Lisa Bork

Jolene Asdale seems to be driven to prove herself as a successful business woman. I'm not quite clear to whom she is trying to prove this. Possibly herself--she doesn't seem to make very good business choices--overbidding on a car up or auction with no funds to pay the difference (at a time that she admits to needing money). Possibly the town council who seem to be interested in moving her business off the main strip.

Another confusing point is that Jolene and Ray are not really divorced, even though we, the readers, are lead to believe that they are at the beginning of the book. They seem to care for each other but let a disagreement about having a child split them apart. Jolene is not interested in having a child due to a family history of mental illness that she doesn't want to pass on to her offspring--admirable, but instead of exploring other options with her husband (adoption, foster-parenting, hiring a surrogate, etc.) she chooses to walk away from her marriage.

Jolene finds the body of a man she dated in one of her showroom cars. Her husband is the investigating officer. Then, Jolene's sister escapes the psychiatric hospital with another patient. Ray suspects them of robbing several stores. A DeLorean disappears from Jolene's garage.

Jolene spends her time trying to deflect suspicion from both herself and her sister--and later her mechanic. In the process, embezzlement is exposed, and a way is found to fulfill Ray's wish for a family as well as Jolene's wish to not have a biological child.

I did not guess the culprit until close to when it was revealed.… (más)