DEADLY DECISIONS – A NATALIE NORTH NOVEL BY NANCY MANGANO
Jan 10, 2021 Grady rated it ***** out of 5 stars 5.0
‘So this exhibitionist stunt is old news?’ – welcome aboard a zesty thriller!
California author Nancy Mangano earned her BA degree in Communications and her AA in Criminal Justice and draws on the latter as she launches her new series Natalie North Mystery Series, of which DEADLY DECISIONS is the initial volume. Her previous novels, A PASSION FOR PRYING and MURDER CAN BE MESSY, introduced the stylish Los Angeles super sleuth Natalie North in 2010 and 2012. Nancy’s busy career includes fashion journalism, screenwriting, and her role as a beauty/fashion/style influencer.
The character and personality and sass of Natalie North are quickly established in the opening lines: ‘She sensed someone following her. Natalie glanced over her shoulder; nobody there picked up her pace through the full Beverly Center Mall parking structure, a Macy’s bag in her left hand, her purse strap slung over her shoulder, a loaded gun inside. Something’s off kilter. She slipped her right hand in her handbag, gripped a .38-caliber revolver. Up ahead she spotted a parked security cart. “Hey, miss,” a man’s voice said. Natalie wheeled around. A white male ran up, shaved head, trench coat. No pants, no shoes, black socks with coat unbuttoned, Oh boy, here it comes. “How’d you like some of this?” The idiot ripped open the coat, buttons popped off, his manhood ready to salute the flag. Natalie looked straight in his eyes, held a stare. This flasher messed with the wrong girl.’
It is rare for a central character to be so identifiable so quickly, but this degree of astute presentation is one of the many reasons this novel works so well. The plot is tight and well summarized by the author: ‘Super sleuth Natalie North is tired of catching cheating husbands with their pants down, then worse, having to report to the wives what they hired her to find out, photos and all. Quick on her feet and smart in her head, Natalie aches to use her training to solve real crimes, criminal cases, the grittier the better. When her client Victoria Belmont’s billionaire husband is found dead, Natalie puts her life on the line to find the killer, determined to beat the Los Angeles Police Department at their own game. Toss in Natalie’s unsettled love life, torn between Darren McAllister, a prosecuting attorney, LAPD officer Vincent Sherburne and a mysterious taxi driver, Alfonso Di Paolo, and explore what happens when betrayal, greed, passion and murder collide.’
In this initial installment of her series, Nancy Mangano establishes one fine female super sleuth who demands attention! Watch this lady soar!
Nancy Mangano is an American beauty/fashion/style influencer, fashion journalist, screenwriter and author of the Natalie North murder mystery book series. Visit Nancy on her global online fashion/style/beauty magazine Strutting in Style! at https://nancymariemangano.com, her Facebook page Nancy Mangano at https://www.facebook.com/nancymmangano/ Twitter @https://twitter.com/nancymangano and her author website http://www.nancymangano.com
