The Con Before Christmas [A Novella]

by E.E. Bailes

Overview

During the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, Arthur Beautyman and his mother Ruth are spotted by a long lost friend of Ruth’s, who miraculously produces Ruth’s wallet, which had been lost in the crowded mall.

Despite Ruth’s waning memory of her old friend, in the spirit of the season Ruth invites her and her adult son into her home for the night. Only the next morning— when the con artists have fled and Ruth’s identity and entire life savings gone—do Ruth and Arthur realize they have mere hours to find them before they forever slip out of their grasp.

Through the challenges of their own relationship as mother and son and their combined wit, bravery, and techie know-how, Arthur and Ruth discover a web of betrayal, drama, and crime that pits them against a dangerous and destructive family feud … just in time for Christmas.

This novella is approximately 22,000 words (roughly 90 pages).

Product Details

BN ID:	2940153050089
Publisher:	Erik Hanberg
Publication date:	02/20/2013
Series:	Beautyman & Beautyman Mysteries , #2
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	979,153
File size:	297 KB

About the Author

Erik Hanberg has been a writer all his life. Novels, screenplays, plays, even a stray poem or two. He lives in Tacoma Washington with his wife Mary and his new daughter. In addition to writing novels, he was elected in 2011 as a park commissioner on the park board of Tacoma. The Lattice Trilogy Byron Shaw can track and find anyone on Earth. Except the people who tried to kill him. By 2081, privacy no longer exists. The Lattice enables anyone to re-live any moment of your life. People can experience past and present events—or see into the mind of anyone, living or dead. Most people love it. Some want to destroy it. Colonel Byron Shaw has just saved the Lattice from the most dangerous attack in its history. Now he must find those responsible. But there’s a question nobody’s asking: does the Lattice deserve to be saved? The answer may cost him his life. Arthur Beautyman Mysteries The Saints Go Dying (2010), The Marinara Murders (2011), and The Con Before Christmas (2012) are about Arthur Beautyman, a computer hacker turned detective. All three books can be easily enjoyed as stand-alone mysteries. Helping Small (and Very Small) Nonprofits Based on his years of nonprofit fundraising, marketing, and leadership, Hanberg published "The Little Book of Gold," a fundraising guide for small (and very small) nonprofits and The "Little Book of Likes," a social media guide for small (and very small) nonprofits. When he was just 23, Erik Hanberg was hired to run a non-profit arts organization with an annual budget just over $600,000. Two years later, he had increased the budget to $800,000, and increasing fundraising more than 400%. Since then he has worked in development at multi-million dollar non-profit, and has volunteered on many boards. He was most recently the Executive Director of a small civic non-profit and currently sits on the distribution committee for a foundation that gives away more than $200,000 a year.