The Death Tape

The author of Unbalanced Accounts returns with another case for Nick Magaracz, bureaucrat, bungler and hero in spite of himself. Nick thinks he's investigating a simple case of tax fraud, but soon he's stumbled upon a conspiracy to topple the state government of New Jersey. His adversaries, a gang of ultra-conservatives with fantasies of starting an army, are equally inept, if not more so. Although they're capable of concocting a sophisticated sabotage of the state's computer system, they're also likely to lock some prisoners in the same basement where they store their guns and ammo. The plot of this increasingly absurd crime drama is full of coincidences, stupidity, bad luck and just plain silliness. Gallison grounds this unlikely mix in enough technical information about death and taxes to keep the novel's eccentricities from becoming precious. The result is a fast, deadpan, intermittently funny mystery. (July 2)