by Mike McPhail
First published 2021
Mike McPhail's "Best Laid Plans" follows small-time grifter Eddie as he hatches a get-rich-quick scheme to swindle a local mob boss. Posing as a wealthy businessman, Eddie worms his way into the boss's inner circle, ingratiating himself with the man's trophy wife. But when Eddie's plan to steal the mobster's cash stash goes sideways, he finds himself in a desperate chase through the streets of Chicago, dodging bullets and mobsters at every turn. With his freedom and life hanging in the balance, Eddie must use every con in the book to outwit his ruthless pursuers and make a clean getaway. Packed with breakneck pacing, absurdist humor, and colorful, larger-than-life characters, "Best Laid Plans" is a riotous tale of greed, deception, and the best-laid plans gone spectacularly awry.
Genres: fiction, crime, action, mystery-thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, heist
Setting: Chicago
Period: 21st-century
224 pages · Paperback · eSpec Books
Content warnings: violence