Book Review: Kill the Competition

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Kill the Competition     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Stephanie Bond
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Romance   Woman Main Character   Amateur Sleuth
Avon, Nov 2003, $6.99, 384 pp.

Having just moved from Cincinnati to Atlanta, financial expert Belinda Hennessey adjusts to her new town. She knows that her new town is more expensive than her previous one and that the rush hour traffic into the city is unbearable especially from the north side. Thus she has joined those drives using the HOV carpool lane into and out of the city.

Belinda works on an assessment whether her new firm Archer Furniture should acquire the mom and pop Payton Manufacturing. Her boss "Maniac Margo" wants the report done yesterday (weekend or not). Belinda concludes that the potential new addition cooked the books, but Margo tells her to be quiet. Reluctantly Belinda agrees being the new kid on the block and wary to make waves. Not long afterward, someone murders Margo with the evidence pointing towards Belinda due to the fiscal cover-up or a member of the car pool who have had run- ins with the now dead queen of nasty.

KILL THE COMPETITION is a delightful relationship drama wit a strong police procedural plot to anchor the tale. Though the romance between Belinda and police officer Wade Alexander is warm and fun to observe and the murder investigation cleverly intertwined into the prime plot, the tale belongs to the four female car poolers. Their outlook on Atlanta, work, and men forge a strong bond between them and make for a witty novel that readers will cherish especially if you ever been stuck in Spaghetti Junction (Atlanta's most notorious parking lot during the rush hour).

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner