The Goddaughter by Melodie Campbell

The Goddaughter by Melodie Campbell is a quick, easy, and fun read, so quick it is part of the Rapid Reads series. And, I love it. In fact, I wish there were more of it. I have always been fascinated by mafia life, and to read a new twist on it, well, that was right up my alley. Throw in some romance, a few of those eclectic characters that you come to expect in a “family business” story and you have a perfect blend for a great read!

Melodie Campbell has a way with word that is witty, fresh and HILARIOUS! She reminds me of Janet Evanovich and Stephanie Bond, which is high praise in my mind.



Gina Gallo is a gemologist who would like nothing better than to run her little jewelry shop. Unfortunately she’s also “the Goddaughter,” and, as she tells her new friend Pete, “you don’t get to choose your relatives.” And you can’t avoid them when you live in Hamilton and they more or less run the place. When Gina bumps into Pete at the Art Gallery Gala, sparks fly. So do bullets, when her cousin Tony is taken down by rival mobsters from New York. It turns out Tony was carrying a load of hot gems in the heel of his shoe. When Gina is reluctantly recruited to carry the rocks back to Buffalo, the worst happens: they get stolen. Pete and Gina have no choice but to steal them back, even though philandering politicians, shoe fetishists, and a trio of inept goons stand in their way. It’s all in a day’s work, when you’re the Goddaughter.



Melodie Campbell has been a banker, marketing director, comedy writer, college instructor and possibly the worst runway model ever. Melodie got her start writing comedy so it’s no surprise her fiction has been described by editors as “wacky” and “laugh-out-loud funny.” Melodie has over 200 publications and six awards for fiction She was a finalist for the 2012 Derringer (U.S.)and Arthur Ellis (Canada) awards for crime writing. Melodie is the Executive Director of Crime Writers of Canada.