Run for the Money

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques Working for the Chinese Earthquake Relief Fund (CERF) should be a dream job for Whitney "Pink" Pearl but it quickly goes downhill. While applying for a mortgage to buy a house back home in Midland, Texas, Pink discovers a slight discrepancy ... about $200,000 worth... in her bank account. Looking into the matter she discovers a paper trail proving she has embezzled all that money from CERF to buy Chinese antiques for that new house she doesn't yet own. Then when a rival employee is assigned the case, and later found strangled, Pink is accused of the murder as well! Now she must evade the police and find out who exactly is setting her up. As she digs deeper, with the help of her lawyer boyfriend Ed Ravenaldt and sexy single (and marriage-minded) Senator Steve Santorelli, among others, the mysteries keep piling up. And just what does all this have to do with the China Brides scandal? Run for the Money was my first Stephanie Feagan novel and I was tickled... yep, pink!... The farther along I got in the story. Pink is outrageously funny, willful, and determined, if a little confused about the men in her life. Her personality is captured perfectly in the voice of performer Alyson Silverman, Texas twang and all. Without Alyson's skill, I don't think the story would have been nearly as funny in audio format. As one who is sick and tired of the overused love triangle plot line, even I couldn't help but be amused by Pink's antics and her romantic dilemma. Though I groaned a little in the beginning over the Ed vs. Steve debate, I quickly forgot my distaste for the scenario. I was sucked right in. Though there were some minor references to the previous two novels which I have not yet read (they aren't available in audio) I was not lost. Just enough background information is given to let me know what happened previously and none of them were crucial to this madcap adventure. There is plenty of suspense to be found as Pink follows the money trail back to the real criminals, getting herself into bind after bind, yet Run for the Money never gets too serious. The suspense grows consistently, with multiple twists worked into the mystery. There is even a nice little secondary romance blossoming between Pink's CPA mama and Steve's dad Lou. Fortunately for me, I do own the previous two books (Show Her the Money and She's On the Money) in the series and even if they aren't available in audio version, I will be moving them up in the "to be read" pile. © Kelley A. Hartsell, February 2007. All rights reserved.

The Chinese Earthquake Relief Fund hired accountant Whitney "Pink" Pearl to keep track of the money they raised. However, CERF accuses Pink of embezzling funds as a new bank account in Kansas mysteriously opens with $200,000 deposited in it that she knows nothing about. Pink realizes whoever set her up was good as the paper trail leads back to her even as she tries to identify who put the money in her account. When co-worker Taylor is murdered in the woman's kitchen with a phone cord the evidence points towards Pink also. Her only hope to extract herself from this mess without prison time relies on the two men who want to marry her, attorney Ed Ravenaldt and Senator Steve Santorelli, and her mom. In her latest money caper (see SHOW HER THE MONEY and SHE'S ON THE MONEY) Pink is back in trouble with the cops closing in on her for absconding with charity funds and homicide, but what really confuses the heroine is choosing between hunks. The action-packed story line starts off at frantic pace and never slows down as the heroine just wants to clear her name, return to Midland, Texas, and delay picking her man. This is another fun follow the money escapade that readers will appreciate. Harriet Klausner