Crime of Privilege

George Becket grew up knowing the life of the affluent and powerful, but never fully living it. He had friends in high places, and had the connections to get where he needed to go, but it also meant sharing in their secrets – something he didn’t realize would be such a heavy burden. In Crime of Privilege, Walter Walker powerfully portrays the world of the elite as seen through the eyes of an outsider – someone who has not been rejected by the powerful, but has been used as a pawn. In college, George witnessed some members of the Gregory family, a rich, powerful, political family, sexually assault a girl. He isn’t sure if it is rape, but he stops things before it becomes one. Even after the young woman’s father sends a messenger indicating that the truth must be told, George refuses to act and answers the investigator’s questions in a very perfunctory manner. Years after the fact, he has held their secret, refusing to blame anyone and questioning his loyalty. He has earned a position on the staff of the Cape Cod District Attorney, prosecuting drunk-driving charges and the like. George doesn’t exactly like his job or the fact that he is a recent divorcee, but he doesn’t question them until an older man approaches him and says that he believes the Gregory’s killed his daughter Heidi. Despite his best interests (and much resistance from his supervisor), George begins to investigate Heidi’s murder and finds layers of secrecy and unexpected uses of Gregory power. His quest for truth takes him from Idaho to Hawaii to San Francisco and beyond – all in an attempt to do what he realizes he should have done a long time ago. Walker’s writing is crisp and engaging making this story a suspenseful mystery for its duration. Crime of Privilege is a thrilling story marked with a very human narrator who realizes his flaws, admits his mistakes, yet yearns for the truth and justice. There are many unexpected twists and turns making this the ultimate beach read!