Book Review: "The Bezzle" by Cory Doctorow

robertmcgrath

March 3

The Bezzle by Cory Doctorow

As the cover says, "a martin hench novel". I liked Red Team Blues (2023) and was looking forward to more Hench.

Did Doctorow take a bet from someone that he could make 'accounting/ seem exciting and dangerous? : - )

Anyway, The Bezzle is a big and very dangerous episode from Marty's past. It starts before the 2009 crash, and continues up to the Trump administration. Not that the dates are that important, because the financial shenanigans and bold faced ripoffs are timeless.

Marty is a forensic accountant, who makes his living and truly enjoys unravelling various schemes for "disappearing" money. There is no shortage of work for him, which allows him to pick his clients. Which is to say, there is no shortage of bastards who deserve to be Henched.

In case you weren't reading it closely, I'll point out that this book is careful to be very responsible in two ways. First, the sleazy practices are described but not explained. This is no instruction manual. And second, the more of whole story here is that you should not try this at home.

Because people who steal lots of money tend to be very dangerous and violent people. Uncovering evil schemes is not a game, it's deadly serious.

As Marty finds out when he sticks his nose into the affairs of some LA-based bastards who turn out to be way more dangerous than expected. Marty's friend Scott gets railroaded into prison, and Mary himself is threatened. This is not the average life of an accountant!

As things develop, forensic accounting becomes a matter of life and death. Can Marty get enough leverage to protect himself and his friends before the bad 'uns succeed is shutting him up permanently? And what will the leverage cost him?

This book continues Doctorow's recent theme of explicit social commentary. In this case he does over late stage capitalism (naturally), Catalina Island, and the American prison system. It's not really light or pleasant reading. In fact, it's awful.

Not that I dispute the facts or disagreed with the lessons.

I have always loathed robber barons, so go ahead and put the boot in, Doctorow!

And I have always opposed private prison schemes on general principles, so I didn't really need pages and pages of horror stories to convince me that this is a really bad idea.

I understand why Doctorow feels it is important to use his fiction to document both the issues and positive actions that we can take. The former is educational for the masses, and the latter gives hope and guidance for how to make things better.

So, yeah. Don't stop doing that.

But, I have to say, I would have been just as happy with 50% less preaching. This is a cracking good story, but the teaching part is a real downer.