reviews
🔗 http://www.americanchronicle.comMichelle Kaye Malsbury holds a bachelors and masters degree in Business Management. She is working on her doctorate in conflict resolution and peace studies. The Swindler is her second published novel. In addition to that she has penned over three hundred articles over the internet. Those can be read at www.americanchronicle.com or www.useless-knowledge.com.
<p>When Jessica Bryant pesters her wealthy parents to allow her to have a dog as a pet, the answer is a resounding "No"; but they soon come to regret their decision when thier home is broken into one evening whilst they are out and their daughter kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnappers, in the form of four seedy and incompetent characters wearing Disneyland-type masks, take her hostage and keep her incarcerated in a place from which there appears to be no escape. However, they reckon without the resourcefulness of our heroine, and the courage of a wonderful stray dog who comes to her aid and whom she names 'Murdo'. And so begins an exciting and humurous accounting of the couples' adventures together as they consistently foil and outwit the abductors whilst on the run together.<br /> This is a lovely story of the friendship between a girl and a dog, bringing out themes of responsibility, camaraderie, redemption, salvation and self-sacrifice. It includes some wonderful dialogue sequences as Jessica teaches her new four-legged friend how to communicate with her, with additional delightful conversations between the animals when a rabbit and a sparrow join forces with them in an effort to outwit the kidnappers and restore Jessica safely back to her parents' home. </p>
The Swindler is based on a true story of a commodities trading firm that I worked for for a number of years. The story has been fictionalized, but many of the scenes actually took place.
<p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" face="Calibri">Marilou Trask-Curtin Review for TheSwindler</font></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">Michelle: First of all, congrats on an absolutely incredible book!!! Have you also written this as a screenplay????!!!! Would be amazing to watch and the timing seems right as well. </span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"> </span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">I only found a couple of blips but after I wrote them down lost the note where I had written the page numbers. The main one: There was mention of the basketball team the KNICKS...you had it written as the NICKS...that would need to be corrected as we New Yorker's who are KNICKS fans would probably retaliate by throwing soggy basketballs your way--LOL...otherwise, an incredible story...!!!</span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"> </span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">The Review: "The Swindler" - an incredibly fast-paced roller-coaster ride through the world of illegal commodities trading with enough sun and sin to heat up every reader's day (and night.) Michelle Malsbury at her finest! A definite must read!</span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"> </span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"> Marilou Trask-Curtin, Author of "In My Grandfather's House: </span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"> A Catskill Journal"</span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"> </span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">Thanks again for the opportunity to read "The Swindler" and I wish you all the best with it. Also, sorry it took so long....</span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"> </span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">Take care</span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">Marilou</span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"> </span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">PS: I love the way you got MJ into the story with the crotch grabbing episode :-]</span></p><p></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"><br /> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri">Ron Hall Review,</font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri">Author, businessman, friend</font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"></p><p><font face="Calibri"> </font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri">“Well girl I just finished the Swindler as I jumped it ahead of others in line because of our friendship. Congratulations on a well conceived and well written thriller. I am under contract with Thomas Nelson, the largest faith based publisher in the world. Written consent from them is required for formal endorsement. Honey girl…..your murder for hire sex thriller ain’t gonna pass no Baptist review board to allow my endorsement. Not that Baptist’s don’t do all the things you wrote about, they like Skip, don’t admit it even under oath and if they get caught red handed, they claim the devil made them do it. Good luck. </font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"></p><p><font face="Calibri"> </font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri">Ron Hall,</font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri">Dallas, TX</font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><br /> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri">Billy O’Toole Pre-review for The Swindler <span> </span>by Michelle Kaye Malsbury, BSBM, MM</font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri">All Things That Matter’s Press, ISBN 978-0-9844219-4-7</font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri">2/22/10</font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri">Hi Michelle,<br /> <br />During a long and successful career in the trucking business, I always carried a stack of books to entertain myself and hopefully learn a little something also. One of my favorites was Steven Frey because he always had some insights into the dark side of finance along with great characters. Move over Frey and make room for Michelle Malsbury!