In Vested Interest, author Bailey Herrington keeps pages turning with a story set in 1966 in an affluent, conservative Pittsburgh suburb.
The narrative centers on three families: Amanda and Ed Binns, whose daughter Elaine excels in intellect and sports; Bill and Maureen Sinclair, with two kids and a troubled marriage; and David and Judy Elliott, Grace Church pastor and his wife. Bill heads Elaine’s private school “for young women.” Her disappearance launches the plot and existential crises in all of these families and the small church community.
Clues, suspects, and detective work unfold in carefully calibrated beats. (Only one minor scene with a conveniently timed slip-up disappoints.) Interesting elements gird the main mystery: a Korean war vet suffering from “combat stress reaction”; a massage therapist specializing in “Aranem healing,” which allegedly can heal trauma symptoms; and mid-20th century forensic methods.
Protagonist Elliott is instantly likeable and clearly good at his ministerial job, as evident in a marriage counseling session scene and how he handles a divided congregation. (Any reader familiar with church governance will enjoy the infuriating troublemakers among congregants.)
Equally engaging is a villain who is easy to hate. His emotionally abused wife evolves as smoothly as the plot. When her injured husband refuses to go to the doctor, snapping at her, “I don’t recall you going to medical school,” she snaps right back: “I didn’t. Neither did you. But Dr. Austin did.”
On the down side, the mystery’s set-up is somewhat stereotypical, and the dialogue is stiff at times: “Vickie, I’ll never forget my amazement, and my gratitude, when you used Aranem healing to help Wilsey overcome his flashback, a terrible reminder of what he endured in Korea. Later, and entirely by coincidence, I learned that, although unthinkable, Aranem’s power to heal could, under certain conditions, be used to harm others…” These issues are easy to overlook, however, considering the novel’s many strengths.
Overall, readers will enjoy this entertaining and compelling story.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.