Hi all:
I share today the review for a novel whose topic intrigued me, and there were many things I enjoyed, but some aspects that didn’t quite work for me.
The Dish Dog: A Novel by Peter Davidson
Someone is operating the largest stock market insider trading scheme in the history of the United States, that is making millions of dollars in illegal profits. Whoever it is, has access to secret information about numerous major corporations before the information is made available to the general public. Perhaps it is a nationally-known radio or TV host of a financial program, a financial journalist, or maybe even a Pulitzer Prize winner.
The perpetrator of the insider trading scheme has hidden their identity and covered their tracks through layers of elusive actions that all seem to lead nowhere. But, the perpetrator may not have planned on a brilliant FBI forensic accountant, Dr. Kimberly King, doggedly leading the investigation to uncover their identity and to put them out of business.
The Dish Dog is set mostly in New York City, with scenes in the heartland and in a tropical paradise. The story has a unique ending that many readers will applaud.
Amazon Link: amazon.com/dp/B0BTGH39BY
Goodreads Link: goodreads.com/book/show/93394570-the-dish-dog
About the author:
Peter Davidson is the author or co-author of thirty books published by McGraw-Hill Book Company, Perigee/Putnam Publishers, Haworth Press, Sweet Memories Publishing, and Northwestern Publishing. His works include fiction, nonfiction, college textbooks, and children’s picture books.
For more than two decades, Davidson was one of America’s most active writer’s seminar presenters, having presented 637 one-day seminars in a 15-state area from Minnesota to Tennessee and Colorado to Illinois. Davidson’s hobby is writing songs and one of his songs was used in a television series in The Netherlands.
Davidson has owned several small businesses, including a professional recording studio, has been a real estate salesman, and has taught business courses in a community college. Davidson trained more than 700 real estate agents, something for which he will undoubtedly have to answer for on Judgement Day.
Whatever else Davidson has been involved in throughout his life, he kept on writing.
My review:
I obtained an ARC copy of the book from the author, which I freely chose to review.
This novel would fit into the police (or FBI, in this case) procedural genre, although it deals with a type of crime that is not what most of us are used to reading (or watching). There are no serial killers or psychologists creating criminal profiles here, but a figure that is less well-known, but as interesting: a forensic accountant.
Even though I know little about accounting and almost nothing about the stock exchange and the workings of big investment companies, I was fascinated by the scheme the Financial Fraud team ends up investigating, and I can reassure readers that it is not necessary to have any previous understanding of these topics to be able to follow the story and to enjoy it. Apart from the plot and the attention to detail, I also enjoyed the gentle touches of humour, and the good-natured relationships between the members of the team. There is no angst, confrontations, or short-tempers, and everybody seems happy to do their part, without complaining or challenging their roles. And their relationship with other agencies is equally calm and professional, lacking in the drama some TV series and movies seem to feed on.
On the other hand, I think this is a book that will work better for readers who aren’t big readers of the police procedural genre, as there is such a focus on every step of the investigation (from carting the information, getting a search warrant, to visiting the bank to get the information needed) and this is conveyed in so much detail, sometimes more than once, and also relayed to others, that it might feel quite repetitive, especially to those who are already familiar with it. This means that people who are reading the novel and have little time to dedicate to it will not struggle to follow the story, as there are plenty of occasions to recap, but I think tighter editing might have quickened the pace and made it more dynamic.
The story is narrated in the third person, mostly in the past tense, and from different characters’ points of view, although this is clearly marked, and there is no head-hopping effect. There were some examples of the use of the present tense that did not always feel totally consistent, but I don’t think this will bother most readers.
There were some details that didn’t totally work for me. One of them was that I never got a clear sense of when the story is supposed to be taking place. It feels contemporary, or perhaps something that might have taken place in the recent past, as there is a reference to the father of the main protagonist, Dr Kimberley King (K.K. for her friends) taking over the family business in 2005, and that seems to have been some time ago when the story develops. Some of the characters do banking and selling and buying of shares online, but the main character, K.K. seems to conduct all of her research on paper, including designing forms, although she is a young doctor and accountant. Wouldn’t an online spreadsheet, on Excel, for example, work better and be much faster? Other agencies also seem to rely on paperwork rather than using electronic formats to compile information. When the surveillance people explain their methods to K.K., the new arrival, they joke about Bond’s gadgets and gizmos, but considering the use of smart phones and the technology available to anybody nowadays, unless the novel is set quite far back in the past, it all seems a bit over-elaborate. There doesn’t seem to be an FBI computer expert working for the team, which would have made some steps of the investigation much faster or even redundant, and nobody mentions the possibility of using surveillance cameras to track the mysterious person behind the scheme. All the people involved use bank checks, with no mention of cryptocurrencies, which are fairly more difficult to trace. There are mentions of using social media to track people’s lives and contacts, so, if the story is meant to be set in the recent past, perhaps referring to specific dates would make it more consistent and require less suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader.
Some novels are focused mostly on the characters, others on the plot, and some manage to combine both. This novel centres around a fascinating topic and a gripping plot, while the characters are a little underdeveloped. There are some nuggets of information and readers are allowed some brief glimpses at the lives of some of the characters outside of work, but very few. Not much background information or personal details are revealed, even in the case of the protagonist, although the little we know makes her quite relatable and likeable, and the fact that she is new to the team and to investigating (other than her interest in Nancy Drew) means that the reader can identify with her and benefit from the explanations other characters offer her of their methods. If this was to be a series in the future, and I think the type of crimes and the setting is interesting enough for it, it would be worth spending a bit more time developing the characters beyond their function and their roles in the team.
The ending is not typical of the genre, but it fits the story perfectly, giving it a satisfying touch. Many readers might have their suspicions, but the way the story is told and the red herrings and twists and turns of the plot make it quite likely to surprise more than one.
In sum, this is a crime story set in the world of finances, with some unusual protagonists on both sides of the law. I would recommend it to readers who are interested in the topic and are not habitual followers of the police procedural genre, as they can accompany the new recruit to the team while she is guided through the different steps of the case.
Thanks to the author, for the book, to all of you for reading, and remember to share with those who might be interested, like, comment, and keep smiling!
Just Olga 