About the same time, in two different areas of Colorado, Amy Parkens and Ryan Duffy are experiencing strange but similar experiences with "found money."

Amy is a 28-year-old single mother living with her daughter and grandmother in a cramped Boulder apartment. Forced to give up her dream of a career in astronomy to work a low-paying computer job, Amy's life changes the day she receives a package in the mail containing $200,000 in cash.

Ryan Duffy is a family doctor working in a small town on the plains of southeastern Colorado. On his deathbed, Ryan's father, Frank, a hardworking, but never particularly prosperous electrician, tells Ryan that he has hidden 2 million dollars in their attic.

Amy discovers quickly (in a rather ingenious way) that the source of her money is Frank Duffy. And Ryan and Amy soon become involved in a mess (although not often together) that includes blackmail, conspiracy, FBI agents, foreign bank accounts, thugs and greedy, scheming relatives.

After that compelling opening, the major characters, who keep steadily increasing in number as the story goes along, become a tumbled maze of personal agendas that sometimes lead to reader confusion. But the finale – although somewhat contrived – does deliver a major surprise that almost makes up for it.

Found Money does contain a few peculiar Colorado references that jolted this Coloradoan out of the story. Here in Colorado, we refer to the home of our beloved Colorado Rockies as Coors Field, not Coors Stadium. And the two long-time Boulder high schools are Boulder High and Fairview (not Fairmont, which is a cemetery!).

But perhaps most puzzling was Amy's lack of money. Although Colorado may not produce income levels to compete with the East and West Coasts, the heroine, with a Master's Degree and a seemingly good job as computer information systems director for the premier law firm in Denver (with offices in Boulder, Salt Lake City, Washington, London and Moscow!), plus $500 a month child support from her ex-husband, should not be forced to live in her grandmother's subsidized housing and drive a twenty-year-old car.

Ryan and Amy are both likeable characters, hard working, honorable, wanting to do the right thing, but human enough to consider the huge impact the money would make on their lives. Even their dumb mistakes make them seem appealing. They deserve any "found money" that comes their way. An afternoon spent with them is pretty enjoyable.

--Dede Anderson