AMERICAN RINGER

A scammer working multiple cons in the late 1980s discovers the dangers of swindling gone wrong in Benning’s thriller.

Richard Montrose, on the cusp of 40, exudes confidence, dressing in Savile Row suits and succeeding in business with a keen mind that leans hard into dishonesty. The Brit also has a showstopper girlfriend, Jennifer Peterson, who’s fond of wearing transparent blouses, with buttons either strained or undone, and pink miniskirts that show off her sculpted, tanned legs. Richard has his crooked fingers in a lot of pies. He is big into horseracing; his horse, Vagabond, runs at Ascot. He also has a car dealership, and a property development company with offices in England in Spain. His business pursuits often suffer cash flow problems, which he solves with creative bookkeeping. After agreeing to a sketchy deal with bank manager Paul Dodson, Richard, flush with cash, takes Jennifer to Barcelona to check on his Montrose Village property development. There they meet Richard’s friend and employee, Juan Constantine, who tells Richard that Mafia head Fernando Vergara wants to become his business partner. Things soon fall apart for Richard on multiple levels when Dodson is arrested on a fraud charge and violence accompanies Vergara’s demands. Richard and Jennifer are flawed, sexy, compelling characters who remain likable in spite of their moral bankruptcy. Scenes move at a fast clip, and the location descriptions are travelogue-perfect. The bad guys are truly evil, and some characters are tortured in over-the-top ways that may turn off some readers. But the prose can be delightful, as when Jennifer meets Juan’s stunning wife: “Jennifer was not used to competition of such quality.”

An international thriller with a strong start, a quick pace, and a finish that’s in the money.