The Righteous Men

by: Sam Bourne

Published by: Harper Collins

Reviewed by Bob Pike CSP, CPAE-Speakers Hall of Fame

Will Monroe is the new kid on the block at the New York Times. Born in England of an American father and English mother, educated at Oxford, and now happily married to his medical doctor wife, Beth, Will is ready to make his mark.

Then fate intervenes. A pimp in the Bronx is murdered. In covering the story Will hears a phrase that will later haunt him. The pimp, Harry Macrae, was a sinner–yet at the same time he was the most righteous man people who knew him had ever known. The story gives Will Monroe his first front page–and earns him the jealousy of more senior reporters.

Will is sent out of town on an assignment that appears to be a wild goose chase–until he digs deeper and finds that the murdered Washington State militia man was also called a righteous man by the doctor who was the only one that knew he had secretly donated a kidney.

Then Will’s wife Beth is kidnapped by people who want him to stop probing into the connections between these and other men all uniquely termed “righteous” who are being murdered all over the world. Beth will be safe, but Will must leave things alone, and not contact any authorities. Will finds himself calling on an ex-lover with a knowledge of the Hassidic community and a college friend who is a computer whiz to try to find out what’s going on–and what he can do to get his wife back.

Bourne creates a compelling story with plot twists in almost every chapter. From Will’s judge father, whom he know only from summers spent at Sag Harbor, to the new executive editor of the Times who is an evangelical Christian, to the Rabbis of Covenant Heights, the reader is treated to a cast of colorful characters who throw out red herrings left and right.

Armchair Interviews says: Only in the final few pages will the plot really be revealed and only an extremely astute reader will be remotely on the right track of “who dun it”!