How do you tax embezzlement? She didn't know.

As everyone crunches down to meet the tax deadline, I have a novel that might be of interest. Why not read about some accidental embezzlement to ease the sting?

The Assistants by Camille Perri

All right, let’s be honest. I picked this book because the synopsis was like reading a mini pic of my life. A thirty year old assistant wondering where she has gone with life. Hmm. Familiar. I had to request it. Now that I have read it, I’ll say it is 3 stars worthy. I could certainly see glimpses of my own life and decisions which gave me a level of empathy I always enjoy in my reading, but you don’t have to have lived this exact life to be drawn into the story.

The writing is witty and snappy. Even though it is a very serious story, it never takes itself too seriously. The whole thing remained a fun read. The references border along the millennial line that the middle of my generation experiences from having had computers most of our lives but not cell phones attached to our palms. The dialogue comes from someone who was a teen in the mid-90s with dazzling flashes of struggling life in the Big City. The plot never bogs down in too many details about how exactly she fell into the rabbit hole. We feel her dilemma of embezzling and definitely sympathize with her gastrointestinal stress from said embezzling. We are left wanting to turn the page wondering just what moment was it that got her caught instead of having to slog through her every nerve inducing anxiety. It all felt very Catch Me, If You Can.

My only complaint comes from the overall message. If you are the underdog and do illegal things, but have a really, really good excuse of being overworked and underpaid and was just trying to stand up for equality, then you get to move forward with your social justice. Nope. Doesn’t fly with me. I was also never a fan of Robin Hood. I’m more a Ritchie fandom—teach a man to fish. Handouts for the sake of equality distribution just makes really dumb people who don’t know how to put their hand down.

You can check it out for yourself on May 3rd.