Author Ian Welch has crafted a witty cautionary tale in his novella, Operation Debt Recovery: An Electric Eclectic Book. Beginning with bank employee, Brandon Payne, and his dissatisfaction with his boring job, Welch creates the character of Everyman. Payne wants bigger and better things; he wants to marry his beautiful girlfriend, Michelle, he wants a late model car, and he wants a big house. Realizing there’s no way he can achieve these things at his current rate of pay, he opts to take a leap of faith. Living in Los Angeles, Payne is within an easy driving distance of Las Vegas, the mecca of lost fortunes and broken dreams.

When his girlfriend points out that there is no way to come out on top at a casino, he assures Michelle he has a plan he will stick to. Determined to score a big win he budgets a certain amount of money to the plot, confident he can stick to it. As author Welch writes, “… the best-laid plans sometimes get hijacked by the hype of the surroundings”. After a bad beginning, Payne meets a man who seduces him into a private poker game. What follows is the inevitable outcome and downfall.

As Payne falls deeper and deeper into debt, he continues to make terrible decisions in an attempt to recover. Each mistake gets him more involved with criminal elements. His descent takes unexpected turns. When he eventually loses his job at the bank it seems all is lost. But, fate has a funny way of mixing things up. The ending is a neat twist and ties the story up nicely.

I highly recommend this novelette to any reader who enjoys a solid story with a character you can’t help but cheer for. I will definitely be looking for more books by Ian Welch!