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I was an artist for 34 years. I stopped making art and began writing in 2005. I have since written 11 books, of which 6 are currently in print. "The Side Job" began as a 2-page, flash fiction. I fleshed it out to 110 pages. It is my first book of fiction. I've since written a sci-fi story: "The Plague". More info on my website: http://donlubov.com. My other books are self-help: "An End to Stress", a memoir: "Near Death in the Gila National Forest", a children's picture book: "Frosty the Soulman", and an anthology of prose and poetry: "The Writers Bloc Club". I made art to share and now I write to share.
Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite
The Side Job by Don Lubov is a short, interesting and realistic story that follows a young mother on a daring journey to save her sickly daughter. Maggie Gomez gets pregnant at seventeen and, abandoned by her boyfriend, she is left alone with the child. Her daughter's illness takes a threatening turn and Maggie must do something to save her. She offers her services to a local mobster. Things quickly develop into a crisis when she learns that her detective lover is after her loan-shark boss, and there is already a contract out on her. Can she navigate safely out of the trap, keep her relationship, and save her five-year-old daughter?
The author writes well and plunges readers into the underbelly of the Las Vegas crime world. The narrative is gritty, emotionally rich, and the reader can feel the desperation in the youthful protagonist. When a daughter's life is threatened, what will a mother do? This is a realistic story with a heroine that will evoke a powerful sense of emotion in the reader. At times it can be easy to judge a single mom for getting into a profession like prostitution, but a closer look may reveal a love that is ready to sacrifice everything to provide for a child, and that is what this story is all about. It is well plotted and a very quick read. Don Lubov captivated me with the prose and the plot. But what had me turning from page to page is the emotional intensity of the story. The Side Job is a story for readers who love a mix of crime and romance, and characters that are real and memorable.
