20 Aug 2013 04:22:13
"Crime of Privilege is a fictional work about invented characters and the glamorous world they inhabit," writes Walter Walker in a breezy disclaimer before getting down to the business of his novel. So let's take him at his word, even though part of the fun of this book is its similarity to some well-known real life events of the past few decades.
A friend of the Gregory family, the young George Becket (who is neither rich nor glamorous, but has gone to the right prep school and the right college) narrates the tale. Becket has the insider/outsider status that gives him a keen eye for observing the foibles of the Gregory family. Down in Palm Beach he observes more than he wants to which puts him in a legal and ethical quandary that haunts him. Becket's a lawyer and a loser who lives alone on Cape Cod by the time his involvement with the Gregorys takes the turn that starts the book.
As the book continues, Becket's unwitting connection to the Palm Beach rape places him in the position of trying to solve the Cape Cod murder. Like many others in the Gregory's circle, he is a pawn to what they want. And what they want is to be left alone. There's more than one Gregory suspect to the murder, characters who share a bunch of lifestyle and career choices similar to a bunch of adult children you might have heard of.
But who's the really bad one, ie the killer? Read on.
Crime of Privilege is exactly the murder story you want to read in the middle of August, a whodunit set in Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. It's fast-paced with lots of sharp turns. And Becket is a great narrator. His little quips about the Gregorys are reminiscent of the late Dominick Dunne (who's probably rolling his eyes in his grave at the comparison).
The novel picks up speed toward the end and finishes with a satisfying resolution, that is entirely fictitious. If you want to forget that summer's headed to a close, pick up this book. You'll lose yourself in it for one of August's final sunny afternoons.
