Just wanted to say Happy New Year to everyone. The last few months have been a blur due to real life stuff but if I were to make a resolution it would be to spend more time on here. It's a little slice of calm in crazy times & I love the interactions, reviews & recommendations. 

To all of you, here's hoping 2020 is a year of peace, health, happiness & great books. 

Alrighty then, down to business....

This is a book that wastes no time grabbing your attention. After reading the blurb, you have a fair idea of the initial set-up. Then you read the first few pages. Wait…what? No worries, that’s just a little taste of what’s to come. The story then goes back in time to the previous week & how it all began.

Nora Trier used to be your average CPA. That was before she was named as the whistle-blower in a case that brought down a major corporation & made her a pariah, both personally & professionally. But her brains & tenacity were just what a man named Jim Parrish was looking for & she soon embarked on a new career as a forensic accountant. Now she’s one of 4 partners in a firm with an impressive reputation for uncovering fraud.

The secret to her success? Opportunity….pressure….rationalization. Find the person with all three & you’ve found your thief.

Which is exactly what their newest client needs. Gregg Abbott & his wife Logan Russo are the sole owners of Strike, a billion dollar athletics empire with a problem. One week from now they are hosting an international kick boxing tournament that is sold out. Just one tiny issue…the $20 million prize purse is missing.

Nora has reservations about taking the job & we soon learn why. But her partners are keen & in short order, she’s heading an investigation into the company that will dig up all it’s dirty little secrets.

I was a huge fan of this author’s previous book so was thrilled to get my grubby mitts on this one. Just a heads up…this is a big departure. Initially the investigation takes a backseat as it’s interspersed with extensive history on the principal characters including their childhoods, relationships & memories. This was a bit frustrating for a couple of reasons. First, the opening pages piqued my spidey senses so I was desperate for present day events to unfold. Second, despite all the personal information we’re given, oddly enough I never really connected with any of the characters. Part of that is necessary as it soon becomes clear at least one of them is lying. By obscuring their inner thoughts & motivations, the reader is kept guessing as to who did what until the final pages. But it also prevented me from feeling like I got to know them.

Nora is a coolly professional woman with no time or talent for social skills. She wears her business suits like armour but that facade begins to crack when her personal connections to the investigation threaten everything she’s worked for. As events take a deadly turn, a different Nora begins to emerge as she’s forced to fight for her life.

The investigative aspect of the plot is very well done. There’s enough detail re: accounting practices & financial data to allow you to understand what they’re doing but it never feels didactic. The story behind the missing $20 million is full of twists, lies & hidden agendas. All the characters have rational explanations for their actions. So who’s telling the truth? I’m betting your won’t have it completely figured out before you reach the big finale.

Just downloaded High Stakes Trial - Mindy Klasky  .  I enjoyed the first two -- admittedly on the humorous chick lit side despite paranormal elements.

Hadn't realized a third was in the works.

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

Another fun, hilarious book from Mindy Kaling. Great book for fans of the first one as well as any of her shows. The writing is weird and funny, just like we've all come to expect from Kaling. 

One of the great things about Kaling's writing is she'll talk about hanging out with other celebrities and such, but it doesn't feel like namedropping. She brings up other actors she is actually close with and tells interesting stories about them instead of just peppering their names in her writing. I recently read a celebrity memoir that featured so many namedrops, I couldn't help but roll my eyes when another famous person's name came up. Kaling has a great balance. Plus her story about Edward Albee was hilarious. 

Like any book, this one isn't perfect (that fantasy Latin teacher thing told almost exclusively in emails and text got a little played out by the end), but it is an entertaining and interesting book nonetheless. So many topics come up- weight, confidence, rejection, juice cleanses, friendship, and it is so fun to read Kaling's perspective on things.