The Goddaughter's Revenge

By Melodie Campbell

When jewelry-store owner Gina Gallo and her boyfriend Pete take a week's vacation, she leaves the store in the hands of her cousin from New York. After all, cousin Carmine is a certified gemologist—but Carmine is also in the Mob. When Gina gets back, she discovers that her cousin has spent his time switching real gems for fakes in the jewelry of some of her best customers.

With her reputation on the line, what's a Mob goddaughter to do? Mastermind a string of burglaries to get the gems back, of course! But nothing ever goes entirely smoothly for Gina. Soon she and her eccentric cousin Nico are the toast of the town, as the local paper and everyone else follow the antics of their very own Pink Panthers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Oct 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781459804890

Melodie Campbell

Melodie Campbell is the winner of many awards for crime writing, including the Derringer and the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence for The Goddaughter's Revenge. She has over 200 publications, including 100 comedy credits, 60 short stories, 17 novels and the Goddaughter series in the Rapid Reads line. Her work has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Star Magazine, Canadian Living, the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail and many more. She has been called the "Queen of Comedy" by the Toronto Star. Melodie lives in Burlington, Ontario.

Book preview

THE

GODDAUGHTER’S

REVENGE

THE

GODDAUGHTER’S

REVENGE

MELODIE CAMPBELL

Copyright © 2013 Melodie Campbell

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced

or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording or by any information storage

and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission

in writing from the publisher.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Campbell, Melodie, 1955-

The goddaughter’s revenge [electronic resource] / Melodie Campbell.

(Rapid reads)

Electronic monograph.

Issued also in print format.

ISBN 978-1-4598-0488-3 (PDF).--ISBN 978-1-4598-0489-0 (EPUB)

I. Title. II. Series: Rapid reads (Online)

PS8605.A54745g632 2013      C813’.6       C2013-901926-X

First published in the United States, 2013

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013904965

Summary: When Gina discovers that someone has been switching

real gems with fakes in the jewelry of her best customers,

she takes matters into her own hands. (RL 3.8)

Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for

its publishing programs provided by the following agencies:

the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the

Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia

through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

Design by Teresa Bubela

Cover photography by Getty Images

www.orcabook.com

16   15   14   13   •   4   3   2   1

For Dave, who has gamely put up with my

whacky Italian family for decades.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CHAPTER ONE

Okay, I admit it. I would rather be the proud possessor of a rare gemstone than a lakefront condo with parking. Yes, I know this makes me weird. Young women today are supposed to crave the security of owning their own home.

But I say, Real estate, shmeel estate. You can’t hold an address in your hand. It doesn’t flash and sparkle with the intensity of a thousand night stars. It will never lure you away from the straight and narrow like a siren from some Greek odyssey.

Let’s face it. Nobody has ever gone to jail for smuggling a one-bedroom-plus-den out of the country.

However, make that a ten-carat cyan-blue topaz with a past as long as your arm, and I’d do almost anything to possess it.

But don’t tell the police.

* * *

Pete was sitting in my back office at Ricci Jewelers, poring over a tray of diamonds. Really nice diamonds. You could buy a whole condo building with those rocks.

I like the big pear-shaped one. How much does that cost?

Too much, I said. I’d be afraid to wear it. Might get mugged, you know?

Pete looked over at me and raised one eyebrow. By your own family?

I grimaced. He had me on that one. Who was likely to mug the goddaughter of the local crime boss?

I sighed. It’s still too much. I swished a stray lock of hair behind my shoulder.

Pete pushed back from the table. He leaned back in the chair. His big hands went behind his head and linked there. I felt the familiar zing as his hazel eyes met mine.

You know, this is rather like taking coals to Newcastle. You can buy any ring you want in your own store. Maybe I should buy you a car as an engagement gift.

I smiled at the quaint expression, then shook my head. No sir, you’re not getting out of this. Aunt Miriam always says you’re not engaged until you’ve got the ring. So choose something, buster.

He smiled back and his eyes twinkled. You choose something, gorgeous. We should do this together. Your budget is thirty thousand.

My jaw dropped. Holy cannoli, Pete—how much do newspaper reporters make?

A faint knock at the door made us both turn. It was Tiffany, my shop assistant. Her goth getup was somewhat alarming to many customers. Her face right now was even more alarming, and I don’t mean from the piercings.

I signaled to her. She used her key to unlock the door.

Sorry to interrupt, she said, but you really need to see this.

She motioned toward the retail end of the store.

I stood up, grabbed my keys and walked around the desk. Come see me in action, I said with a smile.

I’d like to, but I really have to get back. Got a deadline. Pete sprang easily from the chair to his full six-foot-two height. I love to watch him move. He used to be a quarterback and has that perfect combination of strength and grace. Unusual in a big guy.

