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Here's one that should appeal to all you conspiracy theorists out there. THE GREATER GOOD was the debut novel of William Casey Moreton, now with two published books to his credit. The novel displays considerable talent in the excitement stakes although it could benefit from the polishing of a few rough edges. James Ettinger, Vice President of the United States, finds his conscience will not permit him to continue in office so determines to resign but, before doing so, makes a video disclosing dark secrets he has carried since before he ascended to his high status. His nagging conscience somewhat mollified, Ettinger parcels and addresses the recording, prepares it to be posted – and is assassinated by a gunman's bullet. The point of view shifts from that of the Ettinger family to the assassin, Olin St John. He has planned his escape with meticulous attention to detail and now all he wishes to do is claim his reward then retire from his remunerative profession in favour of marrying his fiancée Megan and settling down with her to a life of luxury. Megan is preparing to leave London in order to fly to New York and Olin. Puzzlingly, Megan visits a bedridden nun, to whom she owes much, in a cathedral. Perhaps the nun, who is more than a hundred, is a candidate for beatification so the church wishes to minimise associated transport costs after the dear is departed? Meanwhile, Joel Benjamin, long suffering from depression after his wife took his daughter Megan and decamped, is contemplating suicide at JFK airport. He catches a brief glimpse of Megan and realises at once she is his daughter, so sets out to find her, thoughts of suicide evaporating. The next main character to be introduced is Brooke Weaver, a journalist at NBC. She clears out a special post box for her boss but leaves the city, avoiding a party given by her terrifying boss, in order to visit her ailing brother and parents as the family fears the brother's death is imminent. Brooke forgets she has the mail and takes it with her. The author has the knack of holding the reader's attention as he melds the individual story lines into a single plot, replete with kills, spills and goosebump-raising thrills and chills. The characterisation, on the other hand, is nowhere near as strong as the excitement generated by the chase but it is adequate for the tale. Moreton's prime strength is his ability to focus the reader's attention on his convoluted but intriguing plot. Perhaps, in future books, the author might pay a little more attention to strengthening his characters and making certain scenes a little more credible.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, July 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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