Every
now and then I read a book that doesn't have ninjas, or rampaging
dinosaurs, or bold brutal men of action. Mostly I find the book
lacking, and then there are rare occasions when I am surprised as
when I read Janey Mack's Time's Up.
 |
| Janey Mack |
http://www.amazon.com/Janey-Mack/e/B00OPVAZC8/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Blurb:
TIME’S
UP
The
police academy gave her the boot—and she knows how to use it.
All
her life, Maisie McGrane dreamed of following in her father and older
brothers’ footsteps and joining the force. But when she’s
expelled from the police academy, she’s reduced to taking a job as
a meter maid. Now, instead of chasing down perps, she’s booting
people’s cars and taking abuse from every lowlife who can’t
scrape together enough change to feed the meter.
McGranes
weren’t put on this earth to quit, however. When Maisie stumbles
across the body of a City Hall staffer with two bullets in his chest,
her badge-wielding brothers try to warn her off the case. But with
the help of her secret crush, shadowy ex-Army Ranger Hank Bannon,
Maisie’s determined to follow the trail of conspiracy no matter
where it leads. And that could put her in the crosshairs of a
killer—and all she’s packing is a ticket gun.
Excerpt:
CHAPTER
1
My
abs were screaming. Sweat slicking between my shoulder blades, I
ignored the rhythmic grunts next to me.
“Seventy-eight,
seventy-nine…”
Gut
it out. Hank’s voice echoed in my
head.
“Eighty-four,
eight-five…”
Gut
it out! Gut it out! Gut it…
“Time!”
the PT sergeant yelled.
“Holy
shit, that’s gotta be a record,” my counter said.
I
lay prone on the mat, abs twitching like an epileptic at a rave from
ninety-one sit-ups in two minutes. Fair to middling for an Army
Ranger. But for me, a first in my class and complete and total
victory over jerked Tommy Narkinney.
Tucking
my knees to my chest, I rolled up onto my shoulders and bucked to my
feet Jackie Chan-style. Digging deep not to drop my head past my
knees and suck air.
Hank’s
Law Number Five: Make it look easy.
I
called over to Tommy. “How many, Nark?”
He
sat on the ground, forehead on his knees, breathing heavy, straw
colored hair damp with sweat. “Eighty-eight.”
“Yeah?”
I said. “Good job.”
Tommy
frowned in suspicion. “And you?”
“Ninety-one.”
I raised my arms over my head, easing the fire at my sides.
He
rolled his eyes and flopped back onto the ground. “Fuck me.”
“No
thanks.”
“McGrane!”
the sergeant shouted with a former Marine’s perfect enunciation and
eardrum-blowing volume. “Quit picking around. Resor wants you.”
And
I knew why. I was finally going to join the ranks of Flynn, Rory, and
Cash McGrane. Just as my older brothers had all been awarded Top
Cadet, so would I.
It
took every ounce of cool I had not to skip like a little girl out of
the gym.
I
trotted up the stairs to Reskor’s office and rapped on the thick,
oak-paneled door.
“Enter.”
Polished
wood floors, Oriental rugs, leather chairs–it looks more like the
office of a Fortune 500 CEO than the commandant of the Chicago Police
Academy.
Hank’s
Law Number Eleven: Heavy hitters don’t advertise.
I
stood at full attention in front of Reskor’s desk, staring blankly
over the top of his balding pate.
“Miss
McGrane. Please take a seat.”
Adrenaline
pulsed double-time through my veins. “No thank you, sir.”
“Sit.”
Resor pointed at the chair.
I
sat.
He
opened a manila folder on his desk, M.
McGrane typed neatly across the tab.
“Let’s see… ninety-eight percent on the written exam. Scored
‘expert’ on the shooting range, and a first in PT, as well.”
My
knee started bouncing. I leaned forward, pressing it still with the
heel of my hand.
“But
I regret to inform you that you failed the psych review.”
“Huh?”
“Failed the psych review” didn’t sound anything like
“Congratulations, Top Cadet.” “I’m sorry… What did you
say?”
Reskor
closed the manila file. “You failed.”
The
sweat on my forehead had dried to salt. I ran a hand over my gritty
face. “There must be some mistake, sir.” The room began to warp
at the corners. “On what grounds?”
“As
you know, failure on any exam results in immediate dismissal from the
cadet program.”
This
can’t be happening.
“Please
sir, on what grounds?”
He
pressed the tips of his fingers together and gave it to me, right
between the eyes. “The testing revealed you have an almost
pathological need to be liked. The consensus of the peer review is
that you are too thin-skinned to deal with the daily barrage of
public hostility and unfriendly situations that a police officer
encounters.”
A
pathological need to be liked? Me?
I
realized I was rocking back and forth in the chair and got to my
feet. “Sir, may I reapply, sir?”
“In
a year, you may.” His breath huffed out in a little sigh.
