The Case of the Angry First Wife

February 1, 2018

Although Del's great-aunt Kitty has retired from the cat burglar business, she still has plans for the family, enlisting Del to run her new business modeled on the TV series The A-Team. Del has a day job at an animal shelter but at night, she, Kitty, and cohorts Dino and Ritz avenge the victims of scams. Del feels uneasy with Kitty's latest job, though. A wife who lost everything in a divorce wants her diamond necklace back from wife number two. Despite a few hiccups, the team retrieves the jewelry. Then, they learn they've been hoodwinked by an imposter posing as the first wife. A team of "Robin Hoods" can't go to the police, but they can find a way to recover the goods. VERDICT The latest entry in the publisher's "Rapid Reads" series of high-low novels aimed at adults with a third-grade reading level, Campbell's (The Bootlegger's Goddaughter) humorous mystery is for readers who enjoy a cast of quirky characters with unusual talents. Fans of older television shows featuring likable cons working for the underdogs, such as The A-Team or Leverage, might appreciate this caper.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

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December 15, 2017
While trying to reunite a diamond necklace with its former owner, a vigilante ignores her suspicions about the fairness of the case, to the detriment of her colleagues in nonprofessional justice.The B-team is an amateur investigation squad bent on righting wrongs. At least, that's how Del's great-aunt Kitty pitches it when she asks Del to lead the crew. Kitty recruits Dino, Del's twin brother, and Ritz, Del's friend from high school days, to round out the group. Kitty's latest candidate for vigilante justice is an ex-wife who wants to recover a diamond necklace her husband reportedly got sole custody of in the divorce. While Ritz and Del are casing the joint for a planned burglary, they come face to face with someone else lurking outside. Del recognizes the man as Mac, a high school acquaintance she always wanted to get to know better. Mac may recognize Del, but by the time Ritz is done with him, he's out cold and in no state to revisit old times. Distracted by Kitty's repeated demand that Del and Ritz finish the job, Del's also apprehensive. She got into this business to fight injustices, not to reunite the rich with their baubles. While Del and the rest of the B-team execute the plan, she wonders whether her instincts were right: maybe they aren't fixing an injustice but being tricked into perpetrating one.Less fully realized than Campbell's last rapid read (Worst Date Ever, 2017), with a skeletal back story that may make readers feel that they've jumped into the middle of a series instead of devouring a stand-alone.

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