In M.J. Oxford’s first novel OUTPLACEMENT, her female protagonist, Chris Watterman, a Dallas business woman, is drawn into an underworld of crime that she had absolutely no experience with, outside the movies, when the president of a bank for which she provides outplacement services is found shot. Chris, her family, closest friends and colleagues are all affected by a whirlwind of kidnapping, violence, bribery and much more murder following the discovery of the bank president’s body.

The story is compelling, reels you in from the start and only gets better as it unfolds. I really enjoyed how all the women work together, a nice change from the way male characters solve a mystery. I would love to see her network of women characters come together in future books. They are definitely fun to follow in action. Also I must say I love regional novels and I think no setting is richer than Texas. I highly recommend this book to any mystery fan. You won’t be disappointed and I do believe you’d finish as much of a fan of Oxford’s work as I am.