"Give this story a try; it certainly is original."

Confessions of a PTA Mafia Mom

by Elsie Love

Genre: General Fiction, Chick Lit

Book Synopsis

Elaine Jackerson has found herself in quite a predicament. Her husband, Bob, is sleeping with his secretary, her daughter is experimenting in the backseat with random boys, and her eight year old wants nothing to do with her.

In an attempt to get herself out of her midlife rut, Elaine joins the Herschel Grammar School PTA. Little does she know, Suni Calverson, the current president has handpicked her to be the newest member of the group. As soon as the ink is dry on the signup sheet, Elaine is thrust into a world that she never knew existed. A world where the PTA gets things done with blackmail, bribes, threats and quite possibly guns.

After stumbling across her husband and his secretary humping in his office, Elaine turns to the only friends she has: Suni and her henchmen. They convince her to let them “take care” of Bob. Elaine agrees to the plan, as long as no one dies. Unfortunately for Elaine, Suni has other plans. Before Elaine can sleep off her Mojitos, her children have been kidnapped and Bob has disappeared. Afraid that Elaine will go back on her word, Suni forces her onto a plane to hide out in a posh suite in Las Vegas that belongs to the famous French landscape photographer Gerard Ilg.

Determined to get her children back and avoid jail, Elaine spends her time in Sin City vacillating between planning her escape and trying to stay out of the arms of the much younger, very hot, very Hawaiian limo driver Benjamin Oliana. Does he care for Elaine, or is she just another notch on his Billabong belt? What about her famous host who keeps encouraging her to “find her passion”? Gerard is a man of the world—a man that knows Suni. Can he be trusted? More importantly, can she sort out her feelings, take down the PTA Mafia, and go home to her children?"

Bec's Rating

Bec's Review

I admit the premise of this story had me amused. After all, a mob made up of middle aged suburban mums seems a little farfetched. The main character, Elaine (or Lanie) also feels the same way, almost laughing when inducted into the fold. But her laughter soon fades as she realises the danger of the situation through the authors skilful telling of an amusing story. While this is one of those stories best suited for woman a little bit older than me, I found myself enjoying this book and occasionally smiling at Lanie’s exploits or frowning at the trouble she had found herself in. While not in its demographic (which is middle aged woman much like Lanie) there was much to enjoy in this story.

However there was a minor let down for me. Halfway through the book I noticed a point where a sentence had been left unfinished, half the sentence obviously missing in such a manner that it drew me out of the story. I kept reading, hoping it was a one off but sadly it happened a few more times. The instances of this are rare enough to not detract too much from the story but it is enough to pull the reader out of the fictional world and to wonder how such a mistake could have got past an edit or whether it is an issue with the ebook formatting. Either way it does distract from the story itself.

Despite this error confessions of a PTA Mafia Mum was a funny and enjoyable read. There were times when I did feel it went on a bit too long, or was a bit slow going, but beyond that I found myself intrigued by the story within it and wondering just what would happen to Lanie next. Would she be able to get herself out of the mess she had fallen into? Who can she possibly trust? The only answers I can give to these questions is to tell you to read the book, especially if you are a middle aged, suburban mum yourself. Give this story a try; it certainly is original.

Disclaimer: Not recommended for children due to sex.