Concrete Pearl by Vincent Zandri

Book Description:
Ava "Spike" Harrison might be a beautiful, classically schooled woman, but the single, 38 year old construction business owner is also plenty ballsy. Her late father taught her long ago how to handle the rough boys in an industry that's almost entirely filled with hard-boiled men on the make. But now, with "the business dad built" from the ground up failing due to an unusual series of job-site injuries and just plain bad luck, Spike has no choice but to take on one last project she believes can pull the fledgling commercial firm from the depths of almost certain bankruptcy and family shame: The Renovation of Albany PS 20.

Problem is, Spike had no choice but to take the job on the cheap or, what's known in the industry as, "at cost." To make matters worse, she's not only hired an asbestos removal contractor who, unbeknownst to her, low-balled his price, but she's advanced him $10Gs from her own dwindling cash account as a "good faith" incentive to beat the project deadline.

Now, when that same asbestos contractor goes missing and it's discovered by OSHA officials that he's cheated on the project exposing more than 300 students to deadly asbestos fibers for months, the ever responsible Spike takes matters into her own callused hands and goes in search of him. What she discovers along the way however, is a path paved with deception, greed, murder, and eventually, her own ultimate demise.

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book! Spike is a woman living in a man's world, literally. She is running the construction business her late father left her and trying to keep it going. She has plenty of backbone and has no trouble dealing with the 'man's job'! She had to bid low on her latest job and now the contractor she got to remove the asbestos has disappeared! She is left holding the bag with his shoddy work and now is determined to find him!
I loved Spike. Such a strong female lead! Her search for the contractor leads her into sticky situations and a lot more than she'd ever dreamed. The author does a wonderful job of dragging you from scene to scene and taking you on a roller coaster ride. Mystery and thriller are intertwined well in this book and you won't want to put it down.
I rate this a 4/5. It was a great ride, I will say there was profanity, innuendo and violence so if you don't want to read a book with those elements, this isn't for you.

Thank you to the author for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.