Marilyn's Mystery Reads

The British comedian Eric Idle says it best:  “A lot has been said about politics; some of it complimentary, but most of it accurate.”

That statement could have been describing the politicians and their staffs in Matthew Fitzsimmons’ standalone mystery, The Slate.  In it, corrupt deals are formulated, promises are made and broken, and people and their reputations are tossed aside with uncaring regularity.

Agatha Cardiff was once Representative Paul Paxton’s go-to person.  There was no job too big or too small for her to deal with, and sadly there was no job too dirty for her to take on.

When Agatha’s phone rings at midnight and it’s her boss on the line, she knows there’s a job to be done and it won’t be pleasant.  Paxton wants her to go to the Grey Horse Inn in a neighboring town where there’s been an “incident” involving another congressman, Harrison Clark.

Clark and a member of Paxton’s staff, Charlotte Haines, had been together in a room at the Inn, and now Charlotte lay dead in the bathroom with four vials of white power on the toilet seat.  It isn’t necessary for Paxton to explain to Agatha what happened in Clark’s room:  “Clean up his mess” is enough.

Twenty years have passed since that night, and they have not been kind to Agatha.  She’s no longer Paxton’s right-hand person, trusted with doing whatever he wants.  Two of the three people involved in what happened that evening have prospered, but she hasn’t.

Harrison Clark is now President of the United States, Paul Paxton has become even closer to him, but Agatha’s trajectory has been in the opposite direction.  She’s still in Washington, cobbling together jobs, barely making ends meet, and trying to avoid people who knew her in the day when she too was a power to be reckoned with.

Now two events, seemingly unconnected, will bring her back to the halls of power.  Her tenant, Shelby Franklin, is late with her rent check again, and Cardiff has lost patience.  Shelby promises that this is the last time, that it won’t happen again, that she will pay Agatha in two days, but Agatha doesn’t believe her.  Sure enough, when Monday comes, the check isn’t there and, more worryingly, neither is Shelby.

Felix Gallardo is a rising star on the president’s staff.  He’s usually the first, okay, maybe the second person to know what’s going on with President Clark, but now he’s totally stupefied.  One of the Supreme Count judges is retiring due to ill health, and the president has short-listed three men to take his place.

Felix is called to Paxton’s office by his chief of staff Tina Liu and told that the congressman wants to be considered for the justice’s seat.  Felix is stunned, saying that Paxton’s not qualified for the position, but Liu ignores that.  She hands Felix an envelope, saying it’s for the president’s eyes only, and Felix leaves her office, totally off-kilter.

Matthew Fitzsimmons has skillfully woven together the stories of Agatha, Shelby, and Felix into a compelling and taut mystery.  These three characters, as well as all the others in the novel, are completely believable, and the plot is all too familiar with anyone reading the newspapers or watching television.  The Slate is a masterful novel.

You can read more about Matthew Fitzsimmons at this site.