Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 3, 1994 TAG: 9406190150
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: E-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by NEIL HARVEY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's obvious early on in Timothy Watts' new thriller, "The Money Lovers," that the author has read his share of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen, two of today's best writers of contemporary crime novels. "The Money Lovers" has their brand of fast-talking, wiseguy narrative and dialogue; there's a strong, silent, Wonder Bread protagonist, a busload of eccentric villains, and lots of stylized violence; at the center of the story there's a big fat scam, and all the characters orbit around the grift weaving double- and triple-crosses.
Unfortunately, although he's good at surface detail, Watts can't duplicate the intelligence associated with the authors he's imitating. From its disturbingly unimaginative title, to an opening scene lifted from the film "Reservoir Dogs," to a unlikely, out-of-nowhere final twist, "The Money Lovers" is uneven and doesn't pay-off.
Watts seems to know what he's doing when it comes to villains and pacing but what really sinks the ship here is his "good guy." Jimmy Decker, the main character, is such a complete idiot that most of the novel's suspense comes from wondering if this guy is up to some elaborate, secret plan, or if he really is as dumb as he acts. He seems completely out of place in the book, and in the last fifty pages, it is stupidity, not motivation, that keeps him involved at all.
Had Watts come up with a better title, a plausible ending, and had he made his hero quite a bit cannier, the book might've made for a nice little page turner. Had he injected less sincerity and replaced the unintentional humor with broad, dark comedy, the book would've played well as satire. Since he didn't do any of those things, "The Money Lovers" is oddly bipolar, a novel torn between self-assuredness and numb confusion.
- Neil Harvey lives in Blacksburg.
by CNB