I am not the target audience for this read. This book tells a simplistic story of Maggie’s life from being pregnant at 17 with no job prospectus to becoming a hit man for the mob.

At 110 pages, this is a fast read where the author Don Lubov has written the story in a straightforward way which narrates a good plot line but without the backdrop of emotions or feelings.

The book did not have the actual feel of how a contemporary fiction ought to be. It felt more like an essay told to me. Each character plays his part and gets work done.

I did too, read the book in less than an hour. Now on to next.

I downloaded a digital copy of the book from Kindle Unlimited, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart.

The two Hispanics finish their meal and head out into the hot, Las Vegas night.

Jesus and Rodrigo light up and start walking toward the strip. Speaking Spanish for the first time in a long time, Maggie confronts the two gangsters.

“Hold it, guys. I want to talk to you for a minute.”

“Who the hell are you?” asks Rodrigo.

Now, feeling brave, Jesus asks, “Yeah, who the hell are you?”

“My name is Maggie. I’m your waitress from in there, gesturing to the restaurant. I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation. For the $15,000. you mentioned, I’ll kill your brother-in-law.”

“You speak Spanish?”

“Yes, I speak Spanish.”

“How do we know you’re not a cop?”

“Oh, for God’s sake, do I look like a cop?”

“You don’t look like much of anything, to me.”

“Look guys, I’m the mother of a sick daughter. I desperately need money, now. I can’t believe what I’m saying myself, but, as I said, I’m desperate. Either I get my daughter an expensive operation right away, or she’s going to die. And, if she dies, I might as well be dead. So, you see, I haven’t got time to be afraid. Now, are you two ready to count me in on this murder?”

“It’s not a murder, lady, it’s a hit.”

“Call it whatever you want. Am I in?”

“You know Jesus, she just might be helpful. The boss don’t care who does the hit, as long as it gets done. And, we stay on the payroll no matter what.”

“Okay, lady. Dammit. We’re talking hits and big money and we don’t even know your name.”

“As I just told you, my name’s Maggie…short for Margarita. Now, before I lose my nerve, am I in or not?”

“Okay, Maggie, here’s what you gotta do. You get half the money up front and half when the job’s done.”

“Give me your ID.”

“What for?”

“We know where you work. And now, we know where you live. You screw up and don’t do the job; we’ll hunt you down and kill you. You got that?”

“Yes. I got it. No need to frighten me.

“Good. Here’s your gun.”

Maggie jumps back.

“What did you think you were gonna use…your waitress shoes?

“C’mon Maggie. This ain’t kid stuff. This is for real.”

“Can you really do this?”

“Yes, I can do it. Just tell me how to find your brother-in-law.”

Rodrigo hands Maggie a large, manila envelope. In it are instructions, a photo of Paco, “the mark”, an address on a map, and $7,500

He has written about spirituality and stress relief since 1971. He is the author of 9 books. 10 years successfully teaching his “Six-Step Path” at College of Central Florida Sr. Center, MTP College, and The Lifelong Learning College in The Villages, FL. He has taught his unique brand of meditation to over 2,000 people, who subsequently achieved a level of inner peace.He has taught his “Six-Step Path” for stress reduction for the past 12 years, at Del Webb and 3 local colleges.

Don has been writing for 12 years. Don has written for Yahoo Voices, Beliefnet.com, and Kinja.com. His writings have been published in various magazines and books. He haswritten the following 6 books

An End to Stress – spirituality and self-help

The Plague – sci-fi cautionary tale

The Side Job – a novel of a female assassin

The Writers Bloc Club – an anthology of prose & poetry

Near Death in the Gila National Forest – a memoir

Frosty the Soulman – an illustrated children’s book

Website

At 17, unmarried, unskilled, and pregnant, Maggie Gomez is abandoned by her boyfriend and evicted from her home by her parents. For five years, she leads a hardscrabble life on the underside of a Las Vegas ghetto, working at menial, minimum-wage jobs, to support herself and her asthmatic daughter.

As her daughter’s health declines, Maggie’s need for money turns from needy to desperate. Either 5-year-old April gets an expensive operation, or she dies. When she takes a new and dangerous profession; as a hitman for a local mobster, Maggie’s life becomes a soap opera of mixed emotions and dangerous ties.

Things come to a head when she discovers that her detective lover is investigating her loan-shark boss…who, has put out a contract on her. With the help of one of Frankie D’s thugs, all of Maggie’s unsavory connections to the Las Vegas underworld are violently canceled. She and Shawn and April survive ‘what happens in Vegas…’ and remain in Las Vegas, together.

Publication date: 10th August 2018

Amazon USA