Clark, Carol Higgins 1956(?)-

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CLARK, Carol Higgins 1956(?)-

PERSONAL: Born c. 1956; daughter of Warren (an airline executive) and Mary (a writer; maiden name, Higgins) Clark.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Scribner, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. E-mail—chc4rr@ aol.com.

CAREER: Actress and novelist. Appeared off-Broadway, and in television films and miniseries, including Fatal Charm, Night of the Fox, and A Cry in the Night.

AWARDS, HONORS: Agatha Award nomination, 1992, for Decked; AudioFile Earphone Award, 2002, for Jinxed.

WRITINGS:

MYSTERY NOVELS

Decked, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1992.

Snagged, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1993.

Iced, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Twanged, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1998.

(With mother, Mary Higgins Clark) Deck the Halls, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2000.

Fleeced, Scribner (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Mary Higgins Clark) He Sees You When You're Sleeping, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2001.

Jinxed, Scribner (New York, NY), 2002.

Popped, Scribner (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Some authors have writing in their blood. Such a writer is Carol Higgins Clark, who has penned a series of popular mystery novels featuring sleuth Regan Reilly, beginning with Decked. Clark is the daughter of best-selling suspense novelist Mary Higgins Clark, whose own titles include A Stranger Is Watching, The Cradle Will Fall, and Remember Me. Carol Higgins Clark is also an actress. Among other roles, she starred in the television version of one of her mother's books, A Cry in the Night.

Clark grew up with four siblings, all of whom, like their mother, were interested in storytelling. She recalled for Michael A. Lipton and Ann Guerin in People magazine: "If anyone told a boring story in my family, he or she was promptly cut off." Clark's father died when she was still a young child, and her mother began writing, eventually penning the novels that would send Carol and her brothers and sisters to college. After college, Carol Higgins Clark began acting, adding her mother's maiden name to her own at the insistence of an acting agent. She did both off-Broadway productions and television work, but between acting roles she worked typing her mother's manuscripts.

Though she learned much from her mother, critics have noted that the younger Clark's novel-writing style is different: lighter and more humorous than that of her mother. "Her books are scarier," Clark noted of her mother's novels in an interview with Philadelphia Inquirer contributor Thomas J. Brady. "She's known for being the queen of suspense, as they say, whereas mine are funny. . . . I'm glad, because I'd rather have my own voice than to try and do the same thing that my mother is doing."

Decked, Clark's first effort, introduces sleuth Regan Reilly, whose mother is a suspense writer. The story starts with Reilly's visit to Oxford University for a reunion with classmates who had once joined her in spending a semester abroad. During the reunion, the body of Athena, a Greek student who Reilly and her comrades thought had run away years before, is discovered. The corpse is found on the estate of one of Regan's professors, and in the course of Reilly's investigation, she must accompany the professor's eccentric aunt on a cruise across the Atlantic Ocean. As a Publishers Weekly reviewer noted, "Clark deftly ties the plot playing out on the ocean liner to Athena's murder in a suspenseful climax." Susan Toepfer, writing in People, hailed the book as "a sharp and satisfying mystery." She predicted that the character of Reilly could "easily carry a dozen more books."

Snagged concerns possible murder attempts on a man who has invented a type of virtually indestructible pantyhose. Reilly and her parents are at a hotel in Miami that is hosting two conventions—one for funeral directors (her father's profession) and one for the pantyhose industry. Clark attended a hosiery business convention in order to do research for her novel, where "They kept telling me to say 'hosiery,'" she told Sarah Booth Conroy of the Washington Post. Stacy Pober, reviewing Snagged for Library Journal, cited the author's "fine talent for giving many of the characters distinctive voices." Glenna Whitley, in New York Times Book Review, applauded the novel as "upbeat" and "fast-paced."

