The Bezzle

This is the second book in Doctorow's Martin Hench series, following Red Team Blues, although it takes place before the first book (starting in 2006, in fact) and doesn't require any knowledge of it. Hench is a forensic accountant, and he's damned good at uncovering schemes and tracing transactions.

This book, though, is as much a poltiical screed as anything else, against both incarceration and specifically the current "private prison" trend. And since it's a contemporary crime novel (as opposed to Doctorow's SF works), it's not one where we get to see the world changed, just the problem that exists.

The titular term was coined by John Kenneth Galbraith, and whatever you think of some of his other work, this is nifty. It derives from "embezzle" (duh), and refers to the time period in which a financial crime has been committed, but the victim is not aware of it. This also means (as Doctorow notes) that during this period, everyone is financially optimistic -- the thief has the money and the victim thinks he does because he hasn't checked the bank account or wallet (or, in the case of a pyramid scheme, assumes he can get his money back).

In this case, Hench first explains the Bezzle when he and a friend catch on to a pyramid scheme¹ on Catalina Island involving smuggled fast food. It sounds ludicrous, but it actually works within the context of the book (hamburger chains are literally banned on the island, so only folks coming in via chopper or ferry in can bring them). The problem is that when they help bring down the scheme, the guy who'd been running it wants revenge. And he's got the police in his pocket (Catalina is run by LA cops, so they're both classically corrupt and well-resourced).

While Hench is safely away, his friend visits the island and get railroaded by cops into two quick felony charges, and then ends up with a (technically legit) third strike drug charge.

That's when things get really interesting, as the myriad abuses of the California penitentiary system only get worse when they contract out to private prisons, and Hench starts doing what he can to unwind the financial schemes behind the folks running the schemes, and trying to find ways to help his friend.

Doctorow's equally interested in writing a quick-moving crime novel and in making some points, and he's not above the occasional digression². It works because the book balances entertainment (and action) with his message. Even if you had a general idea (and I think most of us do), you'd walk away from this book with a comprehensive understanding of the various abuses our prison system inflicts.