Lifetime Loser
James Ross

Reviewed by Ashley Merrill

For a first time author, this book was a hit! I was a little skeptical of its greatness at first, as I am with all first time authors, but James Ross surprised me.  I was pulled in from the first few chapters and was captivated until the very end; and what an ending it was!

J.W. Schroeder, J Dub for short, seems to be an unlucky guy. He grew up learning how to play the gentlemen’s game of golf from his father, and tried to use his skill to get on a pro tour. A last minute bad choice caused him to lose out on his shot of greatness. With his wife more than a little pregnant, J Dub realizes he needs to get a job, and fast. He gets a job at a golf range and they move into a small trailer.  Realizing how unhappy they are, J Dub hopes for a miracle.  Little does he know he’s in for a big surprise.

Lewferd E. Zerrmann is a con man. He is a big shot who is not satisfied unless he is screwing other people over and making lots of money for as cheaply as possible.  He gets wind of a very talented young man, J Dub, needing work and formulates a plan. He and his partners have already stolen land from a rich old lady by forging her signature and now want to turn that land into a golf course. He wants to keep it running a few years, use J Dub and his skills to turn it into something great, and then take the money and run. J Dub is none the wiser.

After the introductions are in place, and J Dub convinces his skeptical wife, they move out of state and pour their sweat and blood into turning this into a popular golf course.  As the years go by, J Dub realizes that his partner, Lew, is not a people person. He is rude to the customers and is coming up with crazy ways to justify writing himself checks with the company’s earnings.  J Dub hopes to someday buy the business from Lew. Fifteen years into their partnership, he gets his chance.  This is when the story gets really good.  J Dub slowly starts to find out that Lew has been skimming cash from the business all along, and according to the books, they have not been making any money because of this. Now it’s just a matter of proving this in a court of law.

The story whirlwinds into court battles, fighting, threatening, lying, and cheating.  This is a great story with lots of excitement.  There is a whole lot of accounting/business/legal jargon in this book but James Ross does a great job at explaining it to the reader as you go along without causing us to get confused or bored.  The ending is fantastic and the characters are amazing and full of life. I would recommend this story to anyone who is looking for a great read.  J Dub just wants what is best for his family and finds a lot of hardships along the way. I think most people can identify with him, which makes this all the better to read.