One day a con man met an heiress, wooed her, married her, had two kids…and kept on conning. Jillian Moorewood is the oldest child from that meet-cute-gone-wrong marriage. The stable one. The sensible and dependable one. The one who protects and fixes. The one who went to prison to save their sorry butts. Now, thirty-nine months later, she’s out and she’s more than a little pissed.
Finally home she finds the scheming clan in full family fleecing mode. They all claim they didn’t really agree to Jillian’s previous go-legit-or-else ultimatum before she went away. They viewed it as a “suggestion” then ignored it. So, business as usual. But Jillian is done with the lies and fakery. She demands the whole messed-up crew clean up its act, and this time she’s not kidding—she has the leverage to make it happen.
Problem is, her life is in shambles, but with the help of a great aunt (crooked but loveable), a bodyguard (who is a nice surprise after three years in prison), and a few allies (all working undercover), Jillian starts to put her life back together. She kicks out a few mooching relatives living under her roof, sets limits on everyone’s access to the money, ducks from their various attacks, and sees if that bodyguard is maybe interested in sticking around for a while. For the first time, she’s Jillian Moorewood, her own woman, and she’s ready to figure out who she is.
PJ's Thoughts:
I gobbled up this book like a bag of Peanut M&M's after a 40-day fast. Would I want to be part of this dysfunctional (dare I say, murderous?) family of con artists in real life? Absolutely not! But, in the capable hands of HelenKay Dimon, and a fictional story I happily immersed myself in, I couldn't get enough of them. These characters are fascinating. Each and every one of them has so many intriguing layers, keeping me off balance, wondering which - and on whose - side they would land. Some are obvious. Others, not so much. All of them keep the story moving forward at a brisk pace, skillfully guided by their creator through a myriad of twists and turns that kept me eagerly flipping pages to see what would happen next. And when I reached the end, somewhere around 3:00 AM? The first thing I wanted to do was go back to page one and read it all over again to soak in all of the clever lines, unexpected detours, and subtle nuances I may have missed the first time through. This is one I know I'll be reading again. It checked all of my happy reader boxes.
Moorewood Family Rules is quirky, twisty, cringey, laugh-out-loud fun. If you've seen Knives Out or Glass Onion (A Knives Out Mystery), it has that same vibe. In fact, the publisher describes it as "Knives Out and Ocean’s 8 meets The Nest." I would agree.
I don't know if Dimon plans to write any more books in this vein but I can guarantee that if she does I'll be first in line to buy them. Moorewood Family Rules is one of the most entertaining books I've read this year. I enthusiastically recommend adding it to your summer reading list. And, for you happily-ever-after romance fans, yes, there is a love interest for our heroine. And he's pretty yummy.
~~~~~~~~~
Because I've gushed so much about this book and want to share it with everyone, Avon has very generously offered a print, trade-size copy of Moorewood Family Rules for today's giveaway. So, tell me...
Have you read anything by HelenKay Dimon?
Do you enjoy twisty, quirky stories that bring the suspense but also keep you laughing?
Have you seen any of the movies referenced above?
What's the most entertaining book you've read so far this year?
One person, randomly chosen, who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, April 29 will receive the print copy of Moorewood Family Rules.
*U.S. only
*Must be 18
