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GOOD PEOPLE
by Marcus Sakey
Dutton, August 2008
336 pages
$24.95
ISBN: 0525950842


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Marcus Sakey was off to a great start with his debut novel, THE BLADE ITSELF, and some wondered if he would be able to repeat himself. There were those felt that his second, AT THE CITY'S EDGE, was somewhat disappointing in comparison. Now, his third, GOOD PEOPLE, raises the question once again. While those who have read Scott Smith's A SIMPLE PLAN may find this a more innocent version of that novel, still, it is worth the read.

The main focus of the story is on a young urban professional couple who are doing okay in some ways but struggling in others. Tom and Anna Reed have been facing the heartbreak of infertility and all those in vitro treatments have eaten up a big chunk of their nest egg. Supplementing their salaries and keeping them barely solvent is the income they get from their downstairs tenant - a grouch who keeps to himself and sends his monthly rent in cashier's checks. One day an emergency forces the Reeds to go into their tenant's apartment to find out that he has died. In the kitchen they find a stash of over $400,000. The Reeds do not know what to do at first, so they go with their immediate impulse - GRABTHE MONEY! They probably would have acted differently had they known their tenant's identity and the provenance of the money.

Suffice it to say, the Reeds' lives are in danger from all sorts of bad guys going after them. Still they struggle to believe that they are good people and not criminals. Their fondest dreams have become their biggest nightmare and they will have to face the consequences one way or another. Sakey makes no apologies for this couple, who are in no way extraordinary and behave wholly normally. He keeps the plot taut with enough suspense to scare just about anyone. The strength in this book is in its challenge to readers to consider whether they would behave differently in the same situation. One would like to think that one would do the right thing and not merely because the option the Reeds choose is just plain scary.

Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, June 2008

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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