Carol Higgins Clark Books In Order

Publication Order of Regan Reilly Mystery Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Alvirah and Willy Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

She’s part of the “Baldwins” of the book world – writing is clearly a common trait in the Clark family. Her name is Carol Higgins Clark, daughter of author Mary Higgins Clark, and ex sister in law of author Mary Jane Clark.

Born in the 50s, Carol Higgins Clark clearly inherited her mothers gift for mystery and suspense writing. Every single book Mary Higgins Clark puts out will be on a bestseller list SOMEWHERE, yet Carol Higgins Clark has been able to break out of the shadow of her mother.

Initially however, Carol Higgins Clark wasn’t planning to be writer. She had the goal of acting, and studied it as well as starring in the likes of “Who Killed Amy Lang” as well as “A Cry in the Night”.

However the writing bug hit Clark – as it tends to do. She was assisting her mother with various writing duties such as re-typing all of her transcripts for her, as well as assisting in changes to her books such as naming locations different and naming characters different.

Carol Higgins Clark learned a lot by helping her mother, and this is what would lead her to be a writer. Her novels are similar to her mothers in that they are suspense novels, however the books do contain a light-heartedness that her mothers books don’t have. It’s quite interesting reading both Carol and her mothers novels, because while you can tell they are from the same family and have the same voice, the books are still different enough.

Carol Higgins Clarks books feature the character Regan Reilly, and the inspiration from her mother is clearly obvious. In a nice tribute to her mother, the character Regan Reillys mother is a famous author called Nora Regan Reilly – a nice hat tip to her mother there.

Regan Reilly is female, and enjoyed the finer side of life with education in private schools as well as trips around Europe, before becoming a private detective.

Carol Higgins Clark Books: Decked

The first novel in Carol Higgins Clarks Regan Reilly Series of Books is entitled Decked. In what is a great way at establishing the character immediately, there is a class reunion and she attends it, only to discover the body of her ex-roommate, who had disappeared years ago.

Decked is a fantastic mystery and with the experience of helping her mother, it allows Carol Higgins Clark to come flying out at the start line with a top notch book. Often with authors and their first books, you’ll find that they can be a bit rough. While like any author, Higgins Clark gets better with age, her first book Decked is still a great novel.

It’s a very solid mystery that is easy to read and skim through. As mentioned above there is a lot of good humour in it and it also has a very nice story of suspense. It features realistic characters and is set up really well in terms of a “Whodunnit” – with many realistic characters.

Carol Higgins Clark Books: Jinxed

Jinxed is the sixth novel in the Regan Reilly series of novels, and is endorsed by NYT Bestseller Nelson DeMille. DeMilles quote on the book was that it will “keep readers entrances and entertained from cover to cover.” It does just that right from the beginning when our favourite LA Private Investirgator receives a call from Lilac Weldon. Weldons daughter, an actress, has gone missing.

Time is also not on their side either, with a wedding coming up that her daughter needs to be there for. A wedding? Is it really that big a deal? Why of course it is – because every family member who attends gets $2 million dollars from the rich aunt who is getting married.

This is a thriller from the offset. The villains in the story are set in place immediately, and the only real problem with it, like many of her books, is it can be a bit overwhelming in terms of all of the characters that appear and are introduced. Very easy to lose track – especially if you are reading on a Kindle or similar ereader.

It’s still a great mystery book though, and a good enough story that even after you’re finished it – you can still go back and read it again.

Books Turned Into Movies

At this time, none of Carol Higgins Clark books exclusively written by her have been made into either a movie, or a television show or mini series.

However, Deck the Halls HAS been made into a movie. This book was written by both Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark, and features Regan Reilly. The book is ironically credited more to Mary than Carol.

The move itself was released in 2011, with Scottie Thompson playing Regan Reilly. Thompson is generally found in TV movies, although she had a run as Jeannie Benoit on NCIS. Jack was played by Eric Johnson, a Canadian whose major roles include Legend of the Falls and Rookie Blue.

5 Responses to “Carol Higgins Clark”

1. Lori Mutlow: 2 years ago

   I love and enjoy your books. Please keep writing. I love your mom’s book too. I have read a lot of them already.

   Reply
2. Eleanor: 2 years ago

   which of her series is the one with her father the funeral director that has been kidnapped..thank you Eleanor

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     I believe that is Deck the Halls

     Reply
3. Susan Barksdale: 2 years ago

   Love your books have all yours and your moms.Sorry for your loss she will be missed.Please keeping writing.

   Reply
4. Beatrice: 2 years ago

   I love your books are you coming out with another regan Reilly book

   Reply