<br /> <br />The <span class="yshortcuts">Swindler</span> has great characters, some lovable, and some not, but all believable. Indeed, I felt like I already knew many and were acquainted with several others. There were the obvious evil ones but the mindset of good ones being led along and seduced by money and the good life was particularly poignant. <br /> <br />When my business blew up because I had no customers anymore, I began to study finance moved to being a Senior Financial Consultant. In the process of interviews and study I felt like I met many of her characters, things just didn't feel right, but oh so seductive!<br /> <br />All this set in quirky and sultry southern Florida, I could feel the humidity, see the pastels, and revel in the ambience. What more could anyone want in book?<br /> <br />Bill O'Toole<br /> <br />Senior Financial Consultant<br /> <br /><span class="yshortcuts">Southern</span> Commercial Corp<br /> <br />Columbia, Mo.<br /> <br /><span class="yshortcuts">573 808 2122</span></font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><br /> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri">Thomas Keyes Review for The Swindler by Michelle Kaye Malsbury,<span> </span>5/14/2010</font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"></p><p><font face="Calibri"> </font></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">The Swindler is a fast-moving, hard-hitting account of a swindler who, with his batch of subalterns, ran a Ponzi scheme in Key West and elsewhere. The tale is so realistic and convincing that you can hardly believe that it didn’t really happen and that the authoress is not in there somewhere, perhaps as Catherine, the honest realtor who gets embroiled in the mess. </span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"></span></p><p> </p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">The racket consisted of selling counterfeit commodities futures mostly to fairly well-heeled middle class types, and following up by generating bogus statements showing earnings. It may be difficult to feel overly compassionate for someone worth several hundred thousand dollars who gets stung for fifty, but there are a lot of smaller victims too.</span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"></span></p><p> </p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">The most touching was a young girl in Central America whom Skip, the swindler, got pregnant. She was hoping this pregnancy would bind them together and enable them to live a beautiful life. Then the blow fell. Skip was arrested and prosecuted, and the girl’s dreams flowed away in tears.</span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"></span></p><p> </p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">The pages are full of unsavory characters, and the action moves from Florida to the Bahamas to Costa Rica to Las Vegas.</span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"></span></p><p> </p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">The language is earthy.</span></p><p></p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"></span></p><p> </p> <p style="line-height:normal;margin:0in 0in 7.5pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">Read it, you’ll like it.</span></p><p></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"></p><p><font face="Calibri"> </font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"></p><p><font face="Calibri"> </font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Judy Ramsook from the Austin News Service, Austin, TX 4/9/10 Review for The Swindler</span></strong></p><p></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;"></span></strong></p><p><span> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoBodyText"><font size="5">In The Swindler, by Michelle Malsbury, you will find yourself being pulled in to a fictional<span> </span>tale of romance and a lot<span> </span>commodities<span> </span>swindling through the eyes of a third person narrator.</font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18pt;"></span></p><p> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18pt;">So come along and<span> </span>meet true to life and memorable characters such as: Catherine, The Realtor/Commodities Broker,<span> </span>Connie, Catherine’s best friend,<span> </span>Shamus,<span> </span>Real Estate Broker and the man who thinks he is the right man for Catherine and last but not least, Skip Horowitz,<span> </span>a ruthless<span> </span>Ponzi Schemer who is being<span> </span>investigated by the Feds.</span></p><p></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18pt;"></span></p><p> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18pt;">It’s a gripping tale<span> </span>that will<span> </span>make you want to keep turning those pages to see what happens next.</span></p><p></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18pt;"></span></p><p> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18pt;">Set in Key West, Florida, the author displays her vast love for and knowledge of the area so well, that if you have not been there and know nothing about Key West, perusing The<span> </span>Swindler<span> </span>by Michelle Malsbury will indeed give you a rich education into that paradise.</span></p><p></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18pt;"></span></p><p> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18pt;">So come on and enjoy this well written and detailed tale and see if Catherine really thinks Shamus is the right man for her,<span> </span>and if<span> </span>the elusive Skip Horowitz<span> </span>gets<span> </span>the justice he so deserves.</span></p><p></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18pt;"></span></p><p> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18pt;">I enjoyed it and I think you will too.</span></p><p></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"> </p>