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Book Review
Publisher: Independent Publishing
Publication Date: August 10, 2012
Format: eBook - 261 pages / Kindle - 484 KB
ASIN: B008W1L5IA
Genre: Romantic Suspense
BUY THE BOOK: To Catch A Bad Guy
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Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours.
Book Description:
Janet Maple's stellar career ended with a lay off and her boyfriend of five years told her that he wants to be just friends. When she lands a job at one of New York’s premier boutique investment firms, Janet begins to hope that her luck is finally turning for the better. Not only is she happy with her new paycheck, but things also seem to be looking up on the personal front, as the company’s handsome attorney expresses keen interest in Janet. However, her euphoria is short-lived, as Janet soon discovers alarming facts about her new employer’s business tactics. When her boss dismisses her suspicions as groundless, Janet finds herself confiding to a cute IT engineer, Dean Snider. The closer she gets to Dean, the more Janet is tempted to break her rule of not dating co-workers, but what she doesn’t realize is that everything she knows about Dean, including his occupation and even his name, is a lie.
Dennis Walker is a top-notch white collar crime investigator who will stop at nothing to put culprits away. When an opportunity for an undercover assignment at one of New York’s premier boutique broker dealers comes up, Dennis jumps at the chance, adopting a persona of geeky IT engineer, Dean Snider. While he may be an ace at his job, years of experience fail him when Dennis meets Janet Maple and finds himself torn between his professional obligations and his personal desires. Will he have to choose between his feelings and duty, or will he find a way to satisfy both?
Book Excerpt:
“Janet?”
A knock on her office door made Janet jump up in her seat. She looked at her watch. It was eleven o’clock on the dot.
“Hi, Tom.” Janet slowly looked up from her computer screen. She might have spent the last hour agonizing over her meeting with Tom, but he did not need to know that: to him, she was a busy lawyer in a leading securities firm. So what if her computer monitor merely had her email screen? Thankfully, even a man as suave as Tom Wyman did not possess x-ray vision.
“So nice to see you again, Janet.” Tom beamed her a smile, and Janet found herself wondering whether he bleached his teeth, which could put a Colgate commercial to shame. “So how do you find your second day at the firm?”
“Great, thank you. I’ve just been going through some paperwork.” Janet sensed Tom’s eyes alternating from her face to the neckline of her blouse and finally settling on her face, for which he went up a notch in her book.
“Ah, yes – the infamous non-disclosure paperwork, which I’m proud to say I drafted myself.”
Janet shot Tom a curious glance, unsure whether to raise her concerns.
“It’s nothing to be alarmed about,” Tom addressed her silent question. “For someone like yourself, the paperwork is a mere formality. We legal folks are more than aware of the importance of confidentiality, but some of the traders we’ve got working here may not be as sensitive… The biggest risk comes with disgruntled employees – whether laid off or leaving because of personal differences, unethical employees will try to take their revenge on the firm by spreading false rumors, and the purpose of the non-disclosure paperwork is to stop them from doing just that.”
“I see.” Janet nodded. “I’ll have it completed shortly.”
“So, are you ready for your first lesson in special purpose vehicles?” Tom grabbed a chair and pulled it behind Janet’s desk, settling next to her.
“We could go into a conference room,” Janet faltered. Her office suddenly seemed incredibly small with Tom being so close to her, causing her to question her outfit. Perhaps, she should have worn a blouse with a higher neckline after all.
“Why bother? It’s nice and cozy here.”
Janet sensed Tom’s shiny black eyes on her, as his knee brushed against her thigh and froze like a rabbit hypnotized by a python. Her earlier plans to flirt with Tom Wyman seemed juvenile now – Janet was no match for her overpowering opponent. Tom Wyman’s masculine presence made it clear that he was not the kind of man to be toyed around with: he expected a woman to either go all in or stay out of his way. And Janet certainly was not ready to go all in. She was not even ready to have Tom’s knee brush her thigh.
Janet’s thoughts must have been plastered all over her face because a moment later Tom pushed his chair away from hers.
“Right, so here’s a quick overview of Bostoff’s entities…” Tom shifted his chair back and opened his briefcase, laying a thick manila folder on the desk.
It must have been an accident, Janet thought of Tom’s earlier touch – either that or the man was an expert actor.
A knock on her office door made Janet jump up in her seat. She looked at her watch. It was eleven o’clock on the dot.
“Hi, Tom.” Janet slowly looked up from her computer screen. She might have spent the last hour agonizing over her meeting with Tom, but he did not need to know that: to him, she was a busy lawyer in a leading securities firm. So what if her computer monitor merely had her email screen? Thankfully, even a man as suave as Tom Wyman did not possess x-ray vision.
“So nice to see you again, Janet.” Tom beamed her a smile, and Janet found herself wondering whether he bleached his teeth, which could put a Colgate commercial to shame. “So how do you find your second day at the firm?”
“Great, thank you. I’ve just been going through some paperwork.” Janet sensed Tom’s eyes alternating from her face to the neckline of her blouse and finally settling on her face, for which he went up a notch in her book.
“Ah, yes – the infamous non-disclosure paperwork, which I’m proud to say I drafted myself.”
Janet shot Tom a curious glance, unsure whether to raise her concerns.
“It’s nothing to be alarmed about,” Tom addressed her silent question. “For someone like yourself, the paperwork is a mere formality. We legal folks are more than aware of the importance of confidentiality, but some of the traders we’ve got working here may not be as sensitive… The biggest risk comes with disgruntled employees – whether laid off or leaving because of personal differences, unethical employees will try to take their revenge on the firm by spreading false rumors, and the purpose of the non-disclosure paperwork is to stop them from doing just that.”
