home > mystery novel reviews > a perfect crime

A Perfect Crime

by Peter Abrahams

Possibly not the best of Peter Abrahams work, A Perfect Crime is still a very good read. Although I can't agree with one of the reviews which claim this novel “crackles from page one like a live wire” – A Perfect Crime certainly gathers momentum and leads you more and more deeply into each character's personality. Each critic must, of course, base his or her reviews on personal taste. I found Mr. Abraham's writing very good, although certainly not exceptional. His plot, on the other hand, is excellent, and his characters real and human. A Perfect Crime whets the appetite for further exploration of Peter Abraham's books.

Five principal characters maintain the plot, with others contributing. The five consist of Roger, his wife Francie, Ned and his wife Anne, and a convict names Whitey Truax. Others mentioned include Em, Ned and Anne's pre-teenage daughter, Joe Savard, a New Hampshire cop, Nora, Francie's friend, and Brenda, living in Rome and owner of the island cottage where much of the action takes place.

Roger is a brain. First in his class at Exeter, graduating summa cum laude from Harvard, possessing high scores on his SAT and Stanford-Binet IQ – he's having a difficult time understanding why he remains unemployed after a number of years with Thorvald Securities where he'd become a senior vice president. Roger lives with Francie in an expensive house on Beacon Hill in Boston, although he spends most of his time in its basement, where he has his computer. He now fills his days with interviews and by logging onto The Puzzle Club, seeing how quickly he can complete the crosswords. He also occasionally follows the on-line discussion found at the same site.

Francie has become the sole breadwinner for her family. Childless, due to Roger's deformed sperm, she's a successful art buyer. She's also agreed to 'keep an eye on' Brenda's cottage in New Hampshire which sits on a small island in the middle of a lake. Francie does more than occasionally inspect the cottage, however. She uses it every Thursday for a tryst with her lover, Ned Demarco.

Ned is a psychologist living in Dedham, Massachusetts. He stars in a regular radio program. Handsome and fun, he met Francie one summer when she was swimming at the cottage and he was in a kayak. They were immediately attracted to each other, although both were married. In Ned's case, he insists that Francie doesn't correspond with him in any way, since he claims he's waiting for his daughter Em to grow up before he gets a divorce.

Whitey is on parole and currently living in a halfway house in Florida, working days in the hot sun by spearing trash along a Florida Interstate. He was originally incarcerated when found guilty of murdering a girl he found in one of the cabins around a New Hampshire lake - which he consistently burgled in the winter months while the owners were gone.

Roger discovers his wife's infidelity and plans her murder instead of a divorce; but with his extraordinary intelligence, decides it must be the perfect crime with nothing to implicate him. There can be no clues. Someone else must be blamed. He then finds Whitey – and his history – through the computer.

Meanwhile Francie has teamed up with Anne in playing tennis. Francie has no idea at first that Anne is Ned's wife. A number of complications then ensue on every level of the plot, culminating in actual murders, attempted murder, and buckets of blood. Peter Abrahams graphically describes the latter, and does it so well that this reader had to lay the book aside for a few moments while he reacquainted himself with the real world!

The novel ends with the bad guys effectively out of the running and the initial blossoming of a new romance. A Perfect Crime steadily increases in intensity, making it easy to see Mr. Abrahams abilities with the written word. The
violence – and it's sometimes extremely violent – may not be for everyone. If your taste runs to the less extreme mysteries and thrillers, I can't recommend this novel; but for those who enjoy a roaring, bloodthirsty romp it's assuredly a must read.

Alan Paul Curtis

back