Redemption by Mike Lawson

Published by Atlantic Monthly Press on April 5, 2022

Jamison Maddox’s mother and uncle are wealthy, but he is proud of his independence. He makes a healthy salary on Wall Street until he goes to prison for insider trading. When he gets out, his mother won’t support him and he’s too proud to ask his uncle. Felons can’t easily get jobs in finance — not unless they’re connected, anyway — so Jamison grudgingly accepts an unsolicited offer to work in Redemption, Illinois for a low six-figure salary. Jamison’s job is to do financial research and to keep the results confidential. Very confidential.

Jamison is never told a client’s identity or why he’s conducting the research. He’s on the second floor and has no access to the third floor, where employees presumably have those answers. The first floor is devoted to security, which is tight: regular polygraph tests, periodic searches of cellphones and home computers. The first rule of working at Drexler Limited is don’t talk about Drexler Limited. Not even to other employees of Drexler.

Having little else to do in a small town, Jamison begins an affair with his boss’ beautiful wife, who also works at Drexler. About the time that Jamison learns some dark secrets about Drexler, Gillian Lang convinces him to run away with her. They need to abandon their lives and find new identities because, if Drexler catches them, they’re dead. Why they face that threat is not immediately clear, although it is obvious from the start that Drexler is a shady operation.

Some readers might have sympathy for Gillian. She was raised in (and feels stifled by) a life of crime. She is, however, rather manipulative and has internalized the belief that crime is an appropriate means of achieving personal comfort. If Drexler would let her out more, she’d probably be fine with her life.

Some readers might have sympathy for Jamison. He’s a bit spoiled and entitled but he’s minor league as financial criminals go. He’s also dealt with his circumstances — both his privileged life and his downfall — in ways that suggest he is governed by a loose code of decency. I was indifferent to both characters apart from admiring their remarkable luck as they endeavor to stay alive.

A few other characters are differentiated by their personalities. The ruthless head of Drexler feels no remorse but is grateful for the good life that Drexler has given him. Jamison’s rich mother is self-centered and loathsome; his rich uncle is friendly and helpful; his uncle’s daughter is autistic and resourceful. Jamison’s uncle is probably the only character in the novel a reader might want to know.

The story suffers from a weak ending and an improbable premise. The novel’s resolution seems too easy given the turmoil that precedes it. A character’s ability to negotiate immunity with no evidence that he has anything of value to offer suggests a failure to understand how federal prosecutors work. The full truth about Drexler, revealed in the novel’s last pages, is difficult to swallow. Those weaknesses aside, Mike Lawson sustained my interest by never making the novel’s direction or outcome obvious. I would give the novel a wavering thumbs up, but Redemption is not in the same league as Lawson’s recent Joe DeMarco novels.

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