Stella Baker: 4 Gigs of Trouble

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I have read a lot of conspiracy theory thrillers and this was one of the best because it kept me both entertained and amused. It was quite different others of the genre, perhaps because of the female heroine, or maybe how accidentally the whole plot evolved.

Toni Teitelbaum is a high school history teacher supervising a class visit to Washington. She is an attractive six-footer with a fondness for designer clothing who is former US Marine MP who considers that the dangers in Iraq are similar to coping with a class of teenagers. During the visit, when following a errant student into some bushes, she accidentally finds a dying man who unknowingly slips a 4 gig thumb drive into the pocket of her designer coat and in his last breath tells her to give it to the President.

This starts an entertaining romp of a conspiracy thriller when Toni accidentally gets caught up with powerful people who want to make sure that the contents of the thumb drive are not disclosed. She is followed, her room is searched and her family is threatened. Because of her Marines training she is not a person who gives up easily and with the help of family and friends she keeps battling the unknown enemy.

What makes this book doubly entertaining is that is also amusing. I always like to give readers a taste of the humour with a few quotes:
*  "Babycakes, it is always about sex, money or power"
*  my mother has "the world's most accurate crap-o-meter...especially when it comes to me."
*  "Mom hasn't cried like that since the Bush administration....the first Bush."
*  "I survived a tour of Iraq and several years in a classroom with teenagers."

There is very little profane language except a couple of classic Yiddish swear words that I will never forget. I can quote one - "Monzer" which means bastard, but I don't think the other one (Yiddish for SNAFU) would be cleared in an Amazon review.

My only (constructive) comment is that I got confused when the word Metro was used for both the Washington subway system and the Washington police force. I am sure that this could easily be fixed when the next Kindle version is edited.

Well done Stella Baker with your first self-publshed book. It was well written and kept me well entertained right down to the last page. I am sure that you could use Toni as a character in a future book. In any event I look forward to reading your next book "The Postman Always Shoots Twice" some time soon.