{"product_id":"9781416542971","title":"Sweet Mary : A Novel","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eSweet Mary\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Liz Balmaseda\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDulce Maria “Mary” Guevara is a woman with nothing left to lose. Wrongly accused of being a cocaine queen, she has lost her job, her reputation, and—worst of all—custody of her son. Even after the charges are dropped, suspicion lingers. Desperate to get it all back, she takes what she considers the only path open to her: she goes on the hunt for the real drug queen. Unfortunately, the one person she is sure will be able to help her is the one person she wants least to see again: Joe Pratts, her ex-fiancé, a man whose connections to the drug world once ended their relationship. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Trying not to fall again for Joe is just the beginning of Mary’s challenges. The drug queen she is targeting is safely ensconced in the suburbs, hiding behind the façade of domestic tranquility. And taking her down means doing something that strikes Mary a little too close to home: she would have to leave the drug queen’s young daughter without a mother.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSweet Mary\u003c\/i\u003e is a gripping, heart-rending story with a noir soul and plenty of surprising twists—an assured debut from a writer with tremendous experience and talent.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\"Liz Balmaseda is a gifted writer and a keen-eyed journalist, and \u003ci\u003eSweet Mary\u003c\/i\u003e shimmers with authentic Florida heat. It's not often you find a thriller so richly textured, and so true to the culture and soul of its setting.\" -- Carl Hiaasen, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eSkinny Dip\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNature Girl\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eSweet Mary\u003c\/i\u003e, Liz Balmaseda's emotional, inventive and provocative writing, engrosses you in the most satisfying of ways.\" -- Andy Garcia, Academy Award-nominated actor\u003cbr\u003e\"This book is teeming with sexy South Florida characters, but the biggest turn-on in \u003ci\u003eSweet Mary\u003c\/i\u003e is Mary herself, a soulful, ass-kicking single mom who goes all out for the only real man in her life -- her son.\" -- Carlos Coto, co-executive producer of \u003ci\u003e24\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Pulitzer Prize-winning Florida journalist Balmaseda makes her fiction debut with a fast-paced tale of mistaken identity and gutsy vigilante justice...Slick, efficient and spare, this story smokes like a well-rolled cigar. \" -- \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A drug bust, law enforcement run amok, vigilante justice -- Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Liz Balmaseda transforms today's headlines into \u003ci\u003eSweet Mary\u003c\/i\u003e, an exhilarating fictional debut....[\u003ci\u003eSweet Mary\u003c\/i\u003e] will resonate with readers long after today's six o'clock news has been forgotten.\" -- Carlos J. Queirós, \u003ci\u003eAARP SegundaJuventud\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Former Miami Herald reporter and two-time Pulitzer winner Liz Balmaseda goes from star journalist to debut novelist with her sleek ripped-from-the-headlines \u003ci\u003eSweet Mary\u003c\/i\u003e....\u003ci\u003eSweet Mary\u003c\/i\u003e is a wild ride, not just for Maria but for the reader.\" -- \u003ci\u003eThe Miami Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[Liz Balmaseda] knocks readers in the gut with her fast-paced fictional debut.\" -- \u003ci\u003eAssociated Press\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781416542971\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Atria Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40590944010446,"sku":"9781416542971","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/O_c400b4d4-a8ef-4c9e-98e5-8bc1ae3bc6fc.jpg?v=1637745460","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781416542971","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}