The third book chronicling the adventures of Louise Moscow, financial justice sleuth and guru, is undoubtedly her most adventurous and intriguing. It’s 11 years after 2001 and the end of Book Two (PINOT NOIR), in which she broke her biggest case, a banker’s sex ring. Despite buying a lavender farm in Burgundy and keeping a low profile, the CIA comes recruiting through her college sweetheart Michael, who has switched teams from the FBI to the CIA. Louise Moscow agrees to go undercover in the Agency’s financial crimes division, and gets the type of training she can later use to her advantage. She is about to step outside her comfort zone yet again, into a major case that involves Russian interference, the world’s oldest bank and the romance of Siena in the Tuscany region of Italy.
Like Lorraine Evanoff’s previous two Louise Moscow novels, DEVIL’S LEDGER is a globe hopping romp, with some transitions in Moscow’s personal life. The death of Louise’s mother exposes a raw nerve in the relationship between her and her father, and this family matter is woven into the thread of the case and its implications. In the four years before the election of Donald Trump, Russian operatives are on her heels, hoping to gain intel that they can use against her, her colleagues and the world economy. The devil is in the details, as the book points out on several occasions, and the details Louise will encounter includes a historic Russian prison, the default of a major financial institution and a crew of misfits who somehow must figure out how to find a lost treasure.
Author Lorraine Evanoff knows how to balance her main character’s fascination with financial justice with a pulse pounding array of riveting escapades. While untangling a web of the world’s oldest bank’s “ledgers” on one side of the story, she can be found collaborating with one of the world’s richest men – Frederic LaFontaine – a mysterious tech billionaire who lives on his luxury yacht. His benefactor status is yet another alliance that Louise can rely on, which comes in handy when LaFontaine leads a crucial rescue mission. He is just one of the many in-depth characters that populate Louise’s world, including her ex-lover Jean Philippe, still wearing the monk’s robes from Book Two, and still complicated within his strong feelings for Louise.
The story goes into directions that are unexpected, but always satisfying and often exhilarating. The caper that concludes the book is one of those unexpected energies, as Louise and her crew find themselves in the catacombs of an ancient city, looking for a key that will unlock a city’s heart and hope. Lorraine Evanoff is the only novelist expert enough to craft such financial mysteries, and this third Louise Moscow adventure is another deep dive into the dark well of human and territorial ambition, coupled with the always difficult motives in the pursuit of high finance and its rewards … oftentimes bitter. The details are in the captivating DEVIL’S LEDGER.