Don't Let It Be True-Jo Barrett

Don't Let It Be True
Jo Barrett
Avon, Mar 10 2009, $13.99
ISBN: 9780061241178

Houston socialites are noted to hide scandalous secrets from their past with being outed as a Democrat perhaps the most hideous skeleton in the upper crust closet. However, Kathleen Connor King's secret makes concealing being a donkey seem minor. The oil heiress is broke leaving her ranch and King Foundation in jeopardy and is considering canceling the vaunted annual family sponsored charity fund raiser. Her own trust fund went bust for a good cause when she financed the Pediatric Cancer Center at a time she was ignorant of her family’s poverty level.

Her live-in boyfriend former Enron lawyer Dylan Grant is stunned when he learns his recently deceased father destroyed the family estate and his inheritance. Apparently the oil properties were lost to nouveau riche Bo Harlan in a poker game. Kat and Dylan compare notes and come up with a grand but legal scheme to keep up appearances, win back the Grant oil revenues, and avoid a Vegas mobster

Although lighthearted and the ending can be seen from the moment the lovers realize they are broke, this is an amusing satirical spin on the American dream of earn wealth the old fashioned way through inheritance. The lead couple is a likable pair though neither thinks in terms of gainful employment because it could spoil their image; instead they choose a ruse to take back the loot Bo won. Mindful of the movie Fun with Dick and Jane, fans who enjoy a soft spoof will want to read DON’T LET IT BE TRUE.

Harriet Klausner