To Give or Deceive

Mystery writers are encouraged to keep the suspense high and to keep torturing the characters. Terreri does this in spades. Maggie Connors loses everything - money, clients, job, credibility and even (possibly) freedom, when she is arrested on suspicion of murder. And of course her own life is threatened by a distraught former client.Amazingly, author Terreri pulls it off, and the ending manages to be more plausible than one would expect. It's a fast read with interesting characters. The IRS-agent who's her boyfriend may be a little too good to be true, but that's a minor quibble in anotherwise first-rate mystery. I hope we see a lot more from this author.

Don't pass up this series just because it features an investment broker and an IRS agent. This series is far from boring. It is fast paced, humorous and has a mystery which will keep you guessing until the end. In my opinion Malinda Terreri's Maggie Connors is running strong for 1st place over Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series (especially over Evanovich's last couple of books). If you like Evanovich, Nancy Bartholomew or Sarah Strohmeyer (Bubbles), you will definitely like Malinda Terreri. This book kept me turning the pages and laughing at her descriptions and remarks. I can't wait for her next book and hope for a long, long series.

Malinda Terreri offers some very strong competition for Evanovich!

Stockbroker Maggie Connors is making millions for her clients and herself since she discovered Palimo Technologies, a company that is very close to creating an AIDS vaccine. In fact, business is so good that Maggie is planning to give notice to Hamilton Securities and start up her own business. Her life falls apart when it is discovered that Palimo is falsifying data and is nowhere close to finding a cure for AIDS.Maggie uses her own savings to give back the money her clients could ill afford to lose. One client trashes her home and threatens her life before she can get away from him. Life continues to go downhill for Maggie when she is arrested for murder after the police find a dead woman in the trunk of her car. Determined to clear her name and not go to jail, Maggie decides to find out whom is trying to frame her, headless of the danger she puts herself in.Readers will like, sympathize and empathize with the heroine all the while thanking the fates that they are not in her shoes. Maggie goes from one disaster straight into the other all the while keeping her sense of humor. TO GIVE OR DECEIVE is a delightful and charming amateur sleuth tale with an intricate but humorous story line.Harriet Klausner