You know it is summer when Carol Higgins Clark releases her next Regan Reilly installment. Last summer was my first romp with this member of the Higgins Clark clan and I was not opposed to revisiting this year’s offering, GYPPED.
Regan accompanies her hubby Jack Reilly, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, to LA for some meetings with the LAPD and some R & R. On a shopping expedition Regan bumps into a gal she knew years ago when she lived in LA. Zelda and she had met as contestants on a game show. Zelda is throwing a party at a home that she won in a charity auction. It seems that since Regan had last seen Zelda her bank account grew my eight million dollars courtesy of a deceased neighbor.
The party was a backdrop to introduce the quirky cast of characters whom might be suspects in a plot to cheat Zelda. There are several sub plots as well that Higgins Clark does a nice job of launching from the main storyline. There was Zelda’s dad that hastily jumped into a marriage with a woman no one knew; a derailed scheming car thief now after Regan and a charitable fraud too.
Carol Higgins Clark is a New York Times bestselling author of fourteen previous Regan Reilly mysteries; I guess I have some work to do on this front being this is my second in the series. But the two that I have listened to courtesy of Simon Audio have been light mystery with a cast of characters and a story that kept me guessing to the end. If your plans take you to the beach or pool this summer do not hesitate to order up GYPPED for your fiction light course and perhaps a pina colada as well.
June is audiobook month so if you have never listened to one please make sure you do. To follow the fun on twitter be sure it use #JIAM.