The Don Juan Con [Hardcover]

Sara Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 2003

This complex and ever-twisting thriller is torn from the headlines of actual events, an all-too-common crime that often goes unreported and unpunished. In The Don Juan Con a flamboyant swindler calling himself Anthony Abruzzi wines and dines unsuspecting women from one end of the country to the other, seducing them into marrying him within days of meeting him. Yet just before the lavish whirlwind weddings are to take place, he disappears, absconding with whatever assets, meager or mighty, his victims possessed.

Yet when he makes the mistake of jilting and bankrupting Angie Reynolds, a designer living in DeLeon, FL, his fortunes are about to be reversed. With the help of police detective Joe Vensure, Angie meticulously hunts Anthony down, following his trail of broken-hearted and devastated victims. She is further shocked to discover that not all of his marks were merely jilted -- some are dead. It becomes a race against time itself when she discovers that her own mother may be his next victim. And nothing can prepare her for learning the mysterious secret of her own past that started it all.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Novelist Sara Williams delivers a thriller as compelling as the romantic legendary Don Juan himself." -- Barbara Oehlbeck, Renowned Columnist and Biographical/Historical Author of The Sabal Palm

"We choose the wrong partners to punish ourselves. That's the Don Juan Con. Here's a retelling of a classic theme." -- Richard Fadem, PhD, Literature Professor Emeritus

"Williams paints a vivid portrait of a slimy-but-fascinating antagonist readers will love to hate." -- Ad Hudler, Author of Southern Living: The Novel

From the Publisher

This is an all-too-true tale of when "love 'em and leave 'em" turns deadly. Ms. Williams is a gifted journalist and novelist. Her vivid characters and page-turning action make this a must read.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: ArcheBooks Publishing; First Edition (stated) edition (November 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595070117
• ISBN-13: 978-1595070111
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,133,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sara Williams and her husband Bill landed on the Island of Maui in their own sailboat some thirty years ago, intent on visiting an old friend. They loved Hawaii so much that they opened a business in Lahaina and stayed for a decade.

Sara, a magazine writer and newspaper reporter, became engrossed in the fascinating art, history and culture of Hawaii. Sara's third mystery,One Big Itch is her excuse to "talk story" about the Hawaiian culture she loves through the voice of soft-boiled sleuth John 'Oluhana Maalaea Spyer, a conflicted hapa haole, "half white," but polynesian at the core, too nice by half to be in the detective business.

When not sojourning in the Hawaiian Islands, the Williams are usually to be found in their other favorite haunts, the San Juan Islands of Washington State, or in the Florida Gulf Coast city of Fort Myers.

Sara's first novel, The Don Juan Con, was optioned in Hollywood by Producer Robert Evans for Paramount Studios. The Don Juan Con takes readers on a cross-country chase from the Forida Gulf to the San Juans Islands.

Sara's second novel, The Serenoa Scandal, set in the Okeechobee ranch country of Florida, was featured on PBS Florida radio and Expressions magazine. The Serenoa Scandal introduces John Spyer's mainland girlfriend Maya, a Cuban, and Spyer's journalist buddy Putt Jorgenson. The Serenoa Scandal is a prequel to One Big Itch.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HIGHLY RECOMMEDED, February 24, 2004

By 

Michael Somers (Easton, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Don Juan Con (Hardcover)

This book is just stunning. Kept me up at night reading, and dreaming of the charecters in the book. I had a hard time putting it down, and I wanted to find out more and more as the intriguing plot thickened! Very good book + excellent writing = HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delightfully Entertaining Novel, December 8, 2005

By 

Linda Bilodeau - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Don Juan Con (Hardcover)

Ms. William's skill as a writer is evident. The Don Juan Con is not only entertaining but portrays believable characters dealing with a real life problem. It moves quickly and keeps you turning pages. I highly recommend it.

Linda Bilodeau

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read!, January 19, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Don Juan Con (Hardcover)

Sara Williams is a former newspaper reporter and columnist, and Don Juan Con is her first book.

Angie Reynolds, Florida boutique owner and decorator, and the widowed mother of eleven-year-old Jason, meets dashing and flamboyant lawyer Anthony Abruzzi. He seems wealthy beyond her wildest dreams, and honest and kind. His is the world of Armani suits, Gucci handbags, private jets, and celebrities.

Angie agrees to marry him after knowing him only a short time. And--he fails to show up to pick her up on their wedding night. The next day she finds out her bank account was cleaned out as she had given him access to deposit large checks (which bounced).

She loses her home, her business, and nearly loses her mind, too, but she holds it together for her son's sake, with the help of police Detective Joe Vensure, who does everything he can to help her track down this crook.

Angie's creative skills link "Anthony" to a murdered woman in a nearby town, and as time goes on, Angie and Joe discover many other women that "Anthony" conned out of their money after only a few days.

The chase gets more and more tense as the authorities close in on him in Memphis. Then Angie and her son Jason come upon him (after he's had extensive plastic surgery) in the most unlikely of places--living near Angie's mother in the San Juan Islands.

Armchair Interviews says: This first book is dramatic, action packed, exciting and scary. Despite the "Don Juan Con," even romantic.