Consuela or Connie and Maria are housekeepers for wealthy, older gentleman, Richard Withers. Connie lost her job as a legal secretary and Maria is an illegal alien. Connie usually picks Maria up for work but one day, Maria phones and says she will meet Connie at Mr. Withers’ house. Connie should have known something was up. When she arrived at the house she discovers Maria in the bedroom with wet hair and a murdered Withers. So begins a mystery that unfolds quickly as Connie tries to piece together what she knows about Maria with what she learns as the police investigation progresses and zeroes in on Maria as a suspect. Was Maria a gold digger who wanted a wealthy older husband to make her legal? Or is she just a convenient scapegoat for someone with more to lose? This is part of the Rapid Reads series from Orca for adults. It is a light, quick read for people who like mysteries. While the main characters may not resonate with most teens, some may find the adult problems a refreshing change from teen angst. ( )

Nice little book to relax with when you're killing time. For such a short story it had a great twist.
I didn't figure it out early, that's for sure. ( )

This would be a good book to recommend for someone who likes an easy mystery and doesn't consider themselves a readers. Connie gets to work and discovers her coworker, Maria, a Colombian who is working as an illegal immigrant, standing over the body of their employer, Richard Withers. Maria swears that she did not kill Richard and begs Connie to solve the mystery so Maria doesn't go to jail for a crime she didn't commit. Fast and enjoyable, although I had trouble believing parts of the story.

The biggest problem with this book is that it's incredibly short. I'd barely started it and realized that it was almost over and we were entering the climax of the ending. The plot was also weirdly complicated, with lots of weird love entanglements and other things that didn't make a lot of sense. If it were more fleshed out, it could've been good.

I also never felt anything for the main character. I didn't get to know her at all. Sure, I learned her basic backstory, but I can't remember ever learning anything about her that made her a person and not just a point of view.

To be fair, the other characters were just as one-sided. They had their personality and they stuck to it. When secrets came to the surface, they were just kind of pasted onto the character. Nothing ever really took me by surprise because I barely knew the characters to begin with. ( )

When Connie Suarez's friend Maria is suspected of a murder she did not commit, she does everything in her power to clear Maria's name.

I have to say, this was not the best book I have ever read. It wasn't the worst, but it could have been better. For example, it was kind of predictable. I knew that Maria didn't murder anyone and I had an idea of who did.

Also, this book brought up more questions than answers. For example, why would a man in his eighties fall in love with a young woman who works as a maid? That puzzled me.

Other than that, it was an okay book. Not one of my favourites, but not one of the books that I hate either. I recommend this to all of my family and friends. ( )