Never Too Late by Harold J Fischel tells a story of loves past and future. Sharleen and Clint used to be high school sweethearts, but one day his career on the field is destroyed by a shattered arm. By the time he recovers, Sharleen has moved on, and gone to Hollywood to become a starlet. Years later, they meet again at a school reunion. Both are now married, Clint to her best friend from high school and Sharleen to a notorious Mafia boss. Clint’s business is failing, heading for bankruptcy, and his wife is sick. Can Sharleen help out on both counts? She has a strong connection to the Mafia that protects her, especially when she is arrested and locked up. But that connection cannot secure her bail. Her stepson, Freddy, steps in to help and is joined by Sharleen’s cousins to help her escape from where she is being held prisoner. Join Sharleen on her adventures through life as we learn that no matter what life throws at you, it really is never too late to find what was meant for you.

Never Too Late by Harold J Fischel isn’t quite the story you think it is going to be. It isn’t as simple as meeting up after many years and falling in love all over again; life isn’t that easy. Through all the to-ing and fro-ing, the arrests, the terror of being held at knife point, Sharleen still has so much to give and give she does. The underlying message here is that it isn’t too late to find true love and happiness, and Mr Fischel has demonstrated that perfectly in this novel. The storyline itself was well thought out and written in such a way that I read it in one sitting. A good book and well worth the time it took to read it.

It is 'never too late' to make up for past mistakes and that is exactly what drives Harold J. Fischel’s novel by the same title. High school sweethearts Clint and Sharleen went their separate ways after graduation, but a class reunion brings them back together in an unexpected way. Clint is tapped out on financing for his restaurant, partially due to medical expenses for his wife, Jada. Sharleen has married a Mafia boss and has plenty of money at her disposal so she secretly backs a new loan for Clint. Jealousy and old-world mentality put both Clint and Sharleen in harm’s way, so they flee to the safety of the reservation where Sharleen was brought up. Together, they establish a restaurant in Bermuda where they encounter a number of different people who have special needs of their own. Clint and Sharleen try to help everyone, even when it puts them in danger. Can their love see them through or will the hardships of the world ruin their chance at love?

Never Too Late is an exciting story about hope, forgiveness and second chances. Harold J. Fischel presents a variety of social problems through the actions of the outstanding characters and demonstrates that love and understanding can go a long way in making the world a better place. Vivid descriptions of places and people, as well as exciting action and thought provoking dialogue, keep you turning the pages, anxious to see what happens next. Never Too Late is an entertaining and engrossing story that makes you alternately hold your breath and cheer as Clint and Sharleen navigate the issues that plague them.

Never Too Late by Harold J. Fischel is an action packed romantic drama. Frederick High’s class reunion begins a chain reaction in the lives of the once golden couple, Sharleen and Clint. They were high school sweethearts, but their romance ends soon after high school. Clint leaves to play baseball for the Dodgers and Sharleen heads for Hollywood to become a star. Clint gets injured, moves home, and takes over the family restaurant. Believe it or not, Clint has married Jada, Sharleen’s childhood best friend. Meanwhile, Sharleen becomes the wife of a Mafia boss, Giovanni Fuentes. Sharleen’s husband is a jealous, domineering man; he keeps Sharleen well protected and on a tight leash. However, Sharleen is a good hearted woman, who is always willing to give a helping hand to those in need. When Clint’s life begins to unravel financially, Sharleen secretly secures a loan for him. This begins a series of events that unites Sharleen, Clint and Jada into a three-stranded cord that is not easily broken. Sharleen believes that fate has brought them together. “Never too late” becomes a driving force to guide them.

Harold J. Fischel’s Never Too Late proves the bonds of friendship, family and love. But hold on, it is not your normal romantic tale. It is fast paced; the short chapters keep the action moving, resulting in a captivating read. Anything and everything is thrown into the melting pot of conflict in this narrative - drug addiction, racial discrimination, cancer, Mafia hits and international sex trafficking. Characters are multiracial and Fischel highlights and portrays their different heritages throughout the story. The characters range from the self-righteous Italian mob to the traditional and numinous ways of Native American Indians. The heroine is strong, charitable and a romantic at heart, but believes that she has bad luck. The hero is masculine, yet at times vulnerable. These traits make the couple magnets for the down and out, causing their lives to intersect with many. However, the supporting cast of characters propels the action. The plot is a blend of romantic love and vendettas, benevolence and hatred, fear and faith, hope and despair.

Never Too Late by Harold J. Fischel begins with Clint Crawley, who happens to bump into his old friends at a recent reunion and is shocked by the news of an impending financial disaster, finding his business threatened by banks. One of those friends, an old flame from his high school days, Sharleen, uses her connections with the underworld in helping him. Clint’s wife dies, he meets Sharleen off and on to her husband’s annoyance, and finally, they decide to move together to start a new life in Bermuda. There they ‘continue to be a magnet for people with strange stories,’ like Ana with a disadvantaged and mentally challenged young man, Mike, or Nina, a woman rescued from a local modeling agency which actually is involved with human trafficking.

Never Too Late by Harold J. Fischel is many novels compressed into one. Quite a few of the characters, seen to be part of Sharleen’s life, can very well have an independent existence. Sharleen interacts with a variety of people from different walks of life, and in each instance the association leads to desirable inputs from her as well as happy reactions from them, establishing her strong character. With a narration that is deft and absorbing and a plot that is rich in its variety and content, I got the feeling that the eventful lives pictured in the novel finished too soon. This prompts me to say, ‘It is always too early to finish Never Too Late.’