Lawful Deception by author Pamela Samuels Young reads like an article ripped directly from today’s headlines; the subject matter is a well-known topic. Main character Bliss Fenton is beautiful and she knows it; in fact, one might call her a gold digger on steroids. Bliss uses what she's got to get what she wants. She has made a very lucrative career of becoming pregnant by ridiculously wealthy men, and then suing them for exorbitant amounts of child support. Her calculating approach is mind blowing, and I found myself quickly wanting to shout at some of the male characters in the book, “Noooooo, don’t fall for it!” There were several times I wanted to fling the book across the room, but I don't mistreat my books like that. Instead, I gave the character several serious eye-rolls, followed by a resounding, "hmmph!"

The characters in the book are multi-dimensional, and the story is well written; although it flows easily, it is by no means predictable. Lawful Deception quickly pulls you in, and holds you hostage. I found myself so engaged in the book; I couldn’t put it down. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone who likes a book that stretches itself outside the box, one that draws you in, and when you’re done reading, you feel like you’ve been on the biggest roller coaster ride of your life.

Kudos to Pamela Samuels Young, you’ve pushed the envelope once again! ( )

Ten thousand dollars a month! That’s the amount of child support Bliss Fenton is receiving for her six-year old son. She’s also getting an exorbitant amount for her three-year-old son, and is working on getting more child support from Fletcher McClain for their three-month-old, Harmony. This is Bliss’s MO – sleep with extremely rich men. Have their baby and collect big sums of money. For Fletcher, the child support amount would be close to fifty grand PER MONTH! But Fletcher is denying that Harmony, is actually his. He hires Vernetta to defend him and sue Bliss for fraud. He claims he had broken up with Bliss eleven months before Harmony was born.

Bliss seeks her own attorney, Girlie Cortez. Girlie was more than happy to represent Bliss for two reasons. The money, of course. And, it felt like a sure chance to even the score against her nemesis, Vernetta Henderson.

This is number 5 in the Vernetta Henderson series. The characters are incredibly believable. This story, like the others in this series, is very engaging and pulls the reader in quickly. I enjoy Vernetta’s character and give the author kudos for the variety of situations from one book to the next. I also really enjoy the antics of her long-time and faithful friend, Special. We all need a friend like Special by our side. She provides the humor in otherwise bad situations. In this story, she is still working on getting her PI license. She tells a detective, “I’m not licensed yet. But, I’m a fully authorized investigator-in-training.” Rating: 4.5 out of 5. ( )