The Illinois Caper

"This revenge-fueled melee interlaces a cheating husband, corrupt valuables, and an unsteady female friendship forged on the roads of Route 66…lively… the banter between Tish and Kat rolls as smoothly across the pages as their 1957 Roadmaster rumbles across the asphalt." BookLife Prize

Middle-aged and mostly respectable, Tish O'Donnell and Kat Merevec have lived on promises and prayers long enough. When Tish's philandering husband, Fitz, walks out on her, and goes back on his promise of security to Kat, they're both determined to make him pay—by emptying the safe in his Evanston, Illinois, jewelry store.

But when they crack the safe, they're shocked to find almost a million in cash, a stash of hot diamonds, and a glittering pile of gold ingots. What swindle is Fitz working?

Now Kat and Tish are on the run with far more than they bargained for—and from far nastier villains than a scheming soon-to-be-ex-husband. With directionally challenged Kat behind the wheel of Tish's classic 1957 Buick convertible, they do what no one will expect—head south and west through Illinois along the unlikeliest of escape routes: the Mother Road—Route 66.

A Multnomah County Library Writers Project Selection 2023. "This one is fun… It'll hook you right away."