Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Comic Crime
Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words
Availability
Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords
store
Author:
Details
about the author are non-existent. His or her small publisher has a website,
but even it has very little content beyond descriptions of their books.
Description:
“Meet Anita
Henry, a hard-working, single mom trying to launch her own business after
losing her job. The only problem is a nasty lawsuit charging her with stealing
secrets from her ex-employer.
Corporate
espionage? Please. Her single greatest offense was a fashion felony. But when a
shady court ruling forces Anita to cease and desist, she’s determined to set
things right.
Her plan
involves launching the hippest night spot in town, but can she work her scheme
while juggling her brother the musician, who likes her couch just a little too
much; his manager, who’s prone to some sketchy accounting practices; an
ex-husband who can’t seem to remember those child support payments; and an old
flame who wouldn't mind heating things up again?”
Appraisal:
Mom Con and I got off to a rough start due
to my inner armchair lawyer, which questioned the premise that kicked the whole
thing off. Specifically the protagonist, Anita, and her two sidekicks, Chris
and Renée, had developed a new product for the company where they worked. When
the three were all let go, they decided to start their own company to develop
the product and were sued by their former employer. Although the three had
spent weeks “determining the feasibility of bringing the product to market,
much of the time off the clock,” it was clear that legally, they didn’t have a
leg to stand on. That their (now former) employer might have played fast and
loose with the rules to win the case wasn’t credible, because he didn’t have
to, the law was on his side.
In spite of
this shaky foundation, I loved the three main characters and hated (or at least
strongly disliked) their ex-boss, so I managed to suspend my disbelief and
start pulling for them in their attempt to get even. He’d still done plenty to
deserve it. The story of how they extract their revenge was a fun one (think The Sting or some other con game like
that) and, with the exception of the too frequent typos and other proofing
misses I kept tripping over, it was a fun, well-written, and relatively quick
read. Readers who don’t have an inner editor or lawyer aching to get out should
eat this one up.
FYI:
A very
small amount of adult language.
Format/Typo Issues:
A moderate
amount of typos and other proofing/copy-editing misses.
Rating: *** Three stars
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