A Perfect Crime

This is the first book I have read by this author and it will not be the last as I really enjoyed this book. It is true that there are some scenes which are a bit too coincidental, but in this case I didn't even care. Perhaps I would have in the hands of a lesser writer, but I found Abrahams' writing style to be top notch. It is the story of the affair between Francie and Ned who are both married to other people. Everything gets more and more complicated as their lives become entwined. Deception, jealousy, madness and murder...this one has it all!! If you are looking for a well-written entertaining thriller,and are not too picky about everything being 100% realistic (it is fiction, after all!) look no further!!

Not that Ira Levin is gone or anything, but his output has slowed considerably now that he is in old age. In any case, though he isn't quite as good as Levin, Abrahams is very close to being so, and that's a tall order I wouldn't have believed any other American suspense novelist to be capable of. In Abrahams' case, his plots are a little less organic than Levin's, not quite so high concept, but he is twisty as all get out and his characters are amazingly real. You really get caught up in their dilemmas even if some of them are just plain bad apples. Francie is having an affair with Ned because, well, just because. Roger, her husband, is so weird and cold that in a way you don't blame her, and yet on the other hand, as she comes to realize, she is hurting an innocent woman by sleeping with her husband. She gets hung up on this infidelity thing, as her natural decency kicks in once she befriends Anne at the local tennis club. I don't even like tennis but Abrahams is great at evoking the kick of it, the primal tensions it releases, how the game can hook you in and take you to a place you've never been taken before. I didn't really buy the part about Whitey Truax and why Roger thought he could possibly control him, but to be fair Abrahams builds Roger up as kind of a Nietzchean superman who's dumb as a post, so I guess it fits. Whitey makes you squirm he's so vicious and horny, but there's also a lot of class resentment between Whitey and Roger that's perfectly done, worthy of a Henry Roth or a Zora Neale Hurston. Abrahams is a literary artist, and each of his books presents another technical problem he solves with the assurance and inventiveness of Flaubert. Here, in A PERFECT CRIME, he approaches the heights of THE TUTOR, not only his own TUTOR, but that of Henry James.

There are some really funny scenes in the middle of this book that come out of nowhere, but are so well done, they make this Abrahams book a real winner. Since many have already rehashed the plot, I'd like to focus on some of the characters and subtle ironies that enhance the book. Roger Cullingwood is a perfect idiot, although a brilliant one; some of his rationalizations and thought processes are so bad you have to wonder how he's survived as long as he has. His wife, Francie, has many layers and when she suddenly becomes friends with her lover's wife, it really puts her in a pickle. Anne, the wife of Ned (Francie's lover) is a real whiner, but her depth is brought out once she becomes friends with Francie. Ned, the lover, is a real jerk, and his true personality comes out at the end, and even though you knew it was coming, you still want to bash his head in. The character of Whitey Truax is another one of Abrahams' really sick villains, and his pact with Roger can only end up one way, of course. Who gets murdered comes as a mild surprise, and the clue the person leaves is muddled until you finish the book, flash back and remember why the clue was left. The addition of Joe Savand, the cop whose wife was Truax's first victim, is nice, and his role in the novel comes to a nice fruition in the unexpected ending. Lots of sex talk and gory violence, but it's a great read. I liked it much better than "Crying Wolf," and that was good, too!

The quality of the writing grabs you on the first page. Characters are drawn with deft accuracy and keen insight. The plot is beautifully developed. It's suspenseful but not in a predictable way: you see what's coming, but trust me: you're still surprised. The grace with which Abrahams accomplishes what seems to be effortlessly unfolding left me thoroughly impressed. The author does not resort to cheap tactics, no easy outs: it's just solid writing. This guy is now near the top of my list of all-time favorite authors. My only question is, why isn't he more acclaimed? If you thought Grisham was good, this makes him pale in comparison. If you think Grisham is mediocre, RUN to your keyboard and order this book, and you can thank me later.