Men Lie

Geoff Cragg is a tenured instructor in the Faculty of General Studies at
the University of Calgary.

Set primarily in Vancouver, Men Lie is a mystery with many of the
desirable elements of its genre: a puzzling murder, an unlikely
investigator, and an intense, brooding atmosphere. Add several illicit
affairs and a whiff of corruption involving an old-school law firm and a
prominent member of the business elite, and it would seem that this
novel must keep its readers engrossed till the last page.

The essential plot is sound. After a roguish lawyer is shot and killed
in his West End love nest, his underage lover, daughter of one of his
firm’s major clients, is charged with murder. His good friend and
colleague is given the task of clearing her and conducting an
investigation parallel with that of the police. In the process, he
uncovers corruption, money laundering and drug smuggling, all at the
instigation of a Toronto-based Italian syndicate.

Despite its sound basis, this book suffers from a number of flaws,
mostly minor but distracting. It is often overwritten and wordy; the
author too often tells us what is happening rather than conveying it
through action or dialogue, and too often steps in to interpret
conversation rather than letting it stand alone. As a result, the style
becomes heavy and overly drawn out. More seriously, the book attempts to
do too much and thereby loses its focus. Along with the central mystery,
it also delves into the collapse of the investigating lawyer’s
troubled marriage and his gradual disillusionment with the single’s
scene; in addition, it combines elements of the legal thriller and
police procedural. Unfortunately, these multiple genres form an uneasy
alliance.

Men Lie shows obvious promise; perhaps in his next novel, the author
will more completely achieve a less complex purpose.