When Harvey Grant recruits a kid named Mark Hatcher to help him with a complex heist, he knows exactly what he’s getting. Mark, a bisexual who likes to occasionally dress in drag, lives in his van and likes recreational drugs too much to be truly reliable. But he has skills that Harvey needs for the job, so the older man puts his misgivings aside. It happens that Harvey’s been hired by a mysterious benefactor to steal a top-secret project from RayBright Labs. The money’s enough to solve both his immediate cash flow problems and even set himself up for a decent retirement—but it isn’t going to be easy. Mark quickly shows his value, however; staked with some of Harvey’s earnest money, Mark poses as a writer working on a story and quickly manages to start affairs with two of RayBright’s employees and plant a device that records keystrokes on one of the partners’ computers. But when Harvey poses as a Homeland Security official to recruit a RayBright security guard with money troubles, the guard gets caught taking photos and alarms are tripped. The partners bring in Kirbi Mack, a diminutive biracial woman who warns them her methods are unconventional. Kirbi’s used to being underestimated, but as she throws herself on Mark and Harvey’s trail, her intelligence and determination begin to complicate their caper.
Author BB Teeter writes with assurance, and he is very good at quickly introducing and sketching characters. Mark stands out as a wonderfully complex portrait of a cocky, drug-addled, charming criminal who brings tension to every step of the plan due to his failure to ever be sober, but Harvey’s quietly ruthless approach to life balances Mark’s wildness well. Kirbi, the protagonist of the novel, doesn’t come into things until about a third of the way through but then asserts herself quickly as a practical, non-nonsense investigator who sees the world clearly even when people are kicking sand in her face. Teeter balances his twists and turns well, surprising the reader several times. He does fail to explore a few key elements satisfactorily, however—Mark’s hobby of going drag fits his character, but isn’t explored enough considering how it comes into play later in the story. And some side characters are introduced solely to perform a specific task and then exit left without any sort of development or notable presence. And the ending rankles; although the final twist is handled well and surprises, it’s then sort of dropped and the story ends without a final resolution. That being said, THE RAYBRIGHT CAPER is a confident and entertaining crime story with a flash of Elmore Leonard’s easy charm.
BB Teeter’s THE RAYBRIGHT CAPER is a smoothly-running crime novel that evokes Elmore Leonard’s subtly complex plotting and character work. While some of the characterizations could have used a bit of a deeper dive, it’s overall a solidly entertaining story.
~Jeff Somers for IndieReader