In Iced Clark allows Reilly to travel to Aspen, Colorado, where the sleuth has recommended a friend—who is an ex-con—for a house-sitting job. When her friend and some paintings disappear, others jump to conclusions, but Reilly sets out to clear his name. Several other possible art thieves are on the local scene, including a mysterious figure known as the Coyote. "Clark's tone is as chipper as ever in her third Regan Reilly book," observed a Publishers Weekly critic. Emily Melton, in Booklist, declared the novel to be "solidly entertaining, mostly clever, occasionally funny, and always fun." Iced was also recommended for younger readers by Claudia Moore in the School Library Journal, who affirmed it as "a good choice for teens, who will enjoy the wit."

Southampton socialites are Higgins's satirical target in Twanged. In this novel, Reilly goes to Long Island to protect up-and-coming country music star Brigid O'Neill from the clutches of Chappy Tinka, a wealthy buffoon who wants to steal Brigid's fiddle. The instrument was a gift from legendary Irish fiddler Malachy Sheerin and is believed to bring good luck to its owner; Chappy believes that, if only he possessed the magic fiddle, he could become a major star, and his efforts to get his hands on the instrument set in motion a series of events reviewers have described as more zany than suspenseful. A Publishers Weekly contributor enjoyed the book's "promising screwball-comedy plot," but added that Twanged suffers from some "clumsy" writing. Alice DiNizo was more enthusiastic about the work, dubbing it in Library Journal a "light but well-composed" mystery.

Taking time out from their successful solo writing careers, mother and daughter have collaborated in Deck the Halls, a Christmas-themed mystery that critics noted would please both writers' fans. Revolving around a plot to kidnap Reilly's father, Luke, and featuring both Reilly and Mary Higgins Clark's amateur detective, Alvirah Meehan, as investigators, the novel combines suspense and comedy in a mix that Booklist's Stephanie Zvirin found seamless but "lightweight." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly expressed a similar opinion, deeming the book a "middling" effort that would nevertheless appeal to the Clarks' loyal readers.

In Higgin's seventh solo "Regan Reilly" novel, Popped, the detective flies to Las Vegas to help an old school chum, Danny Madley, who is producing a reality TV show pilot where three couples battle for a chance to renew their wedding vows and win one million dollars. At the same time, Madley and his show compete with a sitcom producer for a slot on the Hot Air Balloon Channel. However, someone is trying to sabotage the show before Danny can shoot the final scene at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. "Clark's latest 'Regan Reilly' mystery," according to a Booklist reviewer, "has all the substance of cotton candy, but as a poolside diversion, it's perfectly amiable." "The writing," added the critic, "hovers on the edge of cliche, and there is no suspense to speak of, but the silliness of it all delivers a kind of mindless good time." According to a writer in Publishers Weekly, Popped "takes aim at all sorts of eminently spoofable targets, including reality TV shows, advice columnists, and screen actors." The result is "zany, if not particularly brilliant, fun in the desert, with an ending series fans will love."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 15, 1995, p. 1611; November 1, 2000, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Deck the Halls, p. 492; September 15, 2003, review of Popped, p. 180.

Library Journal, July, 1992, p. 131; September 1, 1993, p. 242; June 1, 1995, p. 170; February 1, 1998, Alice DiNizo, review of Twanged, p. 116.

New York Times Book Review, October 17, 1993, p. 42.

People, August 31, 1992, p. 31; November 2, 1992, pp. 79, 82.

Philadelphia Inquirer, April 19, 1998, Thomas J. Brady, interview with Carol Higgins Clark.

Publishers Weekly, May 18, 1992, pp. 60-61; June 14, 1993, p. 64; May 29, 1995, p. 70; December 22, 1997, review of Twanged, p. 41; March 6, 2000, "Move for Higgins Clark Jr.," p. 14; October 30, 2000, review of Deck the Halls, p. 47; September 8, 2003, review of Popped, p. 60.

School Library Journal, January, 1996, p. 138.

USA Today, May 18, 1995, p. D14.

Washington Post, September 28, 1993, p. C1.