Book Review: Decked: Regan Riley Mysteries 1

Author: Carol Higgins Clark

Published: July 1992

Format Read: Library Ebook

Genre: Mystery

My Rating: 3.25/5

I currently base my reviews loosely around the CAWPILE system developed by Book Roast on YouTube. I modify the categories depending on the format of the story I’m reviewing.

My star ratings are purely by my opinion and not measured by any particular metric.

SPOILER WARNING: This review will contain spoilers! Proceed with caution!

Summary

When P.I. Regan Reilly attends a class reunion in England, the long-dead body of her former roommate turns up. Clues to the mystery follow Regan as she sails home--and into the hands of a killer.

Characters

Regan is interesting, nice, and sassy. I like her parents more, honestly. They were more developed. Victoria is irritating to caricature levels. In fact, nearly all of the characters were pretty wild and outrageous. I liked the inspector overall. Val’s motivation was weak.

Atmosphere

Cruise ship stuff made more sense since I was on a cruise while I read this. The dinners, the activities, everything made sense in the setting. There was the mystery of Athena’s murder handing around, but there were a lot of other ones going on as well. Sometimes it was a little too much.

Writing Style

Oh my goodness, the head-hopping was insane! It wasn’t just one section to another, sometimes I think it happened in the same paragraph. It sometimes made it hard to follow. Also, I had a hard time figuring out the time period of the story. Sometimes it seemed almost Victorian, other times almost modern. Pretty straightforward overall.

Plot

The plot was kind of a typical mystery story, with a few twists and turns. Straightforward. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and I did get Harwick and Gabby Gavin mixed up several times. Also, it actually really bothered me that Regan referred to her parents by their first names, even when it was told from her perspective. At the end, I feel that everything resolved way too cleanly.  The end is a little too tidy.

Intrigue

I was trying to piece everything together the whole time. Who killed Athena? However, I expected there to be another murder that would wind up being connected to Athena’s. While it did keep me guessing, I think it could have had even more to keep you in the story.

Logic

Yeah, everything made sense within the story and it did all connect in the end.

Enjoyment and Final Thoughts

It was okay for what it was, I suppose. A little mystery to solve and figure out. Again, the head-hopping was ridiculous. There were times when I had no idea which character we were on. It could have been better for sure. One more murder would have been nice, maybe some more high stakes. Overall it was a little bland, but good enough, I guess. No plans to read any more in this series.

The ending gelt like a cheesy old show that ends with a one-liner and freeze frame before cheesy music starts.

Would I Recommend?

Sure. It’s a quick little mystery. Even with the head-hopping. Kinda fun, like watching old black and whites.