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The Christmas Thief (Regan Reilly Series) [NOOK Book]
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The folks who picked a beautiful eighty-foot blue spruce from Stowe, Vermont, to be Rockefeller Center’s famous Christmas tree don’t have a clue that Packy Noonan, a scam artist just released from prison, hid priceless diamonds in it more than twelve years ago. But when Packy learns that his special tree will be heading to New York City the next morning, he knows he has to act fast.
What Packy does not know is that Alvirah, everyone’s favorite lottery winner turned amateur sleuth, and savvy private investigator Regan Reilly are visiting Stowe with their friend Opal, who lost all her lottery winnings in Packy’s scam. And just when they’re supposed to head home, they learn that the tree is missing . . . and that Opal has disappeared.
Carol Higgins Clark is the author of fourteen previous bestselling Regan Reilly mysteries. She is coauthor, along with her mother, Mary Higgins Clark, of a bestselling holiday mystery series. Also an actress, Carol Higgins Clark studied at the Beverly Hills Playhouse and has recorded several of her mother's works as well as her own novels. She received AudioFile's Earphones Award of Excellence for her reading of Jinxed. She lives in New York City.
Her website is carolhigginsclark.com.
In the early years of her marriage, Clark began writing short stories, making her first sale in 1956 to Extension Magazine. Between writing and raising a family, the decade flew by. Then, in 1964, Warren Clark suffered a fatal heart attack, leaving his young widow with five children to support. She went to work writing radio scripts; and, around this time, she decided to try her hand at writing books. Inspired by a radio series she was working on, she drafted a biographical novel about George Washington. It was published in 1969 under the title Aspire to the Heavens. (In 2002, it was re-issued as Mount Vernon Love Story.) Her first suspense novel, Where Are the Children?, appeared in print in 1975. It was a huge hit and marked a turning point in her life. Since then, she has developed a loyal fan base, and each of her novels has hit the bestseller lists. She has also co-written stories and novels with her daughter Carol, a successful author in her own right.
In the 1970s, Clark enrolled in Fordham University at Lincoln Center, graduating summa cum laude in 1979. A great supporter of education, she has served as a trustee of her alma mater and Providence College and holds numerous honorary degrees. She remains active in Catholic affairs and has been honored with many awards. Her publisher, Simon & Schuster, funds an annual award in her name to be given to authors of suspense fiction writing in the Mary Higgins Clark tradition.
Packy Noonan carefully placed an x on the calendar he had pinned to the wall of his cell in the federal prison located near Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. Packy was overflowing with love for his fellow man. He had been a guest of the United States Government for twelve years, four months, and two days. But because he had served over 85 percent of his sentence and been a model prisoner, the parole board had reluctantly granted Packy his freedom as of November 12, which was only two weeks away.
Packy, whose full name was Patrick Coogan Noonan, was a world-class scam artist whose offense had been to cheat trusting investors out of nearly $100 million in the seemingly legitimate company he had founded. When the house of cards collapsed, after deducting the money he had spent on homes, cars, jewelry, bribes, and shady ladies, most of the rest, nearly $80 million, could not be accounted for.
In the years of his incarceration, Packy's story never changed. He insisted that his two missing associates had run off with the rest of the money and that, like his victims, he, too, had been the victim of his own trusting nature.
Fifty years old, narrow-faced, with a hawklike nose, close-set eyes, thinning brown hair, and a smile that inspired trust, Packy had stoically endured his years of confinement. He knew that when the day of deliverance came, his nest egg of $80 million would sufficiently compensate him for his discomfort.
He was ready to assume a new identity once he picked up his loot; a private plane would whisk him to Brazil, and a skillful plastic surgeon there had already been engaged to rearrange the sharp features that might have served as the blueprint for the working of his brain.
All the arrangements had been made by his missing associates, who were now residing in Brazil and had been living on $10 million of the missing funds. The remaining fortune Packy had managed to hide before he was arrested, which was why he knew he could count on the continued cooperation of his cronies.
The long-standing plan was that upon his release Packy would go to the halfway house in New York, as required by the terms of his parole, dutifully follow regulations for about a day, then shake off anyone following him, meet his partners in crime, and drive to Stowe, Vermont. There they were to have rented a farmhouse, a flatbed trailer, a barn to hide it in, and whatever equipment it took to cut down a very large tree.
"Why Vermont?" Giuseppe Como, better known as Jo-Jo, wanted to know. "You told us you hid the loot in New Jersey. Were you lying to us, Packy?"
"Would I lie to you?" Packy had asked, wounded. "Maybe I don't want you talking in your sleep."
Jo-Jo and Benny, forty-two-year-old fraternal twins, had been in on the scam from the beginning, but both humbly acknowledged that neither one of them had the fertile mind needed to concoct grandiose schemes. They recognized their roles as foot soldiers of Packy and willingly accepted the droppings from his table since, after all, they were lucrative droppings.
"O Christmas tree, my Christmas tree," Packy whispered to himself as he contemplated finding the special branch of one particular tree in Vermont and retrieving the flask of priceless diamonds that had been nestling there for over thirteen years.
Copyright © 2004 by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark
ToReadPerchancetoDream
Posted December 3, 2011
Mary Higgins Clark has long been a favorite author of mine. Her daughter Carol Higgins Clark has been writing with her and alone for quite some time now, but I'm partial to Mary. This book was a joint effort. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.
The main characters have been written about in other books, but in The Christmas Thief, they lacked substance. The attempt to fill the reader in on them and their personalities from past stories was half-hearted at best. The bad guys didn't come off any better, either. I think they were supposed to be bumblers, providing comic relief, but they weren't very funny - just inept.
