Crimes Against a Book Club

by Kathy Cooperman

Overview

“Lighthearted…You’ll speed through this read.” —Real Simple

Best friends Annie and Sarah need cash—fast. Sarah, a beautiful, successful lawyer, wants nothing more than to have a baby. But balancing IVF treatments with a grueling eighty-hour workweek is no walk in the park. Meanwhile, Annie, a Harvard-grad chemist recently transplanted to Southern California, is cutting coupons to afford her young autistic son’s expensive therapy.

Desperate, the two friends come up with a brilliant plan: they’ll combine Sarah’s looks and Annie’s brains to sell a “luxury” antiaging face cream to the wealthy, fading beauties in Annie’s La Jolla book club. The scheme seems innocent enough, until Annie decides to add a special—and oh-so-illegal—ingredient that could bring their whole operation crashing to the ground.

Hilarious, intelligent, and warm, Crimes Against a Book Club is a delightful look at the lengths women will go to fend for their families and for one another.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781503942981
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	05/01/2017
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Kathy Cooperman spent four years performing improvisational comedy, then decided to do something less fun with her life. After graduating from Yale Law School, she went into criminal law, defending “innocent” (rich) clients. These days, she lives in Del Mar, California, with her husband and four challenging young children. Crimes Against a Book Club is her first novel. Follow her on Twitter @Kathy_Cooperman.

Editorial Reviews

03/27/2017
Cooperman’s debut novel is a lighthearted look at the evolution of a female friendship through entrepreneurial success and strife. When best friends Annie and Sarah find themselves broke with growing medical bills, the women decide to go into business selling a homemade face cream to the wealthy wives of La Jolla, San Diego. With meticulous Annie’s chemistry background and beautiful Sarah’s charisma, the business takes off—and Sarah soon finds herself learning more than she ever hoped for about the unfulfilled women of La Jolla. It is a whiplash-inducing rise to success, but when their secret ingredient comes to light, Annie and Sarah find themselves in the middle of a high-society scandal. Using a clever heist plot as her vehicle, Cooperman introduces the reader to a variety of characters trying to figure out how to age gracefully in a milieu dominated by the young and beautiful. While Cooperman’s characters are always intriguing and their personalities clear, their resolutions often feel like an afterthought to the main story. Cooperman’s debut is a light, engrossing novel with two bold protagonists that won’t quickly be forgotten. (May)

Publishers Weekly

A POPSUGAR Hot New Spring Books Selection

A Real Simple Best Book of May

“Cooperman’s latest is a fantastic neighborhood book club meets The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills dramathon, a cautionary no-good-deed-goes-unpunished tale. Her study on the complexities of friendships and marriage, plus a rock-solid plot, snappy, quick-paced dialogue, likable stars and a stable of unforgettable co-stars make it a real page-turner.” —RT Book Reviews

“Lighthearted.…You'll speed through this read.” —Real Simple

“Cooperman’s debut is a light, engrossing novel with two bold protagonists that won’t quickly be forgotten.” —Publishers Weekly

“Cooperman is at her best when she focuses on the friendship between Annie and Sarah—their bond is genuinely touching, and their struggles are easy to relate to.…A funny story about what two women will do to make a quick buck.” —Kirkus Reviews

“The theme of this first novel is the importance of family.…The fun is the developing characters.” —Booklist

“Funny, heartwarming and a little left of center, Crimes Against a Book Club is a story about real life struggles tackled in an unconventional manner.” —Long and Short Reviews

“Cooperman…weave[s] levity into profound themes. Think a quirkier Liane Moriarty.” —Del Mar Times

“A winner the whole way through—The story is fun, fresh, and celebrates friendship.” —Chick Lit Central

“I absolutely loved Crimes Against a Book Club. [It] has to be up there on the list of one of my favorite fun novels. So many good bits. It hit all the right spots for me.” —3 Book Girls

From the Publisher

2017-02-21
Two friends create a scheme to take advantage of rich California women in Cooperman's debut.Best friends Annie and Sarah couldn't be more different. Annie is a harried mom of three, while Sarah is a glamorous, high-powered lawyer. The one thing they have in common is that they need money. Annie can't afford the expensive therapy for her autistic son, while Sarah is trying to finance in vitro fertilization treatment. Luckily, they know people who have more money than they know what to do with—the rich women in Annie's book club. Annie, a former chemist, can create a face cream. Sarah, with her youthful beauty, can peddle the cream to women who want to look like her. If they can sell each container of face cream for $2,000, they'll be swimming in cash in no time. The only problem? The "secret ingredient" Annie adds is actually cocaine. Their face cream grows in popularity, but what happens when someone finds out what makes it so special? Cooperman is at her best when she focuses on the friendship between Annie and Sarah—their bond is genuinely touching, and their struggles are easy to relate to. However, there are far too many characters and points of view to keep straight, and readers may find themselves getting confused as to which aging socialite they're reading about now. A funny story about what two women will do to make a quick buck.

Kirkus Reviews