The book
"Banking on Trouble" by Kathi Reed (Create Space, 230 pages, $9.99)
HOW TO GO
What: a book signing for “Banking on Trouble” with the author Kathi Reed.
When: Friday, Nov. 20, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Where: The Epic Book Shop, 229 Xenia Ave., Yellow Springs
Information: (937)767-2091
Kathi Reed is an avid reader of mysteries and crime novels. She kept thinking, hey, I should write a crime novel. Reed recently realized her long held yearning as she published her first book “Banking on Trouble.”
Reed resides in the village of Maineville in Warren County. Her debut novel is set mostly in Cincinnati. The protagonist of “Banking on Trouble” is Annie Fillmore. Annie works for the mortgage loan department of a large bank. She’s also an amateur sleuth.
Before Annie got into this banking business she was running a video store when some murders occurred in the vicinity. These crimes provided opportunities for her to become involved in attempting to solve them. Apparently Annie has a special knack for being nearby when these kinds of bad things take place.
“Banking on Trouble” opens in classic crime fiction style as a man has been found dead inside the bank. This wasn’t just any bank employee. The dead man was the top bank executive and he was murdered.
Since Annie works there and this crime has practically landed in her lap she begins her own stealthy investigation. The police are aware of Annie’s talent for turning up in close proximity to murder victims. They advise her to leave the investigating to the professionals.
But Annie will have none of that. This case is simply too bizarre and too mysterious for her to keep from snooping around. The list of potential suspects might be lengthy, the victim was not widely admired. Some members of his staff had been feuding with him.
Along with the murder there’s another mysterious thing that has happened; a bank employee, a custodian who was working the night shift when the murder took place has vanished into thin air. He hasn’t been seen by anybody since that evening.
As Annie begins to dig for clues she realizes that these cases, the murder, and this missing person, must be linked in some way, but how, she wonders? Reed intersperses Annie’s sleuthing with snapshots of Annie working the phones at the bank. Annie takes calls from customers who are looking to refinance their mortgages and there’s constant pressure for her to reach her monthly quotas for loans.
The author has experience in the mortgage banking industry. Employees working in phone banks can encounter some difficult customers. They might then click the mute buttons on their phones to make humorous comments about their customers for the entertainment of their co-workers. Customers who are ranting are not even aware that the loan officer is secretly mocking them.
This workplace behavior has inspired Reed to craft a unique literary device. Whenever Annie has the urge to make a snappy or indiscreet response to someone she hits her interior mute button and readers can then enjoy some witty asides and wise cracks.
While “Banking on Trouble” does contain some romantic interludes it is not a romance. Annie’s sleuthing takes precedence over love. Reed is working on the next book in a planned series featuring her feisty creation Annie Fillmore.
About the Author