A Bit to Share with You

If everything worked out as planned, when you read this message I’ll be recharging my battery again in Japan before heading back to Canada in a few days.

I wish I could tell you my writing output increased dramatically since my last message but that’s not the case. While jetlag improved, and the air pollution reduced for the Tet Festival week, I never regained my disciplined writing and output. Next week, we’ll work to get back on track with # 9!

In the meantime, I share a just-released review from the Ottawa office of CANREADS. I hope you enjoy it!

CONTENTION – Book 7 in The Multima Saga

Like the start of any good mystery, things are not what they seem from the very first page of Contention, the seventh installment in Gary D. McGugan’s suspenseful corporate drama series.

Fan favourite, Howard Knight, is taking a gamble with a new scheme and bargains with crime boss, Fidelia Morales, to get it underway. Although she appears to reluctantly sign off, it quickly becomes clear that Howard has made a deal with the devil as he watches his house of cards begin to crumble before the foundation is even built.

Readers of the series will be quick to agree that he really should have known he never stood a chance. Fidelia is the “House” and the House always wins. But The Organization’s leader is playing more than one game.

As she stacks the deck against Howard, she’s also simultaneously arranging a scheme of her own, gathering a unique cast of characters in Curaçao for a tropical and murderous get-together that’s reminiscent of the blockbuster hit Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. They’re a team on a mission, and the purpose of that mission is slowly revealed throughout Contention, creating a mixture of tension and intrigue that will make readers want to devour this book as quickly as possible.

However, one thing is immediately clear: Fidelia’s scheme involves an unknowing Suzanne Simpson and her corporation, Multima, as fans of McGugan will have come to expect by now. While Suzanne doesn’t know what new scheme is in the works, she is getting wise to the troublesome antics of The Organization and she’s starting to fight back, showing time and again that she shouldn’t be underestimated. Using the power of words—much like McGugan himself—Suzanne demonstrates that intellect is just as good a weapon as any of the guns Fidelia’s team are packing.

The female leaders at the helm of McGugan’s two outlets—the legitimate Multima and the illegitimate Organization—are relentless. No matter what challenges come their way, they power through, finding new solutions, outsmarting their enemies, and never leaving anyone in any doubt about who the boss is. It’s girl power at its finest—intelligent, driven, and unyielding.

McGugan’s fans will be captivated from start to finish, immersed in a whirlwind of suspense and jaw-dropping twists. Contention stands as yet another exemplary work of corporate drama, weaving tension and surprises at every turn to keep readers invested.

~CANREADS Ottawa Book Review