"Obsession with Taxes"

Shinning a light into the dark corners of the some of the frailties of human nature, Richard Crissman, author of Tax Dodge: A Financial Caper that Changes the Lives of All Involved pens a book wherein his principal protagonist, soap opera mogul Jethro Woods, is obsessed with his burdensome taxes. It is his belief that the taxman should not be permitted to share in his wealth and he is determined to squirrel it away, where it will be out of the grasp of the IRS.

Following the advice of his agent, Antsey Lorgne, Jethro flees to a fox hunting lodge in Ireland called Danes Court Hotel. It is here where he meets up with Antsey's cousin, Jimmy Desmond-Lorgne. While in Ireland, Jethro manages to ﷯﷯﷯discover﷯﷯﷯ a way to bury some of his wealth. However, the services of Jimmy acting as a kind of a front man, as well as the ownership of Danes Court, will be essential to effectively carrying out his plan. Unfortunately, Jethro's naivety and Jimmy's greed lead to some very unusual situations where funds are manipulated to the benefit of Jimmy. In fact, Jimmy even convinces himself that in reality all he is doing is borrowing the funds and he has every intention of paying back the money. Jimmy also figures out, however, that the intention of Jethro was to hide the money from the IRS, and this could provide him with some possible blackmail leverage if Jethro should prove to be troublesome.

Complicating matters is a love triangle involving Jimmy, Jethro and the manipulative Eva Desmond. To further add a little spice to the story, Jethro is in the midst of divorce proceedings with his wife Caroline. He now has the added problem of concealing his off- shore assets, not only from the IRS but also from Caroline, who, like a hound dog, is determined to find out where these assets are hidden. As for Danes Court, it seems it has attracted the attention of some unsavory individuals, who would like to own this Georgian mansion that was once the property of Jimmy's family. Apparently, the Lorgnes have owned the property since Edward the First, when it was a fort and Jimmy is determined to reacquire it.

Crissman has the uncanny knack of weaving many threads into an engrossing narrative containing many daffy characters, financial shenanigans, Irish blarney, as well as conflicts and tensions among characters. This book certainly belongs firmly in the financial fiction genre, where much focus is almost always centered on the quest and conservation of wealth, be it within or above of the law.

To read Norm's Interview with Richard Crissman click HERE

Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Courtesy Bookpleasures
Posted September 27, 2004

Summary

MONEY, HORSES, TV AND DEATH Soap opera mogul Jethro Woods stashes untaxed millions in Ireland. His foxhunting buddy, Jimmie Lorgne, steals the money and flees. When they both fall in love with the beautiful Eva, she'll marry either scoundrel—once she discovers who is the richest! Everyone wants to own the same slightly spooked palladian mansion—the strange Andrei Vokanov most of all. He'll kill for it. And then there's the sexy IRS agent who's after Jethro. But is it official business or something else?