Becky Farwell is good with numbers and so, after her mom is gone, she takes over the accounting for her father's farm machinery business. And she learns how to make a profit. Then she goes to work for her hometown of Pierson, Illinois in the accounting office and works her way up to comptroller. Here, too, she finds a way to make a profit--for herself. This novel by Emily Gray Tedrowe is perhaps an homage to Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley, and also a haunting examination of obsession. For Becky discovers, quite by accident, that she has an eye for art. And, after a rocky start, she uses her ill-gotten gains from embezzling town funds to start buying an art collection. She always intends to make enough money to pay back every penny--her justification for siphoning off the much needed funds for maintaining the town's infrastructure. As with many obsessions, however, nothing is ever enough. She barely manages to survive the financial recession that renders her collection worth less than she paid for it and comes roaring back, moving into the New York market and making even more money. She remodels her father's old barn into a high tech art gallery that no one ever sees, where she stores her growing and constantly evolving collection. But we all know it must come tumbling down one day. When the town finds out that the woman they had admired for years is the worst kind of betrayer, they think her best friend must have been in on the scheme all along. This book is partly inspired by the true story of a woman who stole over $50 million from her small Illinois town. Publishers' Weekly gave this a starred review, concluding that her "unusual plot and Tedrowe’s spirited execution of it make this one sing."Although I did sort of marvel at Becky's ability to keep so many balls in the air, I never really liked her and I only kept reading because I really wanted to know how it turned out.
No comments:
Post a Comment