Pete turned around at the door. You like the pear shape, right?

Oh yeah, I said. Who doesn’t?

How much is the big pear-shaped one?

I met his

Reviews for The Goddaughter's Revenge

[bagejew · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Talk about a dysfunctional family! Gina goes on vacation. While she is gone, one of her cousins steps in to run her jewelry store for her. Imagine her surprise and anger when she discovers her cousin has replaced real gemstones in her customer's rings with fakes! Gina develops a plan to commit reverse burglaries to return the real gems and get the fakes back and what ensues is a hilarious comedy of errors and coincidences. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick, humorous read. I promise you will enjoy yourself!

[lizbeth978 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was an entertaining read, despite my low rating. The story was light, not very serious, and at times featured random funny moments. Unfortunately the light tone meant no character development... or any kind of development at all. I wound up caring more for the lesser characters than I did for the main one, and it was all due to the little details and quirky plot twists that were provided for them. For some reason our heroine was allowed to simply exist in the story... I gather that this is the second book in a series, and I get the impression that the author was relying on whatever was written previously to "cover" for the main character. So what we have here is really a story lacking any real meat to it... which is very apparent at the end of the book. Not to give anything away, but let's just say the ending was abrupt and bizarre. If this book were a date, I'd be feeling cheap and used. But perhaps I'm over thinking this. Best for: reading on an airplane.

[ckrcelich-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book - quick, light read. Finished it in one evening. Great story line about a dysfunctional mob family and the girl who wants to live a normal life! I would love to see her expand the story line and the charachters and do a longer book! I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Janet Evanovich. I am looking forward to reading the first book in the series.

[readerbynight · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Rapid Reads book, lots of personality, humour, zany characters and a fun read, short and compact. The action and dialogue is so reminiscent of an old Black and White madcap movie set in modern day I knew immediately I would enjoy it. The characters are all written with their individual IDs intact and ready to go.Melodie Campbell has an ability to take a storyline by the roots and shake it up with often hilarious results. This the second book I have read by this author, both from different series. Still, the author's innate ability to create fantastic stories is the foundation of both series.Here we have Gina Gallow, the goddaughter of a Mob Boss and owner of her own jewelry store. Though she doesn't want to be part of 'The Family' business, she is not beyond eliciting help when she needs it, even enlisting her fiance in her capers. Who else would be burglarizing to steal fake gems to replace with the real thing? And what about the Lone Rearranger? Who but Melodie Campbell would pull off this zany story of family characters with their crazy personalities? Which comes first, loyalty to family or loyalty to the job? Loved this romp; Melodie, I will happily follow wherever your books will take me!

[sdmtngirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well . . . everyone has pretty much said what I wanted to say. It was a fun book that made me laugh and that is what a good author is about, eh? I will definitely be looking to see what else Melodie Campbell has! I'm very grateful for this Early Reviewer program that drops gems into my lap that I may never have read.

[empress8411 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received the third book, the Artful Goddaughter, free as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. When I heard that, I bought the previous two so I could read the whole story. While each does a nice job of being a stand along story, having read the previous two made the third that much better. All were funny, faced-paced, easy stories that would make a great beach read. Campbell is has an excellent eye for the quirks of families and she created some memorable ones. Stories like these three could easily disolve into a mess of sterotypes, but Campbell avoids that with a deft hand. I enjoyed these works immensely. I look forward to reading the next ones!

[lorettar-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A easy, fun read! A quirky family of characters that often made me laugh out loud. The author has a great sense of humour with the talent to bring it to the written page to share with the reader. Best of all I live and grew up in "The Hammer" and really enjoyed the references to places, streets,etc that I know. This was my first read by this author thanks to winning a copy of this book via LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

[lawonder10 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Melodie Campbell is definitely a talented, entertaining writer headed for fame! In her novella, ‘The Goddaughter’s Revenge’ she portrays humorous episodes in the life of Gina Gallo, who tries to separate her life from the rest of the family who are “Mob” related. It is a fun story if you get past the profanity and some crude sexual content. Melodies writing style is unique and easily understood. The descriptiveness of her characters are good but at times incomplete. At first I felt the book cover did not accurately represent the storyline until I looked clser at it, then I determined it has merit.The reader is engrossed in the story until the end. At that time he/she is looking for the rest of the book. It ends abruptly and leaving the reader feeling as though they have only read the first few chapters of a book. It isn’t even a good break-off introducing the rest of the series. If the language was modified or inferred rather than spelled out, it would, also, be a great book for YA.The most I can offer this novella as a rating would be a strong Three and a half Stars.I won this through a Library Thing early review contest for an honest rating of which I have given.