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Critic's Corner
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THE
MILLIONAIRES Reviewed by: Patricia Ann Jones "What would you steal if you couldn't get caught?" Oliver Caruso, an associate with Greene and Greene a private bank in New York City, never thought such a question would enter his mind. He works hard for his boss, Henry Lapidus, the managing Director of Greene and Greene, and looks forward to one day getting his MBA. He is young, honest, and ambitious. Ollie, as his brother Charlie calls him, feels proud to be associated with such an elite establishment. The bank is so exclusive you can't open an account unless you have $2 million to deposit. Ollie's future looks bright and prosperous until the day he discovers Marty Duckworth's abandoned account. Meltzer known for his best-selling thriller, "The First Counsel," has hit on a tale as fresh faced as a newly minted silver dollar. This time out he deals with a financial adventure that gives readers insider information about how private banks operate, and what happens when a theft occurs. The story is a bit choppy with jumping-jack points of view, but the premise is so good you hardly notice. The author gives us two brothers, as the protagonists, who are both interesting and flawed. Ollie is the successful brother. Charlie is the brother who can't seem to hold down a job but is having too much fun to care. He's also the brother who ran up an enormous hospital bill which has his seamstress mother in debt for life. Of course, Ollie helps his mother as much as possible. For starters he gets Charlie a job at Greene and Greene. It's not much of a job, but it keeps Charlie happy. Charlie thinks Lapidus is keeping Ollie from going on to get his MBA. He's right! Already Ollie's been rejected two years in a row. With Charlie's help Ollie proves to himself that Lapidus is holding him back, clinging to the best associate he's ever had. When Ollie tells Charlie about the $3 million sitting in the abandoned account, Charlie envisions stealing the money. At first Ollie won't go for it, but what's he got to lose? Lapidus has betrayed him, he has no future without his advanced degree, so why not take the money and run? If they took the $3 million who'd be the wiser? Besides it's a victimless crime, Duckworth's dead, no heirs, and the boys need the money worse than the state does. The plot runs riot as the bank security guard, Shep, steps in on the caper claiming a third of the money. Shep tells them, "In life, there's only two perfect crimes--and I mean perfect-- crimes where you can't be caught: One is when you're killed, which isn't too great an option. And the other is when no one knows that a crime took place." Shep knows just how to pull off the caper, or so he says. In a convoluted manner the account is transferred and the boys are rich for a New York minute. Then just when everything looks so right, the boom falls. Two crooked Secret Service Agents enter the picture and turn the whole scheme into a Key Stone Cops escapade. Along with the agents, a bank insurance investigator gets into the act, and the whole story becomes a black hole that sucks your breath away. The next thing you know, a woman turns up claiming to be Duckworth's daughter. The brothers are on the run by now with the Secret Service on their heels. The plot races through a maze of shadow and intrigue that takes you to Florida and Duckworth's old home place and right through the underground tunnels of Disney World. Things aren't quite bad enough, Ollie and Charlie find out there were invisible strings attached to Duckworth's account. Too late, the brothers realize they've chased a dream that may cost them everything they hold dear. Now, what was it you would steal if you knew you couldn't get caught? Better read "The Millionaires," and reconsider your answer. Click Here to Order The Millionaires
(Jones is a published writer & literary critic) Copyright February 13, 2002, Patricia A. Jones, all rights reserved.
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