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By Kellie Coates Gilbert

ISBN-13: 9780800722722
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Publication date: 6/3/2014
Series: A Texas Gold Novel #1
Format: Other
My Rating: 4 Stars

Kellie Coates Gilbert’s latest, A Woman of Fortune is an emotionally charged and complex  novel, diving into one family’s life of messiness—scandal, deceit, lies, wealth, and greed.

Claire, a Texas socialite enjoys the fabulous life and all it has to offer as well as members of her family –until her cattle broker and financier husband, Tuck is arrested and incarcerated on multiple counts of cattle fraud and federal racketeering charges— her world comes crumbling down.

Betrayed and humiliated, Claire must face incredible obstacles, and gain strength and courage in order to save her family--and discover a life worth living. They both started from a humble beginning; however, the path to success placed more and more pressure on one man. His greed led him astray. Claire also relied on her husband, versus making her own way. When her worldly possessions, and her family is disrupted, she discovers her true self. Hindsight, you can see how both Claire and Tuck brought baggage into the marriage. Can they make their way back?

Some great character development and lots of humor mixed in, as Jana Rae (Clarie’s best friend) had some hilarious come backs and one liners!

With firsthand experience, probably not one of the most sympathetic, when it comes to these type of stories; however, humans are not perfect. Gilbert did an outstanding job of looking inside one family at the devastation it causes, the emotional fallout—not only to the immediate families, but the investors, friends, church, and others which invested their money, and put their trust in this company and its leader. In desperation, people make poor choices out of fear; however, sometimes the outcome is worse than the original fear---as proved in this heartfelt and emotional story.

Having lived in West Palm Beach, FL for years, and less than two miles from Bernie Madoff’s Palm Beach former home (also on my bike trail), with many friends, and neighbors being victims of this Ponzi scheme, and all the publicity surrounding this tragedy here during this time— could relate to this story.

Was also involved in a high profile case, a Whistleblower for one of the first Sarbanes-Oxley cases to be filed in federal court—at the time of its enactment, in the wake of corporate accounting scandals — the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was the most sweeping financial regulation since the Securities Act of 1934. The law was designed to regulate accounting practices of publicly traded companies after the Enron fall, and protect those who uncover misdeeds before millions of shareholders are affected. In hindsight, has the law achieved what was intended over the last twelve years?

The case involved a national publicly traded home builder convicted of leading a conspiracy, falsifying reporting profits and deceiving the public about earnings; thereby affecting stock shares through a cookie jar accounting scheme and manipulating company’s publicly reported financial statement, from 2000 to 2007. Even though convictions and sentences are being served and restitution of up to $50 million demanded to be repaid; however, this in no way can it make up for the lives of those affected by the greed of certain individuals or companies.

Kellie’s experience in the legal professional proved helpful in the research and writing of cattle fraud, as well as her insights. Marriage, family, relationships, friends, and faith are tested in this poignant story of love and forgiveness.

Looking forward to the next book in the series of A Texas Gold!  A special thank you to Revell and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Texas Gold #2

WHERE RIVERS PART

Read My Review 

Feb 17, 2015