This is a thriller set in Boston with references to the Big Dig, a fiasco of a highway/tunnel project that ran way behind schedule (try over 8 to 10 years, depending which viewpoint you take) and racked up the cost to over $20 billion (still not fully paid to date). Although that in itself is criminal, there are many other criminals in the story. Much of the story is about Rick Hoffman, a thirtysomething journalist who finds himself out of a high-paying job and homeless. He goes back to his family home, which has become a big fixer-upper because his father has been in a convalescence facility for 18 years due to a stroke that left him unable to speak or care for himself. His mother has long been deceased and his only sibling, a sister, lives in Seattle. Continue reading →