Worst of all, this was supposed to be a Christmas book, the main theme is about the tree which was earmarked to become the Rockefeller Center. It didn't feel "Christmassy" at all to me. Just because a book is set at Christmas time doesn't make it a Christmas book. The author must add those bits of Christmas spirit in the writing, and the Higgins Clark ladies failed to do it.
I'm afraid I can't recommend this one. It's a very quick read, so if you find it at your library and are curious, you can go that route. Otherwise, keep looking.
Anonymous
Posted April 30, 2008
Many dramatic turn of events happen. Peter is a nice but sneaky. He is the guy that steals an object. In all of the commotion he ends up with a couple of accomplices. He is one of the smartest thieves around. Sometimes the bad boys are the best. The author really allows you to think about the plot. He does not jump around and he does not do a lot of flash backs. This is one of the many points I liked. The setting is near Colorado, but then goes to New York City. I would recommend this book to any one who has troubling reading. This book was an easy reader. It was also short and to the point. I would rate this book an 8. It was a real page turner.
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Posted December 31, 2007
This is a fun, fast read. Light, humorous. I don't care for Carol's style of writing, but I love Mary's. This suspenseful story traces a con artist as he is released from prison, catches up with his accomplices, and steals away to Vermont, where he hid a flask full of diamonds in the branches of a spruce tree years ago. Too bad that very tree has been selected as the tree to be displayed in Rockefeller Center, and is about to be cut down!
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Posted January 6, 2007
this is the 1st MHC book i've read, and i loved it!! a great book with funny characters and storyline.
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Posted December 6, 2006
Half way through the book a plot comes out. It combines a Mary book and a Carol book which is where characterization comes in, i didn't read any of them and was so lost. It was a waste of time and ended so lamely. If it's in your heart to read this, rent it from the library.
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Posted November 27, 2005
This was a great book. I loved every chapter and turned each page with suspense and hungry delight. This book left me wanting more, and I should love to add it to my large shelf collection of personal classics. With a captivating plot, wonderful characters and good humor, this book was one that I deeply enjoyed and I am glad to hear that others do, too.
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Posted December 29, 2004
Mary and Carol have done it again. This was a great Christmas mystery. It was fun to read! The characters are well defined and truly hilarious. I reccommend this book!
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Posted December 30, 2004
I'm a big Mary Higgins Clark fan, however, I found this book very disappointing. The plot was simplistic and unimaginative. The character development was so poor that I found myself thinking the thief seemed more human than the other characters. Save your money.
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Posted January 2, 2005
Cute, funny book to read during the holiday season. I just felt that it was a little cheesy and unrealistic. I didn't feel the book had a good flow.
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Posted February 23, 2005
I bought this unabridged CD version for my daughter for Christmas. I am now listening to it myself. The screeching voices used to portray the characters is rendering this a trial to the ear. I will never buy another book read by Carol Higgins Clark! My daughter nor I are able to finish this assult on the eardrums. I am very disappointed because I always buy the latest 'Christmas novel' MHC has out as a gift.
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Posted November 30, 2004
If you loved Deck The Halls then you must read The Christmas Thief. It makes a great holiday read and a great gift for a mystery fan. It's fun, captivating, and the Packy Noonan character is really just a blast to follow. I highly suggest this one for a cold winter night by a fire.
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Posted December 11, 2004
Another great book by the queen of suspense and her daughter. It was a quick, enjoyable read. A must for the holiday season, or any time at all. Nice to see old friends, Opal and Regan and their families. They always keep me interested. I've always looked forward to Mary's next book and now can't wait for Carol's either.
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Posted December 7, 2004
What a refreshing story, it has it all, warmth, mystery, fun, and old friends. A must read for the season.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Packy Noonan is a natural born con artist who is able to talk people into investing over 100 million in his phony shipping company. He and his two confederates were about to cash out and leave the country when the scam was revealed. His two confederates escaped but Packy was caught and sent to jail. After serving twelve years he is freed and heads to Stowe, Vermont to get the diamonds that are hidden in an eighty foot blue spruce tree belonging to his one time employees Lenny & Viddy. He doesn¿t know that the tree is due to be cut down and taken to Rockefeller Center where it will be seen by millions of people................................... Opal, one of the people who lost money in Packy¿s scam, is also going to Stowe for the weekend, along with Alviah Meshim and her husband, Megan Reilly, her fiancée and her parents. Opal spots Packy¿s cohort Benny and winds up kidnapped. When Packy and company go to cut down the spruce they don¿t realize that Lenny¿s neighbor Wayne already found the diamonds. Packy is determined to get his jewels or die trying while Opal¿s friends search for her before something dreadful happens............................ Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter Carol Higgins Clark have written a holiday mystery that is entertaining and at times funny in a sardonic way. The Clarks put the readers in the holiday spirit with THE CHRISTMAS THIEF, a novel that stars characters from other books written by these talented authors. Readers will feel sorry for Packy who sees his dreams of getting rich slowly evaporate forcing a final Hail Mary.................................... Harriet Klausner
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Posted April 5, 2011
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Posted June 22, 2009
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Posted December 19, 2010
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Posted June 23, 2009
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Posted December 24, 2011
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Posted December 10, 2011
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Overview
Mary Higgins Clark, America’s Queen of Suspense, and her daughter, bestselling mystery writer Carol Higgins Clark, have again joined forces to create a suspenseful and humorous holiday tale.
The folks who picked a beautiful eighty-foot blue spruce from Stowe, Vermont, to be Rockefeller Center’s famous Christmas tree don’t have a clue that Packy Noonan, a scam artist just released from prison, hid priceless diamonds in it more than twelve years ago. But when Packy learns that his special tree will be heading to New York City the next morning, he knows he has to act fast.
What Packy does not know is that Alvirah, ...