“Reinstatement at that Academy is extremely rare. I see little
point unless you can provide empirical evidence at that time to
disprove the diagnosis.” Reskor rose and held out his hand. “Not
everyone is meant to be a police officer, Maisie.”
And
like some idiot robot, I shook it. “Sir, yes sir.”
News
of my disgrace traveled fast.
Tommy
Narkinney was waiting for me in the hallway. “Tough bounce, kitty
puncher.”
Before
I had time to tell him what a jackass he was, two academy
instructors, one male and one female, escorted me to my dorm room.
They watched me pack my gear and walked me out to my car in the
parking lot.
What
the fuck?
I
sat in my Honda accord and tried to remember how to start it, jumping
when the female instructor knocked on the window. I turned the key
partway and fumbled of the electric window switch.
“Hey.”
She gave me a sympathetic frown-smile and said in a chipper voice,
“Is there someone I can call for you?”
Jesus
Criminy. My family.
“No,
I’m fine. Really. Thanks.” I zipped up the window and turned the
key fully in the ignition.
Three
miles later I pulled into a 7-Eleven, got out of the car, and threw
up.
###
Bio:
Janey
Mack grew up always wanting to be a cop but her dad wouldn’t let
her so she did the next best thing. She created Maisie McGrane, who
gets to do everything Janey can’t.
Janey
lives with her husband and children in Arizona, within driving
distance of her brothers.
Author
Links:
Main
Character's motivations
Maisie
McGrane is a smart and scrappy young woman from a tight-knit,
Irish-Catholic cop family. The only girl with five older brothers,
her dream is to become a Chicago police officer.
Crushed
when she’s expelled from the Police Academy, Maisie’s determined
to fight her way onto the force, no matter what it takes.
What
is their secret strengths/ weaknesses
Maisie’s
greatest strengths are her love of family and desire to succeed,
which is also her greatest weakness.
Driven
by a sense of duty and the desire to “pull her own weight” within
the clan, she strives to prove herself as ‘one of the boys’ to
the men in her life. Maisie weakness is her inability to grasp that
she’s always had and always will have their acceptance.
Any
offbeat obscure or 80s references?
My
book is chock full of pop-culture references. I don’t even know
where to begin listing them.
This is true, poor Steven Segal.
When
did you start to write this one and why?
I
wanted to write a book that made people laugh, made them happier
having read it. My favorite writers—Chandler, Dahl, Francis,
Hammett, Harris—always make me feel better when I read one of their
books. That’s my desire—to provide an escape. Well, that and
getting on the shelves of Target.
Time’s
Up started when I tried to think about what the worst job a person
desperate to become a police officer could have, meter maid topped
the list.
What's
next in this series or in your next book?
Maisie
won’t be a ‘one-trick-pony’. She’ll evolve as a person as
well as within her career path, mostly learning from her mistakes.
Preview
of your next book:
She’s
working undercover–and she’s in way over her head.
Scrappy
Traffic Enforcement agent Maisie McGrane has finally landed her dream
job as a Chicago police officer. There’s just one catch. She must
remain undercover as a meter maid to gather evidence against
Stannislav Renko, a charismatic Serbian mobster running a brutal
multi-million dollar mobile chop-shop operation.
When
Maisie is targeted by a killer who leaves a body slumped against her
car, Renko comes to her rescue and takes her under his wing. From her
perch inside the crime boss’s inner circle, Maisie sets up a daring
sting operation to take down Renko once and for all. But can she pull
it off before her family of overprotective Irish cops and her sexy
ex-Army Ranger boyfriend blow her cover?
When
will it be available?
December
29, 2015
Giveaways
to people of your choosing:
Leave
a comment in the comments section and I will have Janey send one of you a
signed copy of Time’s Up. For Free.
Fun.
That's what Time's Up is, it's fun. Pure simple enjoyment in
literary form.
This
is not my usual genre, and yet I found myself truly drawn into the
plot, Maisie's struggles and wonder, “Who dunnit?” To get me to
not just read but thoroughly enjoy a story outside of my normal
literary haunts requires great skill, and Janey Mack has it.
Strong
believable characters are penned with a deft touch the kinds of
characters who leap of the page. Maisie is at times smart, hardheaded,
kind, stubborn, foolish, and hungry to seize her place in the world.
Embroiled in family dynamics and situations, which, especially if you
are a younger sibling, you will recognize and empathize with. While
this maybe a story about a woman who starts off with one of the
worst days of her life, the are plenty of absurd, laugh out loud
moments.
In
the end it was a book I enjoyed and I look forward to the next in the
series when it arrives.
Lincoln Information
Next
week I will show off the new cover for The Witch's Lair, still on
track to drop on Valentine's day. And I'm 30k into writing on #4. More of Brothers Sebastian and Malachi along with some old friends as well as some new ones.
