I found this hidden gem at a used bookstore. Since I'm a fan of Mary Higgins Clark, I was excited to find one of her novels that I had not previously read. "The Lottery Winner" consists of six stories based on the lives of Alvirah and her husband Willy. These characters were introduced in the previous Clark novel, "Weep No More, My Lady". Alvirah and Willy are a husband-and-wife team that spent the first part of their lives as a very ordinary couple. Alvirah worked as a domestic, cleaning homes of her wealthy clients. Willy worked as a plumber. One faithful day, they played the "numbers" and won a forty-million-dollar lottery. They spend their time traveling the globe, with a home base in New York City, not far from their previous home (which they still own). Alvirah has become known as an amateur sleuth. Their travels always find them solving mysteries along the way. "The Lottery Winner" showcases some of the mysteries that they encounter.
If you are a fan of Agatha Christie and/or Sherlock Holmes, you may find this an enjoyable read. ( )

The Lottery Winner is a book of four short stories. Three of the four are nice adventures. The unfortunate part of the stories is that they are unbelievable in the neatness of their conclusions. The fourth story is the most upsetting because of the story itself. The likelihood of a nice tidy ending in real life is probably slim to nil. Because of the horrible premise of the fourth story and the neatness of the conclusion, this book has been awarded only three stars. ( )

Entertaining short stories about Alvirah and Willy of NYC. Their life changed after they became lottery winners and Alvirah follows her passion for people and solving crimes, usually murder. Very light hearted and funny stories. ( )

Alvirah + Willy short stories ok — good stories / many of them

Six crime stories featuring Alvirah Meehan, a former cleaning woman using the $40 million won in a lottery to sleuth for justice. Also appearing is her ex-plumber husband, Willie. By the author of Weep No More, My Lady.

Alvirah was a cleaning lady and Willy was a plumber when they won the lottery. Alvirah no longer cleans for a living, but has become somewhat of an amateur detective. She wears a sunburst pin that is actually a tiny recorder and she writes articles about her adventures for a newspaper. ( )