Moorewood Family Rules: A Novel

HelenKay Dimon

Apr 2023 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

Knives Out and Ocean’s 8 meets The Nest in this hilariously twisty novel by award-winning author HelenKay Dimon, about a woman who returns home from prison to her dysfunctional con artist family and tries to get them to go legit.

One day a con man met an heiress, wooed her, married her, had two kids…and kept on conning. Jillian Moorewood is the oldest child from that meet-cute-gone-wrong marriage. The stable one. The sensible and dependable one. The one who protects and fixes. The one who went to prison to save their sorry butts. Now, thirty-nine months later, she’s out and she’s more than a little pissed.

Finally home she finds the scheming clan in full family fleecing mode. They all claim they didn’t really agree to Jillian’s previous go-legit-or-else ultimatum before she went away. They viewed it as a “suggestion” then ignored it. So, business as usual. But Jillian is done with the lies and fakery. She demands the whole messed-up crew clean up its act, and this time she’s not kidding—she has the leverage to make it happen.

Problem is, her life is in shambles, but with the help of a great aunt (crooked but loveable), a bodyguard (who is a nice surprise after three years in prison), and a few allies (all working undercover), Jillian starts to put her life back together. She kicks out a few mooching relatives living under her roof, sets limits on everyone’s access to the money, ducks from their various attacks, and sees if that bodyguard is maybe interested in sticking around for a while. For the first time, she’s Jillian Moorewood, her own woman, and she’s ready to figure out who she is. 

Ratings and reviews

Such a crazy, delightful, funny story. Each character has such flaws in personality that are skillfully defined. Cons and grifters, the whole lot pitch themselves against cousin/niece/sister Jillian in an attempt to stop her from having all the family money and the estate. Astrid is way out of control. Anika is, in her own twisted way, trying to escape. Clueless Jay. A host of other characters fill the pages with rather ironically funny business. A real treat to read. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.75stars--MOOREWOOD FAMILY RULES by HelenKay Dimon is a contemporary, adult, stand alone story of mystery and suspense surrounding the Rhode Island, dysfunctional Moorewood family of grifters, liars, cheaters and thieves-Jillian Moorewood, her sister Emma, their cousins Tenn, Anika and Astrid-their father Jay, and great aunt Patricia. The premise is intriguing, interesting and detailed; the romance between Jillian and Beck is subtle, almost a cozy mystery feel; the characters are numerous.

This book is a fun, fast-paced romp. I'd describe it as women's fiction with a romance subplot. With its quirky characters and family dysfunction, it should appeal to fans of rom com, chick lit, and cozy mystery. Darkly humorous, edgy, and smart, it's a pleasure to read. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

About the author

Helenkay Dimon spent the years before becoming a romance author as a... divorce attorney. Not the usual transition, she knows. Good news is she now writes full time and is much happier. She has sold over thirty novels, novellas, and shorts to numerous publishers. Her nationally bestselling and award-winning books have been showcased in numerous venues, and her books have twice been named "Red-Hot Reads" and excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine. But if you ask her, she'll tell you the best part of the job is never having to wear pantyhose again.