Banking on Death

Everyone is looking for Robert Schneider. An inheritance cannot be distributed until all members of the Schneider family have been accounted for, and Robert is missing. The clock is ticking. As soon as Mother Hilda passes, the inheritance comes due to the children and John Putnam Thatcher must distribute it to the surviving heirs. Thatcher is not your average crime solver. He is not a homicide detective or even a private investigator. He is a seasoned banker and chairman of SLOAN, looking to solve the mystery of Robert Schneider, rumored to have been murdered. There is no doubt Robert Schneider was a less than stand-up guy with a reputation for adultery, callous abandonment of his wife and newborn son, backstabbing, and greed. He was a show more loudmouthed heavy drinker who was vice president and owned 10% of the family business, Buffalo Industrial Products, Inc. Plenty of people wanted him dead, and with the possibility of gaining his portion of the substantial inheritance, his own family can be added to the list of suspects.
Lathem is sly with the details. Clues point to a whole host of murderous characters. Did Robert's widow want revenge for a failed marriage? Stan Michaels did not get along with Robert at all. His daughter, Jeannie, had an affair with Robert. Did Jeannie's husband, Roy Novak, want to kill Robert for sleeping with his wife?
A word of caution: there are many characters in Banking on Death with a great deal of unnecessary information about each of them. Take Rose Theresa Corsa, a secretary at the investment firm. She has two younger sisters and a niece named Maria; she is religious and attended midnight mass at Christmas; she provides cooking assistance to her mother; she has a large group of relatives; her closest friend is Maria; she was late to work for the first time in four years. A great deal of information for someone who has nothing to do with the story. Consider Charlie Trinkham. He is an associate chief of the trust department. He is engaged to be married to a much younger woman. Ken Nicholls did not go to his family reunion in San Francisco, and even though he is a Harvard graduate, he did not dress appropriately for Boston weather in winter. show less

I liked it, and was somewhat surprised, because I recall attempting it earlier (like, 40 years earlier) and perhaps I was too young to be interested in trust accounts. But not now! I remember my disappontment at the Ava Lee series (too much violence, not enough forensic accounting), so I was pleased that the rules of the trust were laid out clearly.

The book follows a familiar format of older amateur sleuth, younger protégé, and helpful police officer, but handles it well. I was always engaged, never wanted to toss away the book in anger (thank goodness, it's on my Kindle), and it was well-paced and plotted. (Louise Penny, take note: you could use a trim).

The knowledge that Emma Lathen is actually two people writing as one is also a show more warning sign (I don't get how it's possible--I'm a writer myself, and I can imagine people making suggestions, or contributing a joke, but not co-writing), but it read like a single voice, bravo. Or brava. Bravi? There's two of them.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve! show less

I've read this in one day while laid up in bed and feeling extremely poorly, and it was the perfect comfort read for the occasion (not many things would have been). Have now ordered the next volume to keep in store for the next time I could use a bit of John Putnam Thatcher to put things right.

I was not impressed. Ms. Lathen does not give us interesting characters or the opportunity to work along with the protagonist to solve the crime. At least it's pretty short.

When a missing person who has delayed the distribution of a family trust turns up dead, John Putnam Thatcher must find which member of the family firm has resorted to murder for money. Good start to a marvelous series.