010 Ladiibbug rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mystery - Christmas Theme

Enjoyable light mystery set in a small New Hampshire town. As residents anticipate the village's first Fesitval of Joy, a group of employees at the local market discover they've won a huge lottery jackpot. One of the winners turns up missing ... His fiance arrives in town to surprise him, and she goes missing ...

Alvirah Meehan and Regan Reilly are two characters who seem to be from Mary Higgins Clark and/or Carol Higgins Clark (co-authors of this book) ongoing series boo...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Eddy Allen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-and-suspense

In the picturesque village of Branscombe, New Hampshire, the townsfolk are all pitching in to prepare for the first (and many hope annual) Festival of Joy. The night before the festival begins, a group of employees at the local market learn that they have won $160 million in the lottery. One of their co-workers, Duncan, decided at the last minute, on the advice of a pair of crooks masquerading as financial advisers, not to play. Then he goes missing. A second winning lottery ticket was purchased...more

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Oct 19, 2011 Elizabeth Noah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Like all other MHC books, this gave a feel good ending. The bad guys were caught and the boy got his girl. The whole story takes place over a weekend in December. Regan Reilly and her husband are in this story--from what I understand she has a series that is written by Carol Higgins Clark. Also in the story is Alvirah Meehan and her husband who are former lottery winners and if my memory serves me correct, they are in another story written by MHC.

Yes, one has to use the stretch of their imaginat...more Like all other MHC books, this gave a feel good ending. The bad guys were caught and the boy got his girl. The whole story takes place over a weekend in December. Regan Reilly and her husband are in this story--from what I understand she has a series that is written by Carol Higgins Clark. Also in the story is Alvirah Meehan and her husband who are former lottery winners and if my memory serves me correct, they are in another story written by MHC.

Yes, one has to use the stretch of their imagination but, what the heck..this is a work of fiction.
This story starts out with 5 employees of a small hometown feeling grocery store. Every week, they all pitch in $1 and get a lottery ticket. Well the past week, Duncan decided not to go in on the ticket as he had been taking a financial class and one of the things they said was that getting a lottery ticket was a waste of money. Little did Duncan realize that the advisors of this class took the numbers that he told him they played every week and purchased a ticket on their own. Yes, the group of 5 had picked all the winning numbers and were mega millionaires. (Gotta use the imagination that the one week they use his numbers that they were winners).

In the meantime, Duncan finds out that his numbers won but, he did not play this week--he goes to confront the 2 advisors that told him playing was bad and he also thinks that they had him invest all his savings into an oil well which suddenly did not seem like to great of an idea. Duncan leaves to go over to where they were staying but, his car will no start so he walks. He enters the side entrance where the classes were being held and over hears the advisors making fun of him and how they were able to scam him. In the process of this, he falls down some steps, in which the advisors do not investigate the noise, and he hears them talk about how they have a winning lotto ticket also. The next day he listens to where they stashed the winning ticket and when they leave, he goes and switches it out with a losing ticket from months ago.

In the meantime, his fellow co-workers agree to let him in on the winning as he picked the winning powerball number which let them win the mega jackpot. Unknown to Duncan, his girlfriend Flower decided to make a surprise visit to him. Flower is then worried that she should not have done that as she had not had her nightly call from Duncan and he had not returned any of her phone messages. Flower decides to stay at a local B&B, and ends up being 'kidnapped' by the owners and the 2 advisors as she heard some things that were not meant for her ears.

Next thing you know, the whole town is out looking for Flower and noone has seen her but the grocery stores wife, whom noone likes. By a fluke, they find Flower and the 2 advisors (who are now being held captive by the B&B owners), in a van that was getting ready to go up to a lake to drown all 3 of them. They realize that the ring that Duncan was going to give Flower was formally in the possesion of the B&B owner. By some exact timing, this all comes to light, and then hearing the B&B husband yelling Flower's name, and being able to follow the van they were in to rescue everyone. The stars must have been aligned just right for all of this to happen.

In the end, all 3 were rescued, Duncan proposes to Flower, and the 2 advisors end up not being able to have the other lotto ticket as they were on probation when they purchased it and it was ruled null and void by a judge. The owners of the B&B were arrested for kidnapping and murder charges (it came to light that the wife had committed a murder previously via a one of a kind ring that she had stolen from her former employer/victim). And final note that the grocery store manager that everyone loves was getting rid of his second wife aka the skunk, whom noone liked at all as she was rude to everyone and managed to talk him out of giving the employees their yearly holiday bonus like they had gotton in years past. (Her idea of a bonus was to give them all a framed picture of the owners and employees that was taken at their wedding just earlier that year)

(less)

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Dec 01, 2010 Paula Mitchell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle

This was cute story for your christmas fancy. It was written by Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter Carol Higgins Clark. It's the story of co-workers who played the lottery always hopping to land a winning ticket. They were bummed when this year their boss the local store owner gives them a wedding picture of him and the 'skunk' his 2nd wife. When one of the co-workers disappears after the winners of the ticket is announced. Many speculate as to what happened to him.

From beloved mother-daughter...more

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Jul 20, 2009 Darlene Wilson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Didn't take time to write about this one at the time -- so will borrow a fly leaf type description.....
In the picturesque village of Branscombe, New Hampshire, the townsfolk are all pitching in to prepare for the first (and many hope annual) Festival of Joy. The night before the festival begins, a group of employees at the local market learn that they have won $160 million in the lottery. One of their co-workers, Duncan, decided at the last minute, on the advice of a pair of crooks masquerading...more

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Dec 27, 2008 Mary rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mary Higgins Clark and her Daughter Carol have written many books together at Christmas. Some have been good and some not so good. This one is completely different. I enjoyed reading it, because it was a quick read and I did not have to think about it too much. Of course it is a mystery and the setting this time is Branscombe, New Hampshere. It moves along very quickly because of the short chapters. In all it was a nice Christmas story. But maybe they should try another time of year.

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