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My name is Susan Grossey. I graduated from Cambridge University in 1987 with a degree in English, and then taught secondary English for two years before realising that the National Curriculum was designed primarily to extinguish every spark of creativity in its teachers. I then became a technical author, and reached the pinnacle of this profession when I was asked to document the workings of a choc-ice wrapping machine in Cardiff, while wearing a fetching blue hairnet (which I forgot to remove until it was pointed out by a cashier in a petrol station on the M4). From this unbeatable high point I moved into technical training, and one day was asked to help with a staff manual on fraud prevention. As I wrote the chapter on money laundering, I realised that here was a topic that could keep my interest for years – and so it has proved. Since 1998, I have been self-employed as an anti-money laundering consultant, providing training and strategic advice and writing policies and procedures for clients in many countries. As part of my job, I have written several non-fiction books with exciting titles like “Money Laundering: A Training Strategy”, “The Money Laundering Officer’s Practical Handbook” and “Anti-Money Laundering: A Guide for the Non-Executive Director”. However, even this is not enough financial crime for me, and in my spare evenings and weekends I write fiction – but always with financial crime at the heart of it.
Reviewed by Ioana Marza for Readers' Favorite
Susan Grossey's Fatal Forgery is a detective tale set in the 1820s. The story is written in the first person. The events are described as seen through the eyes of the conscientious Constable Plank, from the moment he arrests Henry Fauntleroy for forgery in 1824 until a surprise closure six years later. Interestingly, rather than the classic whodunit, this is a whydunit novel. Why would a respected well-to-do banker like Henry Fauntleroy, with a comfortable life and influential friends, succumb to such a crime as committing forgery? Upon his exposure, why would he be so willing to confess it and reluctant to fight against the accusations, especially at a time when the conviction for forgery merited capital punishment?
The reasons unveil themselves slowly and I liked the way in which, though Constable Plank's belief in the application of the law never falters, Susan Grossey manages to convey some sort of commiseration (not understanding) and pity through Plank's own words and thoughts. Ultimately, the originality of Fatal Forgery rests in tackling the subject of the precariousness of the financial controls and institutions at such an early time as the 1820s -- a century before the '29-33 crisis and almost two century before the most recent financial market events.
Susan Grossey's expertise in money laundering shows throughout and I found quite interesting the details about the various laws in place at the time (which must have required a lot of research). However, it's originality might also be its downfall and I personally struggled to believe the ultimate motive for the crime, as I find it much more suited to the modern world, rather than the conventional and bank-hate-free 1820s.
