Gypped

May 28, 2012
In this flat and formulaic 15th installment in the Regan Reilly mystery series (after Mobbed), the titular PI and her husband, Jack, are in L.A. for a meeting and some downtime, but when Regan runs into a former fellow game show contestant, their trip takes a turn for the worse. Seven years ago, Zelda and Regan met and made nice on Puzzling Words. When they run into each other while shopping, Zelda divulges that she has recently inherited $8 million from a deceased neighbor, and has used some of the money to bid on and win a weeklong stay at a Hollywood Hills mansion. Though Jack has to work, Regan agrees to attend a dinner party at the estate. Surprised to find the manse in deplorable condition, Regan rallies and stays for tea after the other guests have left. Zelda suddenly falls ill, and so Regan stays the night. The next morning she discovers a butcher knife hidden by her car, and soon the newly minted multimillionaire is entreating Regan to investigate her new cohort, including her pushy lawyer, Rich; her flamboyant assistant, Norman; and even Zelda's new stepmother, Bobby Jo, who married Zelda's father in Vegas after a distressingly brief courtship. As Regan digs deeper, she discovers that she and Zelda might be danger. Fans of the series will get they're looking for, but a barebones plot and lack of suspense make Clark's newest unlikely to appeal to new readers.