Starting or investing in a small business can be a perilous undertaking. William Manchee's novel, Cash Call, is a legal horror story about all that can go wrong in a new venture. Sadly, its inspired by actual events.
When clients come in for help with a new investment or business venture they are usually full of excitement and anticipation. Whereas it would be easy for me to get caught up in their optimism and hope, I can’t do that. As an attorney my job is to make sure they understand the legalities and risks associated with the business venture and then, if they decide to go forward, make sure the venture is set up properly and in the manner most favorable to the client. This is why attorney’s are often accused of being deal killers. They appear to be very negative and overly cautious in their representation, but the fact is they are scared and nervous because they know how perilous any new business venture can be and they know who will be blamed if anything goes wrong.
It’s hard to get clients to understand and appreciate these risks, so I wrote a novel, a horror story actually, where everything goes wrong in a restaurant franchise. It was inspired by actual cases of mine from the past and is not an exaggeration. These things happen in real life and every prospective entrepreneur must realize this.
The Book Reader summarized the story in a review when the book first came out as follows: "The latest in the mystery series starring lawyer Stan Turner. Manchee, a lawyer, pulls out the stops and it’s all go as Turner and his wife Rebekah get involved with friends who are in great trouble with an impending bankruptcy. Turner is involved in a spiral of hounding creditors, arrests, murder, diamonds, gangsters, and a pell-mell pace that holds readers glued to the pages. All sorts of interesting California episodes are here–the Rendevous Club and lap dancing, a Peruvian pottery that is supposed to contain diamonds but doesn’t, the business of lawyering by a lawyer who is always struggling with clients’ payments, the lives of his four growing children, the IRS, interviews with police–and engrossing attorney procedures, in court, in documents, which Manchee knows so well. An old romantic interest complicates matters and creates problems between Turner and his wife. The action moves forward at a brisk pace with surprising (and ingenious) plot twists, and this deeply felt book may be Manchee’s best work to date. The extraordinary and ordinary: "Feeling a little better with one more problem resolved, I went home early and took the family to dinner. It was Thursday, our bowling night..." Manchee writes a very realistic prose, exact, viewing the sharp edges of reality wisely, and he also gives us glimpses beneath the surface, wondering, sympathizing, fearing. There’s a special power and grace here, about family, friends, death, and all the ties that bind one into a non-stop chase to unwrap puzzle with puzzle.
The good news is that everything that happened to Don Blaylock and his family could have been avoided. To find out how check out William Manchee’s new non-fiction book, Go Broke, Die Rich, Turning Around the Troubled Small Business. Cash Call is available in paperback, audio MP3, and for audio download at Audible.com.
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