Crackerjack!

A novel approach to an ageless life-lesson...crime doesn't pay. A talented stenographer covering the State Government Commissions and Task Forces assists the Attorney General's Office in discovery of an unsavory escapade perpetrated by a State-regulated hospital's top execs who duped the Health Department into granting them $5.5 million under the auspices of emergency funding relief.. A State's public hospital's three execs are a motley crew. But their extravagant $5.5 million scheme would not bypass the brilliance of the Attorney General's Senior Counsel, Alonzo Prier. Revered for his intellect, compassionate yet non-compromising style, and bodacious good looks, Alonzo cuts straight to the chase with the help of the talented and tenacious State stenographer, Cindy Jack. Aiming to impress Alonzo, Cindy excerpts and gives Alonzo the transcripts where she'd recorded testimonies at a State Task Force commissioned for studying the feasibility of deregulation of the hospital industry. Straight from one of the perp's own mouth, he reveals the impetus for their scheme-gone-haywire! Will Cindy's efforts assist Alonzo in cracking the case? CrackerJack by Shea Rose is a novel about wanting to be "tussled." Not even knowing what such a word could mean, Cindy Jack takes a few minutes out of her morning routine to look it up. Little does Cindy know that these few minutes are going to have her late for another day of work. Despite how boring life as a stenographer is, Cindy can't help but feel that something is on the horizon. She isn't wrong. When Alonzo Pier returns to her life as the big man on campus, Cindy can already envision them "tussling" with one another. The problem is that Alonzo is busy tussling with matters of his own. When those in high places are said to have had the Health Department grant them as much as five million dollars, Alonzo has a desire to know why. If Cindy can fulfill this desire of his, could he be the one to fulfill this desire that she has to be tussled? While it's usually boring to read about a character getting dressed in the morning, the clothes in Cindy's closet are described in such detail that they're actually fun to read about. I want that black skirt. I want that white shirt. I want those low heels. I want it all. Because there's a lot of talk about dressing up and going out, this book reads a lot more like a romance novel than anything else. While the suspense is there, one could argue that it's overshadowed by all of the romance. Rather than complement one another, I actually feel that the suspense and romance clash. While the romance was goofy in the best way, the goofiness of the romance took away from the seriousness of the suspense. Just when Cindy appears to be working, she's striking poses from behind her stenotype machine. If that isn't a good example of how wishy-washy this story can be, I don't know what is. One thing that's always clear is the imagery. Rather than just detailing the scene, the author has a way of framing the picture. When Cindy is said to watch the folks come and go from various directions, I can really visualize the crowd and how animated it is. For a minute there, I felt just as lost in the crowd as Cindy appeared to have been. All things considered; I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Brett Linette - OnlineBookClub