Thomas Perry
is a well-known source of topnotch contemporary suspense and thrillers. He’s
received the Edgar Award once and the Barry Award twice and been shortlisted
for major awards too many times to count. His latest stand-alone thriller is a fascinating
deep dive into banking and investment crime.
Pro Bono (Mysterious
Press, 14 January 2025) introduces Charlie Warren, a lawyer and CPA who
specializes in finding money hidden from his clients. He fell into this niche
early, as his widowed mother was robbed by an opportunistic second husband
while Charlie was in college and Charlie tried unsuccessfully to trace the money
Mack Stone took. Now Vesper Ellis retains him for assistance, as she thinks
something is wrong with her investment accounts. Withdrawals have been made in
her dead husband’s name and balances are not what they should be. Charlie agrees
with her assessment; he narrows the inconsistencies to two investment firms and
files the papers to ask for a legal accounting of the monetary discrepancies,
thereby alerting the senior managers of the stockbrokerages of likely problems.
Shortly after the asset management companies acknowledge the requests, Vesper turns
up missing and a pair of thugs try hard to keep Charlie from his meeting with one
firm’s lawyers.
Charlie has
considerable presence of mind when the goons attack, more than I expect most
lawyers might have. He also shows himself willing to cut corners in the manner
of his illustrious predecessor Perry Mason. He is definitely the lawyer to call
in case of trouble.
The story
falls naturally into three parts, each showcases a different approach to appropriating
money from someone else. I found the tutorials on financial crime absorbing and
educational but I think some bits, particularly where the investment company culprits
fall out, as thieves inevitably will, could have been tightened up to good
effect. The transition from one story line to the next is a little awkward but
not enough to disrupt the flow. This thriller could easily be two short stories
and one novella with the same main character.
Overall, I
loved this book. A well told story with an ingenious plot and original
characters. Charlie Warren has series potential but I see the title is listed
as a stand-alone. Recommended, especially for fans of legal thrillers and financial
mysteries.
- Publisher:
Mysterious
Press (January 14, 2025)
- Language:
English
- Hardcover:
360
pages
- ISBN-10:
1613166168
- ISBN-13:
978-1613166161
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4gNdmuQ
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
No comments:
Post a Comment