Virtual Book Tour and Review: Buying Time by Pamela Samuels Young

Back in March, only a month into book-blogging, I was contacted by Tracee at Pump Up Your Book to read and review Pamela Samuels Young’s new book, Buying Time. To say I was thrilled is an understatement…I couldn’t believe someone sought out my blog and wanted my opinion of a book. Well, it’s now August, and I have been contacted by quite a few publishers/publicists and even some authors to review books on my blog and each time I am so honored and excited!

First line: Veronika Myers tried to convince them, but no one would listen.

From the back cover: Waverly Sloan is a down-on-his-luck lawyer. But just when he’s about to hit rock bottom, he stumbles upon a business with the potential to solve all of his problems.

In Waverly’s new line of work, he comes to the aid of people in desperate need of cash. But there’s a catch. His clients must be terminally ill and willing to sign over rights to their life insurance policies before they can collect a dime. Waverly then finds investors eager to advance them thousands of dollars – including a hefty broker’s fee for himself – in exchange for a significant return on their investment once the clients take their last breath.

The stakes get higher when Waverly brokers the policy of the cancer-stricken wife of Lawrence Erickson, a high-powered lawyer who’s bucking to become the next U.S. Attorney General. When Waverly’s clients start dying sooner than they should, both Waverly and Erickson – who has some skeletons of his own to hide – are unwittingly drawn into a perilous web of greed, blackmail and murder.

My thoughts:This is the first book that I read by Pamela Samuels Young and I loved it. Buying Time is a fast-paced murder-mystery drama that had me hooked from page one. It is suspenseful from beginning to end, filled with twists and turns at every step.The characters are all well-developed and quite colorful. At first it seems as though there are three separate story lines happening but eventually they merge and it all comes together for an explosive end. Shoot-outs, murder for hire, accusations, family drama and a little romance keep this story moving forward with everyone pointing the finger trying to lay blame. While I knew nothing of viatical investments prior to reading Buying Time, the author does a great job explaining it without getting too technical at any point. This is a well-crafted legal thriller and I am definitely going to be checking out Pamela Samuels Young’s other books.

About the author: Corporate attorney Pamela Samuels Young has always abided by the philosophy that you create the change you want to see. Fed up with never seeing women or people of color depicted as savvy, hot shot attorneys in the legal thrillers she read, Pamela decided to create her own characters. Despite the demands of a busy legal career, Pamela accomplished her ambitious goal by rising at four in the morning to write before work, dedicating her weekends to writing and even spending her vacation time glued to her laptop for ten or more hours a day.

The Essence magazine bestselling author now has four fast-paced legal thrillers to show for her efforts: Every Reasonable Doubt (BET Books, February 2006), In Firm Pursuit (Harlequin, January 2007), Murder on the Down Low (Goldman House Publishing, September 2008) and Buying Time (Goldman House Publishing, November 2009). New York Times bestselling author Sheldon Siegel described Buying Time, Pamela’s first stand-alone novel, as a “deftly plotted thriller that combines the best of Lisa Scottoline and Robert Crais.”

Pamela has achieved a successful writing career while working as Managing Counsel for Labor and Employment Law for a large corporation in Southern California. Prior to that, she served as Employment Law Counsel for Raytheon Company and spent several years with the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, LLP in Los Angeles. A former journalist, Pamela began her broadcasting career as a production assistant at WXYZ-TV in Detroit, where she was quickly promoted to news writer. To escape the chilly Detroit winters, she returned home to Los Angeles and worked at KCBS-TV as a news writer and associate producer.

Pamela has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from USC, a master’s degree in broadcasting from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and received her law degree from UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and is the Fiction Expert for BizyMoms.com.

Pamela is a frequent speaker on the topics of discrimination law, diversity, writing and pursuing your passion. She is married and lives in the Los Angeles area. To contact Pamela or to read an excerpt of her books, visit www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com.

I received a complimentary copy of Buying Time by Pamela Samuels Young from Pump Up Your Book Promotion as part of the tour.