“I see.” Janet nodded. “I’ll have it completed shortly.”
“So, are you ready for your first lesson in special purpose vehicles?” Tom grabbed a chair and pulled it behind Janet’s desk, settling next to her.
“We could go into a conference room,” Janet faltered. Her office suddenly seemed incredibly small with Tom being so close to her, causing her to question her outfit. Perhaps, she should have worn a blouse with a higher neckline after all.
“Why bother? It’s nice and cozy here.”
Janet sensed Tom’s shiny black eyes on her, as his knee brushed against her thigh and froze like a rabbit hypnotized by a python. Her earlier plans to flirt with Tom Wyman seemed juvenile now – Janet was no match for her overpowering opponent. Tom Wyman’s masculine presence made it clear that he was not the kind of man to be toyed around with: he expected a woman to either go all in or stay out of his way. And Janet certainly was not ready to go all in. She was not even ready to have Tom’s knee brush her thigh.
Janet’s thoughts must have been plastered all over her face because a moment later Tom pushed his chair away from hers.
“Right, so here’s a quick overview of Bostoff’s entities…” Tom shifted his chair back and opened his briefcase, laying a thick manila folder on the desk.
It must have been an accident, Janet thought of Tom’s earlier touch – either that or the man was an expert actor.
My Book Review:
Twenty-nine year old Janet Maple has spent the last four years as an NYC Assistant District Attorney in the Investigation Division, when her position was "downsized" by her ex-boss Alex Kinglsey, who happens to also be her ex-boyfriend.
Janet's childhood best friend, Lisa Foley, offered her a position as an Assistant General Counsel at the prestigious Bostoff Securities investment/trading firm. Janet thinks her career is on an upswing, but as she learns more about the firm, she discovers questionable practices and has to decide what to do with her findings.
Dennis Walker is a top-notch white collar crime investigator in the Department of Treasury's Investigations Unit. Dennis' current assignment has him infiltrating Bostoff Securities by going undercover as Dean Snider, Chief IT Analyst. He is responsible for gathering additional evidence for their investigation into Bostoff Securities. So far everything that he has learned about the firm indicates corruption with deep financial violations. The most difficult part of his assignment is to remain undiscovered and not allow his cover to be blown.
When Janet discovers the firm's questionable practices, Lisa blows them off as nothing, so Janet turns to the sympathetic ear of Dean Snider, not knowing his true identity. An attraction and friendship forms between Janet and Dean, but Dennis/Dean becomes torn between his professional obligation and his personal attraction for Janet. Can Dennis/Dean have the best of both worlds, or does he have to choose? What will Janet do when she discovers Dean's true identity and profession? Can Janet and Dennis work together to catch a bad guy?
To Catch A Bad Guy is an intriguing romantic suspense story. This is the first book in the Janet Maple series, written in the third person narrative with alternating points of view from Janet Maple and Dennis Walker, with a side story into the Bostoff family empire. Set in the Wall Street financial world of New York City, author Marie Astor weaves an entertaining tale surrounding the areas of white collar crime investigations and the financial world of stock trading/investments. The author does a great job of engaging the reader with a fast-paced storyline full of intrigue, suspense and romance.
Author Marie Astor provides a storyline that is thoroughly researched into the complicated financial world of stock trading and white collar crime, and makes it easy for the reader to follow along. I really enjoyed the mixture of suspense and romance in the story, it had a good balance that kept me interested in following Janet and Dennis' story.
With an engaging cast of characters; sassy dialogue and interactions; rich in detail and descriptions of the financial corporate and law fields; and enough romance to spice things up; To Catch A Bad Guy is a fun romantic suspense story that will keep the reader turning the pages!
To Catch A Bad Guy is a pleasant diversion from author Marie Astor's usual chick lit contemporary romance novels. It is a fun, sassy, intriguing, and sizzling romantic suspense novel that is part of a new series that she has written. I look forward to reading the second book in the Janet Maple series.
RATING: 4 STARS ****
Good reveiw. I'm also a Jersey girl transplanted from Tuckerton to Largo, FL. I hope things up there are getting back to normal. I'm following you. Please consider following me.
ReplyDeleteJava With Jambor
Hi A.L.! Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Once a Jersey Girl, always a Jersey Girl. Things are slowly getting back to normal, it's going to take a little while, but we're Jersey Strong. Love your blog, I am now following you. :)
DeleteThanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Samantha! Thank you for the opportunity to host Marie's virtual book tour event. :)
DeleteHi Kathleen,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your wonderful review of To Catch a Bad Guy! I'so glad to hear that you enjoyed the book!
Marie
Hi Marie! I really enjoyed reading the book, loved that you made it a romantic suspense story. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. :)
DeleteGreat review, Kathleen. I think Marie writes such fun, sassy female characters. It sounds like Janet is playing with fire with Tom.
ReplyDeleteKathleen...How did you fare during Sandy? My brother in NJ was without power for 9 days--and it got pretty cold. We had no problems here in Brunswick County (NC)...it's worse weather here today--dreary, cold & rainy. UGH.
catherinelee100 at gmail dot com
Hi Catherine! Thank you for stopping by and visiting.
DeleteWe went 3 days without power, got a bit of damage to the house but nothing too bad. My poor state and her people have really been devastated, especially along the shoreline, but we're Jersey Strong. Thanks for asking, I appreciate it. :)
It is cold here,in the 40s ... ugghhh ..