Cleanup by Norah McClintock

Book Summary (from the book)

“Connie, you have to help me”, a breathless voice said in Spanish. “They think I killed Mr. Richard. You have to tell them I would never do such thing.” 

“But, Maria—“ 

She begged me to hurry. Then the phone went dead.

Connie Suarez, downsized from her job as a legal secretary, is working as a maid. She’s getting used to picking up after people. But she is not prepared for the mess that awaits her when she arrives to work one morning to find her employer dead. Connie’s co-worker Maria, an illegal alien from Colombia, quickly becomes the prime suspect in this murder.

Connie soon realizes that she is also a potential target for violence. The question now is, will she be able to clean up the mess that Maria is in without getting killed herself?

My Review

I received this book from the Early Reviewers program from LybraryThing, and here is my review.

Why did I ask for this book? When I read the synopsis I just wanted to read it, I like a book with a strong female character and if it happens to be a Latina with whom I can identify even more, why not?.

Turns out I didn’t feel identified with the 2 main characters, but simply because our lives are very different (luckily for me I have to say). However, the problems surrounding them are so current that is easy to understand their actions. (I wont get any political here, but if you haven’t watched Rosie Perez video on how is “easier to be Latino” you are in for a treat). Off course I am not saying that this is only a Latino reality, or that just because you are part of a certain ethnicity you are necessarily doomed, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

So, the book. It makes part of the Rapid Reads series, and it was indeed a fast read, so it was perfect during the Read-a-Thon. But it wasn’t fast just because it was a short book; it was fast passed and well written and there were not dead moments in the story. 

Connie has to help her friend, even though she keeps finding out that Maria has been keeping a lot of secrets from her. Not that they were best friends, but there were the type of things that you share, at least without too many details.

I haven’t read anything else from the author, but I liked her style in this book. The characters are presented with enough details so you understand their actions, but you are not swarmed with details that then pop up by surprise.

In all it was a fun read, a different read. I would recommend this book when you need something between books; I wouldn't call it a "sherbet" because it has a little bit more content than the books I usually classify in that category, but since the whole plot passes by really fast it works perfectly to open your head for a new coming story.