Review: Fast-paced well-plotted thriller that delivers...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 15, 2013
Lily Sutter is an up-and comer--a clever, especially attractive young lady who has done well as the understudy to Alex and is outselling him in marketing Greenwich Venture Investments to the über wealthy potential investors whom they target. A working class girl, raised by her now deceased single father dad, she has a taste for the high life. Mid falling for a married wealthy man, her boss educates her to the fact that the guy's a scoundrel with a history, "bad credit, arrests for drug possession and use, driving under the influence, reckless driving, involuntary manslaughter, visits to rehab, expulsion from Yale," and more. Alex convinces her to move to Montecito to open their new office. She does so and hires a sometime lawyer Joe Costa, a guy who holds his own defending and dealing with organize crime members, who has worked in real estate a bit, to find her office space, and through him meets the first of many wealthy locals, socialites and more. Young, attractive, and charming when she wants to be, which is whenever she wants something, Lily networks and flirts her way through the social scene to find moneyed investors for the high yield securities she sells. When Joe introduces Lily to the country club set, she befriends Vergie Hove, a wealthy addict who has a philandering former tennis pro younger husband named Tony, and--as always, with an eye toward action as a means to an end--Lily insinuates herself into Vergie's life. Lily sets up Monterey Venture Investments (MVI) and before too long has a number of investors ready to pony up the $1M required investment to invest in sexy Biotech and other cutting edge applicable science related technology (who are willing to leave it untouched for the first year, per the fund requirement). Soon a series of events are set in motion, largely manipulated by Lily, that may lead her to the life of wealth that she craves. Devious and cunning, a true sociopath, Lily uses her youth, good looks, sexuality, street smarts, faux friendliness, or any other wiles, to get what she wants for both the short and long term. It's not all champagne, country club dinners, sexcapades, million dollar wire transfers, and manipulation of the über wealthy--before long dangerous complications ensue. Tony is up on rape charges, Lily's boss Alex is angry that she's busy with her personal life (insinuating herself into Vergie's exclusive life) and is on his way to California, the crazed former married man reappears and is murdered, and the FBI and local law enforcement are investigating both MVI and the murder. In addition, stone cold Lily is up to her ears in killers, criminals, killing and crime but, like a black cat who always manages to land on its feet, she navigates the insanity with ease. Bodies start to pile up, a mobster and a hit man come calling, and the heat is on. You'll have to read the book to see what happens. I admit it. I had no intentions of reading this book over the last day or so. I had other obligations but, when I made the mistake of opening it, I was immediately sucked in. I opened it quite late, on myKindle Paperwhite, 6" High Resolution Display with Next-Gen Built-in Light, Wi-Fi - Includes Special Offers, to move it to the front of my to-read queue or I would have read it all in one-sitting. A terribly compelling, well-plotted thriller, quite noirish in prose and plot, I read until I fell asleep in the wee hours. Upon waking I had to finish the page-turner before doing anything else. I disliked the absence of any kind of hero; there is no altruism or nobility in any single character in this book. That said, the characters are well-drawn, the story fascinates, is well-told, moves quickly, and it is truly a good read. Like an old-fashioned noir novel, this crime drama delivers high style, cynical attitudes, and sexual and monetary motivations. Although this isn't true noir, lawyer Joe Costa isn't the central character, Princess Lily of the title is running the show here, the tone, themes and sharply delivered prose read close to the classic noir mood. Think #crimedrama #erotic #gritty #strange #ambivalent. If you love thrillers or crime drama, or evil heroines, then you will likely love this book. It would make a fascinating feature film. Happy reading~*