Swindle: The Mad Bowl - Book Two

by Cynthia Rogan

A young girl drops something from the upstairs window of an abandoned pie shop. As it flutters to the ground Marcus, a homeless boy, realizes it's a hundred-dollar bill and someone has written the words "HELP HER" on it in bright orange ink. Convinced that the girl is in some sort of danger, he walks by her window every afternoon to check on her. When she disappears suddenly, Marcus tells police, but no one takes him seriously until he attracts the attention of reporter Pinky Harper. Just as the clues begin to look promising, Pinky butts heads with the Mad Bowl, complicating the search. Did Marcus imagine this girl? If she's real, then who is she, where is she, and can Pinky bring her home before she disappears forever?

352 pages, Paperback

Published February 4, 2024

About the author

There were five kids in my family and lots of noise. I learned early on that if I woke up in the middle of the night, I’d better take advantage of the silence. I’d write under the hall light until my eyes were heavy with sleep. Back then, I had a lot to say about how I wanted things to be. Like many writers, I wrote what I couldn’t bring myself to say aloud.
Once I discovered eavesdropping, I was amazed. I realized characters are everywhere. I’m one, you’re one, the jerk you just broke up with, the girl next door with Down’s syndrome, that boy in sixth grade who blushed every time his name was called, the man behind the counter at the pharmacy. And we all have our stories and our problems and our own way of looking at the world. And we all have the ability to touch someone else. We are never really alone.
As a fiction writer, I get to fabricate everybody’s history, try to see from different points of view. But I always do my best to understand who each character is and what made them the way they are. I believe that’s why people talk about my characters after they’ve finished reading the story.
I write novels, plays, poems, essays, short stories, do a bit of acting, and am a self-proclaimed doodle-ist.

Reviews

[Hira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this with zero expectations, and it became a really wild ride. I really didn’t think that this book would
pull me in the way that it did.
It’s a well written, fast paced novel that will keep you on your toes every step of the way! Two thumbs up!

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where is the Mad Bowl??? Families??? I enjoyed this story and recommended the book.