It’s A Crime
by Jacqueline Carey
Published by Ballantine Books, A Division of Random House, Inc.
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Reviewed by Barbara L. Fielder
Pat Foy, the central character in this mystery, is the wife of Frank, a high-profile accountant who has developed creative/corrupt/reckless accountancy practices, at the bidding of his LinkAge, Inc., bosses.
Pat is, on her own level, an accomplished landscape designer, accustomed to living large, in a beautiful home, with expensive clothes and endless amounts of money. She finds it impossible to believe that her husband acted alone in the LinkAge, Inc., scandal for which he pays.
As Pat explores the apparent financial ruin of many of the LinkAge employees and those in the community, she is determined to pay back the thousands of dollars to those who lost it all. Not everyone she comes in contact with is as thrilled to see her–as she is willing to pay them compensation.
This novel takes many twists and turns as Pat recollects the day when she was infatuated with popular crime novelist, Lemuel Samuel. In an odd twist of fate, their lives intersect as Pat and a formerly estranged friend, Virginia, find themselves seeking answers to Frank’s incarceration, while other top LinkAge executives go freely about their everyday lives.
Pat’s carefree, witty nature and boundless energy is applied to all facets of her life. You see and hear it as she considers her husband’s plight, her friendships, her role as a mother, and as benefactor to those whose financial losses came at the hand of her husband. You also see it while she tries to link those who masterminded the corrupt accounting scandal to the crime.
Throughout this novel the author explores the carefree, complex, dark and redeeming sides of the human experience. As you would expect and hope, this mystery is solved in its last pages.
However, I had these issues: it was a slow read, did not pack a compelling plot focus and seemed to meander. I wondered why Frank, Pat’s incarcerated husband, is only noted by his letters to his family and brief visits by his wife. I would have expected more from his character as Pat focuses on redeeming him through her charitable giving to those who lost their retirement savings or investments with LinkAge.
Armchair Interviews says: Good read that could have been a great read.