Book Review: The Ponzi Scheme
The Ponzi Scheme. Howard B. Prossnitz. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, October 20, 2014, Paperback and Kindle edition, 404 pages.
Reviewed by Marie Becker.
The Ponzi Scheme is an ambitious novel, with a large cast of characters, a complicated international plot, and several distinct and impressively detailed settings. Prossnitz, a litigation attorney with experience in representing real life Ponzi scheme victims, has a clear passion for the subject, and for making the financial and legal logistics clear and dramatic for readers. Before the first chapter he provides the reader with a character list, a map of relevant sites in Chicago, and a brief history of the term “Ponzi scheme,” including the startling fact that between 2008 and 2013 a Ponzi scheme was uncovered by investigators every four days on average.
The novel begins with a bang, or at least a suspicious car crash, in Germany. While in Chicago Jake Farley is summarily dismissed from his grueling partner-track position at an elite Chicago litigation firm. He is newly bereft of both his job and his marriage when a German lawyer asks him to represent victims of a collapsed investment scheme in Chicago, where the German funds were traded and processed. He leaps at the chance. Soon he finds himself enmeshed in an international conspiracy that includes assassination attempts, potential right-wing terrorist threats, and a love interest, Suzanne.
The Ponzi Scheme is written in the spirit of legal thrillers similar to the works of John Grisham and Scott Turow, keeping the tension level high. It is expansive and packed with detail, qualities that are sometimes an asset and occasionally a liability. Elements of the scheme itself and how Jake unravels it are presented with great clarity, but I found the pace and tone to be uneven at times. One of the difficulties of a great eye for detail is the temptation to pour on too much, distracting the reader as they try to sort out what is important. Some of the descriptions have charm, as in one of his first thoughts on encountering Suzanne: “She even made her attire look sexy—a L.L. Bean fishing vest whose pockets were stuffed with pens, pencils, index cards, calculators, erasers, and binder clips. She was a captivating office supply store.” Others, however, verge on cliché (particularly some of the physical character descriptions), and in some places the sheer amount of information provided about insignificant details—the specifics of the engine on his plane to Frankfurt, for example, or a list of Chicago’s summer festivals—becomes so overwhelming that it distracts from following the threads of the plot. Jake is also clearly a foodie, and a not-insignificant amount of time follows him to various restaurants, both in Chicago and throughout his travels. This contributes to the uneven pacing; rather than a steadily increasing race against the clock, it becomes a more staccato rhythm that dissipates the energy.
At times, it seemed that characters—including elite professionals in illegal but highly skilled trades—made dubious decisions solely in order to set up a dramatic confrontation or escape sequence. Although these did provide some vivid, almost cinematic, set pieces, the implausibility was a distraction for me. Similarly, there were moments of almost absurdist humor, such as the battle between an elite assassin and a Chicago duck when they unexpectedly meet in the Chicago River. These definitely added color, but sometimes popped up in places where they seemed to clash with, not complement, the ongoing events. Some tighter editing would definitely serve this book (or any future books) well, to ensure that the details really sing.
The political motivations behind the scheme, particularly the specific mutual goals of the American and German halves of the scheme are not conveyed as clearly as the legal and financial specifics; although the threat of a major bombing creates tension as the book reaches its climax, the overt and literal Nazism embraced by the German villains felt somewhat over the top, closer to caricature in a way that ironically made them seem less menacing. Likewise, Jake at times seemed too perfect—perfectly equipped with the physical and mental acumen for every crisis without breaking much of a sweat. There were also times the dialogue became a bit stilted and ran towards monologues.
Although I found the book to be a bit convoluted or contrived at times, it offers an intriguing scenario with a lot of obvious real-world detail that could appeal to readers who enjoy seeing the procedural nuts-and-bolts assembled, along with some sharp European snapshots and more than a few inside jokes for members of the Chicago legal community.