Weekend Reads Presents: Turn Key Condition and a five star review.

Turn Key Condition by M.L. Ortega
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A single parent, Maggie is struggling to raise three boys on her own. Times are hard, the economy hasn't recovered, and new homes are hard to sell. Aside from working at the local school, Maggie hooks up with her friend, Jane, to clean model homes. Commiserating with each other, as only the best of friends can do, they set out one evening to scrub down a model home in a new subdivision.

Jane takes the downstairs, Maggie the upstairs. Everything runs smoothly until it doesn’t. This time, Maggie discovers more than she anticipates. A dead man with a lock around his genitals, but it’s not just any lock, it’s a donut lock, one realtors use to put around a door.

After calling the cops and then her kids, Maggie takes a few pictures of the dead man, because you never know when you might earn a little money from a newspaper or magazine. Still, the shots make her nervous when she talks to the police, and she leaves that part out of story.

Soon after, Maggie discovers the murderer is targeting her sons and she must find the killer before his dreadful aspiration is achieved. Maggie's 'mother bear' instincts are let loose and she will do anything to make sure the murderer is brought to justice before he succeeds.

I gave Turn Key Condition 5 stars because of the novel's humor, suspense, and originality. The prose is excellent, nothing is left hanging, and the ending is perfectly satisfying. Except, I hope to hear more from Jane and Maggie. They make an excellent team and the ending just hints at a possible sequel.

Ms Ortega is a phenomenal writer who uses her talent to capture the reader's attention immediately. The story flows, is well formatted, and thoroughly edited. I really enjoyed Turn key Condition and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a crime novel saturated with humor and suspense.


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