Book Review: The Avaricious: A Howard Watson Intrigue

The Avaricious: A Howard Watson Intrigue. JoAnn Fastoff, Self-Published, 15 November 2022, Paperback, eBook, 119 pages.

Reviewed by Wayne Turmel.

The Avaricious is part of a series called The Howard Watson Intrigues. It’s a quick, easy read that packs plenty of action into its pages.

The story deals with a greedy element of people who stockpile and sell leftover landmines to countries bracing for war. The plot whipsaws from Washington, D.C., to Paris to the Piscataway Nation reserve in Maryland.

Two scientists working on a computer chip that will help locate unexploded landmines go missing. One is found dead in the cold waters of the Chesapeake Bay; the other is nowhere to be seen. The case winds up in the hands of Howard Watson at the FBI along with his diverse team of federal agents and scientists.

Author JoAnn Fastoff uses multiple points of view to build tension quickly. The stakes are high, and Fastoff does a good job of jumping from plot point to plot point, building momentum. Relying on the trope of amnesia feels a bit tired, but it’s integral to the plot, and can be forgiven.

The villains are an international cadre of super-rich who plan to make millions off the technology, the victims of landmines be damned. The clock ticks as the search for both the missing scientist and the microchip continue at a breakneck pace.

Fastaff has a number of other books in this series, and this one fits right in, while those totally new to the series will have no problem with The Avaricious as a standalone tale.

The characters could use more fleshing out, yet the plot is clever and the author’s research shows a passion for both the topic and the victims of the millions of unexploded landmines around the world. Readers will learn about this problem while enjoying The Avaricious.