A No-Body-Murder Mystery

I have a swollen, painful throat, feverish feeling, blocked nose. The only thing I can do is read. So I finished reading Lies by T M Logan. I will not say its the perfect book to read when you are down with so many physical ailments. But as Logan is, it rushes you along. After The Holiday, I have more or less, understood his style of writing. The protagonist is a man or woman of values, loving, caring and of principles. But as it happens with this world, good people are always entrapped, without their knowing, in vicious grips of deceit and deviousness.

The same happens with Joseph Lynch (Joe), an English Teacher of a respectable school who cares deeply for his only kid William (Will). He is kind of a house husband who goes to work three days a week. His beautiful wife, Melissa (Mel), is an ambitious corporate. Joe loves his wife and does not mind her career mindedness or busy schedule which also includes her regular sports activity (tennis). Joe, Mel and Will are a threesome having a decent, happy, normal, routined life. Its their exclusive club as Joe believes.

Mel’s college mate Beth is just the opposite in nature. She is graceful, poised, dignified, always contented to be in the shadow of her go-getter, multi millionaire, alpha male husband Ben Delaney. Ben Delaney is a computer genius – he breathes and lives computer. During their family get togethers, Joe has felt the difference between himself and Ben in more than one way. But it does not bother him much because he is very satisfied with his wife and kid.

One fine day, picking up Will from school, Will and Joe spot Mel’s car. They want to give her a surprise but unfortunately Joe catches her having an animated conversation with Ben. Joe’s instincts say that Mel is not safe. He follows her back but loses track. However, he comes across Ben in the car park. Ben seems angry. Their conversation turns into a heated argument giving way to a fight. Joe pushes Ben. Ben falls and loses consciousness. In the meantime, Will, sitting in the car, has an asthmatic attack. Joe rushes him home for nebulization. Later, settling down Will, when he comes back to the car park to find Ben, he cannot locate him or his car. Joe realizes that earlier he has dropped his mobile somewhere there which is also missing.

When Mel comes home she at first denies having met Ben during the day but later confesses that Ben has been having a huge crush on her and is determined to continue having a relationship with her at the expense of both their marriages. Mel wants to put an end to this mad obsession. That is why she met him this afternoon to make him understand. Soon after, Beth arrives with more bad news. Gradually, Joe and Mel learn that Beth is having issues with her marriage. Ben is temperamental and carries a shotgun, He is also abusive and cannot rest in peace till he wins a situation. But Beth, being a devoted wife, wants Ben back who has left the house in an inebriated state in the middle of the night.

Thereafter Ben is missing. But Joe is aware that he is hiding somewhere near because he is constantly spying on him. He has hacked his Facebook Account by posting photographs of his altercation with him in the car park. He is sending insinuating messages to him from anonymous account. He is watching him on his web cam. He is nowhere but everywhere.

In the meanwhile, Detective Naylor is on the lookout for Ben and building up a case against Joe for a no-body-murder. Joe’s missing mobile is found in the shrubs where the earth seems to have been “recently disturbed”. Joe seeks his Solicitor Larssen’s advice who opines that he should cooperate with the Police which also implies a probable custodial remand till found innocent. Joe, the gentleman that he is, feels extremely sorry for Beth and protective towards his wife, Mel. As a result of Ben’s online stalking, Joe has also been suspended from his job. Giving in to the Police means a prolonged wait in jail, losing his social prestige, whatever is left of that, and more importantly losing his face as a father before his son.

So Joe decides to find out where Ben is hiding. Against Larssen’s expert opinion, he heads towards the suburbs where Ben’s mother lives. He is sure Ben is somewhere there, lurking, mocking Joe, making fun of his inferiorities, jeering at his incapabilities and playing hide and seek. But in doing so Joe is now a confirmed fugitive. Although, his motive is to discover the actual culprit behind this bizzarre game, its only a matter of time whether he will come across the ultimate truth or uncover more lies which may disintegrate his entire life forever.

This time Logan did not surprise but sadden me. How far can you go in the name of love is the key question behind this edge of the seat chase intercepted by suspicion, deviousness, lies, deceit and bloody encounters. After reading the book, the only thought that comes to mind is that the premise on which the suspense thriller is based, may have been resolved in a different, more calm and undisruptive, manner. We live in an age where things which are not routine are also in the long run acceptable. In this case also, without disclosing any spoiler, coming to terms with life in a more mature way, if not for yourself but at least for the sake of your family, may have been more judicious.

Lies disappoint you because it slays the values which are foundational to a congenial family life and memorable childhood. A joyful, secured, supportive and comfort driven formative years are the bedrock of a strong, steady, decent overall growth towards adulthood. Lies hacks that. (Perhaps it also makes way for a sequel, who knows?)

My prime concern here is not bringing to book the wrong doer but the murder of innocence. What is Will going through in all this – when he sees his father, his “matey”, losing everything in life one after the other? He is an intelligent kid. He absorbs what is going on around him. Asks direct questions to his mother. What will happen to him when the truth is spilled before him? Or you patch the truth up with another pile of lies for the sake of your only child? Sad, isn’t it?

Last but not the least, Lies definitely makes one scary and wary of social networking, online search engines and apps and all electronic functioning which is the life line of today’s living.

I wish writers of suspense thrillers will pay a little attention to the fact that just to dish out a multi million grosser bestseller, in addition to being maddeningly racy, overwhelmingly red herring ridden and a hose pipe gushing adrenaline flow, should also not disregard the basic values of life, the ancient wisdom on which this world is believed to exist and progress and the eternal thread of love, care, compassion and faith by which humans are bonded and civilizations survive. Though it may be an anathema but surely something to hold on to even when the world around you is crumbling down in a nightmarish downslide.

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