Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Saving Myles by Carl Vonderau

Former banker and money laundering expert Carl Vonderau gives crime fiction readers the benefit of his extensive knowledge in his latest thriller, Saving Myles, scheduled for release by Oceanview in mid-August. Wade and Fiona Bosworth have done everything they know to do to get their teenaged son Myles away from drugs and a crowd of young adults who use them. They finally borrow heavily to send him to a treatment center for a year. Upon his return, he seems changed but in a few months he slips across the border into Mexico to buy illicit pharmaceuticals, where he is kidnapped.

The Bosworths are deeply in debt and have no recourse but to accept the offer of a loan from Fiona’s boss Andre. Wade soon learns that the loan has strings--Wade has to leave his senior officer position at a large bank to work for Andre. As well as the nonprofit where Fiona works, Andre runs a small bank with a sketchy vibe; Wade soon realizes Andre is seeking to boost his bank’s standing in the San Diego region via Wade’s previously impeccable reputation.

From the first page I was pulled into the story, which is written in taut, hard-driving prose that slowly reveals just how dire the predicament of the Bosworths is. By the book’s midpoint the pace slows but it does not stop while Fiona and Ward search for a way out of an apparently hopeless situation.

The drug cartel as a theme in crime fiction has been done and overdone but the focus here is a little different, centering on their attempts to rehabilitate themselves into superficial respectability. It reminded me of that section of The Godfather in which the Corleones strategize to turn the family legal. Consequently parts of the plot are all too predictable while other sections are novel. The greater spotlight is on Fiona and Ward, who want the best for their son but do not agree on how to achieve it. The characterization of sometimes unlikable people in crisis is excellent.

I found the detail surrounding money laundering exceptional. Financial skullduggery is not highlighted often in crime fiction which is unfortunate, as it’s an area with a lot of felonious potential. Granted, watching paper and electrons move around is not as cinematic as car chases and shootouts but Vonderau explains the process of money laundering and the implications clearly, which gives the criminal activity punch. I really liked this one. Recommended.

 

·         Publisher: ‎Oceanview Publishing (August 15, 2023)

·         Language: ‎English

·         Hardcover: ‎336 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1608095584

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1608095582

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.