Jim Lively’s ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS is a book set in the world of corporate information and data management, and as such may not seem exciting enough to catch the interests of readers seeking more action and suspense. There are a reasonable share of secret informants, dangerous situations, and even a couple plot twists near the end that mix things up, though, enough to keep the action moving along. The characters are sympathetic and reasonably well-developed. Sanders Pierce, the protagonist, is an intelligent and opinionated (maybe even slightly crotchety, but still charming) artist dragged from his studio by the needs of an old friend and the promise of a substantial payday. He’s smart enough to solve the mystery with reasonable quickness and aplomb, though oddly it takes him quite a lot of rather obvious hints to figure out what his neighbor and potential love interest, Claire, does for a living. He can be a bit judgemental about the corporate world, including a bit of sneering at the way business people are required to dress – but that’s reasonably understandable given that he left that world for the more relaxed and creative world of the professional artist.

Unlike other less realistic and more egotistical protagonists in mystery novels, Pierce has the sense to cooperate with the FBI as much as he can, given attorney-client privilege, and is careful to listen and take precautions when they warn him of danger. Most of the investigation is done in the form of interviews, which can be a bit dull to read about but do provide useful information that the clever reader can use to solve the mystery. There is a balance that most mystery novels are expected to strike, between allowing the intelligent reader to figure out a solution through fair clues, and creating a problem difficult enough to be a challenge. If this book errs, it errs on the side of giving the reader a bit too easy of a solution. The action does pick up substantially in about the last quarter of the story, and there are a couple of rather exciting scenarios from which Pierce just barely manages to escape. The dialogue is a bit stilted, and the author has a tendency to explain, rather than show, how characters are feeling and what motivates their actions. Still, it’s a pleasant, if short, little mystery that will appeal to those who are distrustful of the corporate world and its corruptions and failures.

Jim Lively’s ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS is a clever little mystery with a neat plot twist or two near the end, though it takes a bit to get started.

~Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader