Christmas is a time for family togetherness, so it figures that this first collaboration between bestselling Mary Higgins Clark (Before I Say Good-Bye, p. 404, etc.) and her daughter Carol (Twanged, 1998, etc.) tosses together so many regulars from both authors that there’s barely room for the crooks. And a hapless pair of perps they are. Spurned heir C.B. Dingle is wrongly convinced that chain mortician Luke Reilly persuaded his late uncle to leave most of his fortune to a gardening league. His dimwitted partner, painter Petey Commet, seems to have sucked too much lead from the chartreuse he used on one of Luke’s reception rooms. When they kidnap Luke in revenge, grabbing his part-time driver Rosie Gonzalez as well, and stash them on a houseboat moored in Edgewater, New Jersey, while they wait for a million-dollar ransom, these two hopeless duffers go up against not only Luke’s family—his world-famous mystery writer wife Nora and his shamus daughter Regan—but against lottery-winning ex–cleaning lady Alvirah Meehan and her husband Willy as well. The mother-and-daughter authors—who are so obviously on the same wavelength that even though the abduction plot and some of the dialogue seem recycled from their earlier books, everything blends together in seamless inconsequence—produce a holiday rout for the forces of junior-league evil undisturbed by any hint of real villains, real detectives, or real suspense. Admire the shipshape carpentry as the preposterous story purrs along while still delivering fewer thrills than most fruitcakes.

On her own, each Clark has written reliably entertaining mystery/thrillers that occasionally exhibit storytelling magic. The authors' first collaborationDwhich also sees a collaboration by their respective publishers, as well as the teaming of two of their best-known sleuthsDis only middling, however, though it will please their many fans. Three days before Christmas, Luke Reilly, who owns a string of funeral homes, and his young female driver, Rosita Gonzalez, are kidnapped for ransom. Luke is the husband of Nora Regan Reilly, a bestselling mystery writer based somewhat on Mary Higgins Clark; both are parents to Regan Reilly, Carol Higgins Clark's series detective (Twanged, etc.). Regan gets on the case at once, but she doesn't make much headway until she pairs up with Alvirah Meegan, the cleaning woman who turned private eye after winning a $40-million lottery in Mary Higgins Clark's Weep No More My Lady. (Here, Regan and Alvirah make each other's acquaintance at a dentist's office.) Meanwhile, Luke and Rosita remain chained on a small boat offshore from New Jersey as their two bumbling kidnappers plan, execute and bobble a ransom run. The boat starts to sink. Will Luke and Rosita drown? There's probably not a reader alive who thinks they will, and it'll surprise no one when Regan and Alvirah trip over clues as big as Christmas trees to save the day. But if the novel generates little suspense, it does go down like roasted chestnuts, and fans will greatly enjoy the pairing of two favorite detectivesDand two popular writersDin a lightweight but amiably lighthearted Christmas ornament of a book. (Nov. 1) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

It's Christmas time, but C. B. Dingle has no Christmas spirit. His departed Uncle Goodloe left his fortune to the Sod, Plant, Bloom, and Blossom Society, and Dingle is distraught. He's so upset, in fact, that he's bent on revenge. The plan is to kidnap Luke Reilly, owner of the funeral home that set dear old Uncle on the garden path. But Dingle's partner, Petey, accidentally drops the ransom in the drink (the East River, to be exact), which gives the assorted investigative types--including Reilly's daughter, the PI star of several Carol Higgins Clark novels, and Alvirah Meehan, the amateur detective featured in a few Mary Higgins Clark books--a second chance to find dear Dad, which they do just in time. Happy Christmas to all. This first collaboration by the mother-daughter team is a lightweight bit of fluff that readers will speed through in no time. The writing styles mesh seamlessly, but the goofy goings-on and the coincidences (a detective name Jack Reilly--no relation!) add a layer of comedy that isn't quite in tune with the suspense, leaving readers to wonder if it's all supposed to be a big joke. No matter. Clark, the prolific mom, and Clark, the daughter, who now has several books to her credit, have enough loyal fans between them to gather a hefty readership, even if the product is a bit thin. --Stephanie Zvirin