While Maddie Michaels might not have been considered a superhero,
she did have a secret identity. Her husband is the host of
a local financial TV show. So finding out that he lost everything
in a Ponzi type scheme would not be good for his career. The
Michaels family had to keep up the appearance that things
were status quo. Behind the scenes and unbeknownst to even
her husband and sons, Maddie had become Mrs. Frugalicious.
She even has a website devoted to saving money. She practiced
what she preached and used coupons galore.
On one trip to the mall to answer a question posed by one
of her devoted Frugarmy, things do not go as planned. In the
store Eternally 21, Maddie is taken away by the mall cop Griff
for shoplifting. Maddie was just taking notes for the blog
she would be writing later that day. After proving to Griff
that she did not steal the earrings that the manager Laila
DeSimione accused her of doing, Maddie did what anyone who
was upset would do - hit the food court. After loading up
her tray with all kinds of food (mostly for her sons to eat
as a snack later that day), Maddie walked right into Tara
Hu the assistant manager of Eternally 21. It looks like a
food fight happened without the fun. Tara tells Maddie she
is sorry for what happened and that she put aside all of her
items. Most of all she would honor all of her coupons if she
came back and made her purchase. Tara said Laila would be
out of the store at 12:30PM and to come back then.
Unfortunately, things will not go as planned and Laila checks
Maddie out and offers her another 10% discount to open a store
account. A phone call takes Laila away and when she returns,
her speech is slurred and she collapses and faints. Griff
the mall cop does CPR and keeps are alive until the paramedics
arrive. Later on Maddie finds out that Laila died. Looked
like Mrs. Frugalicious will have to put her web site on hold
and solve this suspicious death. Maddie better be real careful
or she could end up without a discount.
Things to ponder: How did Laila DeSimone die? Will Maddie
continue to keep her Frugalicious identity a secret? What
happened to Chili the cat?
This was a very fast read for me. I had it on my kindle
the day I had Jury Duty and finished it before we were sent
on our lunch break. I actually forgot how uncomfortable I
was sitting in the jury lounge when I started reading
Eternally 21. I loved the quirky characters and how they
enhanced the storyline. The author includes shopping hints
too. So if you are up for a little bargain shopping, then
Eternally 21 is a book you should read.
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