I read this book because I offered a contest to review a book, and Lighting Out was one of the winners. 

It started out with a quote from Huckleberry Finn.  Not a bad start, in my opinon.

It's the story of a bank theft and its two victims - the owner of the bank and the thief.  A quarter of a million dollars turns their lives upside down.  Baxter Evans is shaken out of his stiff, orderly routine and the life that seemed picture perfect from the outside and was anything but on the inside.  Eloise/Louise is a grifter, moving from town to town, from identity to identity, picking corporate pockets along the way.  Meticulously adjusting figures until she'd collected her goal, she was ready to pack up, slip out and move on.  She never expected anyone, especially the boring boss, to catch on before she was anything more than dust stirred up on the road. 

The narrative takes some adjustment.  The story is broken down into more than fifty short chapters, alternating between the perspectives of Baxter and Louise.  These short chapters move the story forward and back at the same time, allowing you to understand and develop compassion for the characters. 

Ultimately, as Baxter said, the theft did him a big favor.  He was no longer the rich, comfortable and unhappy banker, but found meaning, purpose, love and hope in his new life.  Louise's reinvention appears to be good, she appears to have gotten away with yet another scam, but at what cost?  Is she really happy? 

The version I read was the HTML file Ms. Murad sent and it had some formatting errors,  I'm not sure if the final copy corrected these errors, but they don't deter from the story telling. 

The story, ultimately, is a modern day take on the quote at the start of the book.  It's subtly woven into the actions, reactions and decisions of the characters.

It has romance, it has heartbreak, it has regret, it has hope.  If you like these things, or just want a little escape of your own, try Lighting Out. 

Next week:  Cries in the Dark, P.A. Woodburn