Mad Money [Mass Market Paperback]

White-collar crime turns nasty when stockbroker Madeline Carter's best friend, Jack, is shot to death right at the New York Stock Exchange. Unnerved by his murder, Madeline quits her job and moves to Los Angeles, where she rents an apartment on the Malibu property of a famous movie director. An insider's tip from Ernie, her former lover, causes Madeline to lose her money, something that shouldn't have happened. Unfortunately, she had passed the tip on to her mother, who also passed the tip on. Feeling responsible for several people's investments, Madeline goes to Langton Regional Group, the company in question, to find out for herself what's happening. She discovers that Ernie, their CEO, has been kidnapped, and the more Madeline investigates, the deeper into the whole mess she gets. On the upside, she finds unexpected love with Steve, a young Langton salesman. On the downside, someone uses her for target practice. Murder, mayhem, humor, romance, and great characters make this first book in the Madeline Carter series hard to put down. Shelley Mosley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

"Mad Money is a breezy debut..." -- Adam Woog, The Seattle Times

... does what many have tried and few have managed -- to turn stock swindles and corporate crime into a fun, roller-coaster read. -- Alafair Burke author of Missing Justice

Linda Richards' Mad Money doesn't disappoint. Fast paced, nuanced and enormously witty, this is a writer to watch and a book to read. -- M.J. Rose author of The Halo Effect

Murder, mayhem, humor, romance, and great characters make this first book in the Madeline Carter series hard to put down. -- Shelley Mosley, Booklist

A new life, a fresh start.

That's what Madeline Carter is looking for when she quits her high-pressure job in New York and moves to Los Angeles. But Madeline is one of those people who can't help but attract trouble ...

Beautiful, calm, quiet. It's everything Madeline imagined California would be ... everything her life as a stockbroker in New York wasn't. Still, when Madeline runs into ex-boyfriend Ernest Carmichael Billings, who gives her a hot tip about a company where he is about to be named CEO, she wonders, as a day trader, what would be the harm in acting on the tip. Innocent enough, right?

Wrong. Because when Ernest goes missing and the stock starts to plummet, Madeline decides to do something. She sets out to uncover just what's going on ... and lands right in the middle of kidnapping, corporate fraud and murder. This is definitely more than she bargained for ...

After witnessing a brutal crime, Madeline Carter escapes her high-velocity New York City life for the laid-back atmosphere of Los Angeles. One night she runs into an old boyfriend, now a high-powered CEO, who lets her in on a great investment opportunity. But soon Madeline discovers that the stock is tumbling, taking her money with it -- and her ex is nowhere to be found. Compelled to get to the bottom of the disappearance, Madeline turns amateur sleuth and discovers that she is the only person with the power to bring a dangerous criminal to justice.

Linda L. Richards is the editor of JanuaryMagazine.com. She shares her life with the artist and photographer David Middleton and their crazy dog Jett. She is currently working on the next Madeline Carter novel.