New Family

Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt is my fifth Nutmeg read (halfway there)!

I really enjoyed this one!  Nicki’s mom abandoned her as a baby, her dad was in jail, and her grammy passed away.  These events led to her being in numerous foster families, and honed her skills as a kleptomaniac and an overall tough cookie.

U.S. Marshals choose her to be part of a special project to hide witnesses.  The family she is asked to join is on the run from a notorious mob family- the Cercatores.  The mom, “Harriet,” was a key witness against her brother’s countless murders.  Now her family (husband “Jonathan” and son “Jackson”) must relocate after receiving special training to help them assimilate.  They become the Trevor family along with their new daughter, Nicki/”Charlotte.”

Charlotte is a pretty amazing character.  Cool enough to take on the challenge of fitting in while not becoming too popular, maintaining a B- average and managing an extremely bitter, angry new brother.  Things seem to be going pretty well, until they find out that Harriet’s brother has been acquitted on a technicality.  They know they are being hunted, and with social media errors, it’s only a matter of time before they are found.

This story really appealed to me!  It has a great pace, likable characters and realistic events that kept me entertained until the very end!