Miranda Vaughn has a chip on her shoulder as we begin
Ellie Ashe's
second exploit into her tale, this time as the assistant
to her Aunt
Marie's boyfriend, her former defense attorney Robert
Fogg.
Miranda
has been cleared of all charges related to her former job
at investment
bank Patterson-Tinker Investment Strategies, though
members of the
community haven't forgotten her name or their suspicions
about her
innocence. This time around, Miranda hopes to be of help
to Kathryn
Hammond, CFO of Leonidis Developments, Inc., a thriving
real estate
company with expenses that don't quite balance out. Along
the way,
she must also juggle her romantic feelings for two men—a
cowboy
named Quinn Bishop with a past conviction to his name, and
Jake
Barnes, an FBI agent with whom Miranda had a fling
previously.
DROPPING THE DIME is an engaging read full of mystery and
deception, both from the good guys and the bad. The events
of the
novel will keep readers in their seats as they go on the
journey to find
out whodunnit, though not without faults along the way.
It's surprising to learn our protagonist, Miranda Vaughn,
is a thirty-two
year old woman. The novel, told from a first person
perspective,
indicates she is far less mature, at times seeming like a
teenage girl.
Every interaction she has with a man in this novel ends
with thrills
going down her spine and somersaults in her stomach, as if
her
hormones are on a never-ending estrogen-binge. And I can't
blame
her—just about every man in this story is described as
gorgeous,
attractive, and sexy, with broad shoulders and biceps to
boot. It's a
wonder any of them pay attention to clumsy Miranda, who is
described as the only unattractive woman in the story.
The events in DROPPING THE DIME hinge on coincidence, with
Miranda twice
breaking into rooms described as rarely used only to be
greeted
minutes later by key characters who happen to
decide to
visit. The writing, while easy to read, lacks unique prose
to wow
readers. Descriptions are bland, for example grass is
described as green
and dresses described as body-hugging/curve-hugging.
The writing is uninspired—namely when inside Miranda's head,
who appears as though she's trying to speak directly
to readers.
If you can get past the flat character descriptions and
writing,
DROPPING THE DIME may be the adventure for you. Otherwise,
I'd
drop my money elsewhere.
Miranda Vaughn was once falsely accused of stealing
millions, and now she's helping others who are facing
criminal charges. While being an assistant to her former
defense attorney isn't Miranda's dream job, she's eager to
prove herself, and her first task is a simple one-protect
Kathryn, a shy CFO turned informant, and help her prove that
a popular real estate developer is embezzling millions from
his company. But what should be a straightforward assignment
is deliciously complicated when Miranda is thrown together
with FBI Agent Jake Barnes, the man who saved her life,
broke her heart, and then disappeared.
Beneath the neatly plotted rows of new homes lurk dark
secrets, bitter feuds and a whole lot of greed. Nothing is
what it appears, even Miranda's timid client, who is hiding
secrets of her own. Despite her growing distrust of her
client, Miranda must protect Kathryn from becoming the
target of the FBI's investigation and protect herself from
the real thief-all while protecting her heart from the sexy
FBI agent she can't seem to resist.