Complete at 84,000 words, DON’T GET CAUGHT was one of twelve longlisted titles in the 2024 Crime Writers’ Association competition for unpublished titles.
This story will appeal to readers who enjoyed the lure into crime of Kristin Chen’s Counterfeit and Marissa Stapley’s Lucky.
Synopsis
They’re crooks, but they’re her family.
Law student Paige Prentiss has never understood her family’s criminal tendencies–until her favorite uncle gets arrested. Her relatives beg Paige to save him from a long prison sentence by destroying evidence at her internship. By tomorrow. With little time to contemplate it, Paige chooses loyalty to her clan. At work the next day, she contrives an opportunity and succeeds in securing her uncle’s safety. But amateurs make mistakes, and Paige winds up charged with grand larceny and fraud.
Humiliated, but with some fight left, Paige negotiates a deal to clear her record after six months of probation. She finds a job, as instructed, at an exclusive West Hollywood restaurant. At first, it’s a dream job. Then suspicions creep in about her enigmatic new boss, his unexpected ties to her father’s business, and the lavish flow of cash throughout the place. By rights, she should report what she’s seen. Afraid of being implicated or charged with new crimes, she holds off…until she can see no way out.