Pat Foy leads a charmed life. She has a close-knit family, an expensive home, a passion for mystery novels, and a satisfying career as a landscape designer. But then her husband, Frank, is arrested for accounting fraud at the telecommunications firm that employs him. “How could anything that boring be illegal?” she wonders. The scandal threatens to drain the Foys’ bank account, send Frank to prison, and tear the family apart. Attempting to understand the suffering caused by the company’s bankruptcy, Pat decides to search out the victims—and finds more twists and turns than in any of the whodunits she has read.
It's a Crime: A Novel
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Book Description
Pat Foy leads a charmed life. She has a close-knit family, an expensive home, a passion for mystery novels, and a satisfying career as a landscape designer. But then her husband, Frank, is arrested for accounting fraud at the telecommunications firm that employs him. “How could anything that boring be illegal?” she wonders. The scandal threatens to drain the Foys’ bank account, send Frank to prison, and tear the family apart. Attempting to understand the suffering caused by the company’s bankruptcy, Pat decides to search out the victims—and finds more twists and turns than in any of the whodunits she has read.
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
When Frank Foy, a high-living corporate accountant, goes to jail after his company's Enronesque fall, Pat, his landscape-designer wife, is pathologically unwilling to grasp the fraud's implications in this muddled novel from Carey (The Crossley Baby). Pat inexplicably decides to repay a random group of the fraud's victims, first through personal checks and then, even more bizarrely, through a planned investment in wind energy.Along the way, she reunites with her former lover, Lemuel Samuel, and her onetime best friend, Ginny Howley, both mystery writers who suffered in the company's collapse. The penniless Ginny joins Pat's odyssey, while Lemuel's son keeps the Foys' teenage daughter company. Though Lemuel and Ginny's sane presence and a mid-book switch to Ginny's wonderfully quirky, self-reflective viewpoint offer welcome relief, the narrative never gels as social satire, moral commentary, character study or intellectual puzzle. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
“It’s a Crime is so lilting and witty that the sorrow at its heart creeps in on stocking feet. Jacqueline Carey is an original, and this is her unforgettable take on our ethically challenged times.”–Deirdre McNamer, author of Red Rover
“If Jay Gatsby and Nancy Drew had had a baby, its take on twenty-first-century American corruption and denial might be as trenchant as Jacqueline Carey’s, but I doubt it.”–Roy Blount, Jr., author of Long Time Leaving
“Rarely does a novel come along with so much ebullient wit, such ethical clarity, and so many beautiful flowers. Jacqueline Carey takes on white-collar crime, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, and the nagging question of forsythias with equal fascination and agility. It’s a Crime is satirical, lyrical, full of heart, and a joy to read.”–Cathleen Schine, author of The New Yorkers
“A witty, original look at the way we live now.”—Meg Wolitzer, author of The Ten-Year Nap
“This journey down the rabbit hole is not your mother’s crime fiction, but in the shadow of Wall Street’s current upheavals, it’s oddly not that far-fetched.”—Boston Globe
“Carey’s reflections on executive-suite malfeasance are clever, not to mention timely.”—New York Times Book Review
“In this ripped-from-the-headlines satire, Carey skewers corporate culture and its insidious effects.”—Marie Claire
“It’s a Crime is a sharp and funny commentary on the times we live in, and on the high cost of self-absorption.“—Chicago Tribune
“If Jay Gatsby and Nancy Drew had had a baby, its take on twenty-first-century American corruption and denial might be as trenchant as Jacqueline Carey’s, but I doubt it.”–Roy Blount, Jr., author of Long Time Leaving
“Rarely does a novel come along with so much ebullient wit, such ethical clarity, and so many beautiful flowers. Jacqueline Carey takes on white-collar crime, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, and the nagging question of forsythias with equal fascination and agility. It’s a Crime is satirical, lyrical, full of heart, and a joy to read.”–Cathleen Schine, author of The New Yorkers
“A witty, original look at the way we live now.”—Meg Wolitzer, author of The Ten-Year Nap
“This journey down the rabbit hole is not your mother’s crime fiction, but in the shadow of Wall Street’s current upheavals, it’s oddly not that far-fetched.”—Boston Globe
“Carey’s reflections on executive-suite malfeasance are clever, not to mention timely.”—New York Times Book Review
“In this ripped-from-the-headlines satire, Carey skewers corporate culture and its insidious effects.”—Marie Claire
“It’s a Crime is a sharp and funny commentary on the times we live in, and on the high cost of self-absorption.“—Chicago Tribune
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A timely portrait of the fallout of corporate greed,
By Kate F. (Brooklyn) - See all my reviews
This review is from: It's a Crime: A Novel (Hardcover)
It's a Crime incorporates multiple themes seamlessly: a timely portrait of the personal and social fallout of corporate greed; the universal middle-aged effort to reconcile the younger romantic selves of our memory with the conscience of the mundane demographic which we may reluctantly represent; the shifting puzzle of communication between generations; and a playful, imaginative homage to the mystery genre (although be aware: it is not, most decidedly, a mystery!). It's a Crime is the perfect read for an indulgent weekend.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
more than a mystery,
By
This review is from: It's a Crime: A Novel (Hardcover)
It's a Crime isn't your typical whodunnit. It's a thoughtful, provocative, social commentary, and considering it was written at least a year before the current market conditions, Ms. Carey must have had a crystal ball. Pat Foy is 100% believable as a landscape designer who leaves the world of plants behind to make amends for her husband's misdeeds. (Carey really nailed the plant-speak; as a garden designer I was especially critical.) There are no easy answers here, no neat/fake wrap-up at the end. It's an excellent story involving strong, well-written characters, unusual relationships, and a lot of cool plants!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Perfect Book about Greed & Corruption. Carey Dishes the Dirt with a Twist!,
By BookManBookWoman TV REVIEWS "Saralee Terry Woods" (Nashville, Tn United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: It's a Crime: A Novel (Hardcover)
"Carey uses her experience as a mystery columnist for salon.com to write a mystery about corporate greed that is simply impossible to put down. Pat Foy's perfect marriage is interrupted when her husband Frank is arrested for fraud. She could hide from all of her friends or use all of the knowledge that she thinks she has gained from constantly reading mystery novels to try to free her husband. Her choice makes It's A Crime a real winner and left us eagerly awaiting Carey's next book."
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