"Laced" by Carol Higgins Clark

by Adrienne Kelsey

So here's what happened ...

I'm at work rushing to grab all my things before I leave for my doctors appointment which I'm already late for. As I'm almost one foot outside the door I realize I may need some reading material just in case my doctor is really late. Where do I turn ... the pile of crime fiction books waiting to be read on a table beside my desk.

You might be thinking "but I thought she said in her last blog that she gave up on crime fiction books because they're too scary (big sissy ;-))".

Well, after reading the back cover of this one, it seemed pretty low key so I thought I'd give it a shot. Good for me!

And am I ever glad that I did. This book is a great read! Let me give you a little description on what it's about:

At the start of Clark's light-hearted 10th Regan Reilly mystery (after 2006's Hitched), newlyweds Regan, a PI, and Jack Reilly, head of the Major Case Squad in New York City, are anticipating an idyllic honeymoon in western Ireland. But their hopes of tranquility are soon dashed. Early the first morning at their hotel, Hennessy Castle, Regan wakes up and thinks she sees a ghost out their window; the next moment a fire alarm sends her and Jack and the hotel's other guests to the lobby. Later, a rare lace tablecloth on display at the castle disappears. Legend says it was made by May Reilly in the early 19th century, but because May was never paid for her work, her ghost haunts the castle. Jack's receiving a note signed by two thieves he's been trying to track down in New York complicates matters, as do the efforts of an American couple to cheat a talented local artist. In an atmospheric mystery loaded with quaint characters, Clark gives the reader a unique tour of Ireland from narrow country roads to the city of Galway.

I really like this book because it reads like a Nora Roberts novel - easy to read, interesting story, and engaging characters.

I also liked the fact that this novel is crime fiction but doesn't include a gory, gruesome death or mauling of someone. Crime can involve more sublime themes yet still be intriguing.