What do you do when your best friend is on the line- the business end of your fishing line?

Finding his murdered best friend's body drags a soon-to-be-retiring financial executive into the ruthless world of con artists and scammers that prowl idyllic Nantucket Island for unsuspecting marks.

Chief Financial Officer Harry Bartlett hasn't made plans for his impending retirement, but he's happy for now vacationing on Nantucket Island at the compound of his best and only friend, Ian Bradford, a wealthy wine merchant. But that abruptly changes when he fishes Ian's body from a Nantucket Island pond full of snapping turtles.

Harry volunteers to break the news to Ginny, Ian's widow, and is dumbfounded when she tells him that she has $20 in her wallet, a maxed-out credit card, and no knowledge of their financial affairs. Harry pays Ginny's bills while he digs into Ian's books with his unique financial insights. But the more he digs, the more he discovers Ian's financial trickery and illegal wine businesses.

Teaming up with his new girlfriend, Yvette Truque, a snarky local reporter, Steve Malarkey, and his ex-Mob enforcer relative, Uncle Louie, Harry must wade through a web of lies, deceptions and attacks- tossed overboard from the local ferry, a hit-and-run while bicycling, and attacked by 'gator attack in Florida - to recover Ian's money in time to keep Ginny and her two kid from being evicted from their home.

Debut author Robert Ainsworth has created an eccentric cast of characters with tongue-in-cheek humor. CONNED is an intricate story with just enough financial detail to bring the reader into the story and feel-like-you-are-there descriptions of Nantucket. Harry Bartlett is no flat protagonist, but instead tackles the passions, loneliness,and compulsions that we all face. CONNED is a fast-paced, complex story that keeps your attention to the unexpected end.

CHAPTER 1

THE B BOYS ON THE B DECK

CHAPTER 2

MOVIN' AND GROOVIN'

CHAPTER 3

FOOTLOOSE AND FANCY-FREE

CHAPTER 4

JURASSIC PARK

CHAPTER 5

SHAKE DOWN, BREAK DOWN

CHAPTER 6

SUNDAY, SUNDAY

CHAPTER 7

LITTLE WHITE LIES

CHAPTER 8

CONNECTION

CHAPTER 9

OUT AT THE PLATE

CHAPTER 10

GUEST OF THE STATE

CHAPTER 11

REBOUND

CHAPTER 12

VEE STOMP ZEE GRAPES

CHAPTER 13

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

CHAPTER 14

# 2 PENCILS AND COAL IN THE STOVE

CHAPTER 15

JUST BUSINESS

CHAPTER 16

FIRST WE TRY, THEN WE TRUST

CHAPTER 17

TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS

CHAPTER 18

OH WE OH, WE OH

CHAPTER 19

GROUNDED

CHAPTER 20

MOM'S BASEMENT

CHAPTER 21

CANNONBALL

CHAPTER 22

THE DEEP END OF THE POOL

CHAPTER 23

HIDE AND SEEK

CHAPTER 24

THE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

CHAPTER 25

REFLECTIONS OF, THE WAY LIFE USED TO BE

CHAPTER 26

CALAMITY HARRY

CHAPTER 27

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD

CHAPTER 28

CAN'T BE HALF PREGNANT

CHAPTER 29

A NEW LEAF

CHAPTER 30

THE PAPER CHASE

CHAPTER 31

LIFT-OFF

CHAPTER 32

FREE FALLING

CHAPTER 33

TOWER MESSAGES

CHAPTER 34

CROSSED T'S AND DOTTED I'S

CHAPTER 35

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE

CHAPTER 36

SAVE YOUR PENNIES

CHAPTER 37

THE CAMERA ADDS TEN POUNDS

CHAPTER 38

EYE SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE

CHAPTER 39

BROTHER LOVE'S TRAVELLING SALVATION SHOW

CHAPTER 40

KNOCK, KNOCK

CHAPTER 41

SUMMA DE ARITHMETICA

CHAPTER 42

JUST A BIT OUTSIDE

CHAPTER 43

NEW BOSS SAME AS THE OLD BOSS

CHAPTER 44

SNOOPING DOGGY DOG

CHAPTER 45

THE INVISIBLE MAN

CHAPTER 46

IS THIS MY GOOD SIDE?

CHAPTER 47

EVEN KING GEORGE III WILL BE ABLE TO READ THAT!

CHAPTER 48

A SHERRY FROM MONTILLA

CHAPTER 49

CAN I JOIN THE CLUB?

CHAPTER 50

BONG, BONG, BONG

CHAPTER 51

HIDE AND GO SEEK

CHAPTER 52

TAXI

CHAPTER 53

ROOM SERVICE

CHAPTER 54

POINT OF VIEW

CHAPTER 55

HI HO SILVER, AWAY

CHAPTER 56

SANCTUM SANCTORUM

CHAPTER 57

PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE

CHAPTER 58

I'LL SHOW YOU MINE IF YOU SHOW ME YOURS

CHAPTER 59

CANDID CAMERA

CHAPTER 60

WALLY

CHAPTER 61

A 10,000 PIECE JIGSAW PUZZLE OF TINY FLOWERS

CHAPTER 62

TOO LEGIT TO QUIT

CHAPTER 63

WE'RE GOING TO A PARTY, PARTY

CHAPTER 64

TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME

CHAPTER 65

DOO WAH DO, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?

CHAPTER 66

ALL RISE

CHAPTER 67

A WOLF IN WOLF'S CLOTHING

CHAPTER 68

A HUMAN ATM

CHAPTER 69

SHOE ON THE OTHER FOOT

CHAPTER 70

HOME SWEET HOME

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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