Cassie Wells is an employee of VICE, a broker that licenses people's tragedies and crimes to entertainment syndicates like Past Crimes. The most popular thing going, Past Crimes makes virtual shows that reenact crimes for people's viewing pleasure as well as virtual participation. The majority of existence having moved online, nearly all interactions in Cassie's 2037 USA take place through avatars (called wraps), including meetings with clients/victims to get them to sign over the rights. One day, after asking people to choose between the moral dignity of their tragedies vs. financial compensation for their tragedies' exploitation, disaster occurs to Cassie. Spinning her life in an unexpected direction, she is forced to confront the real world impact of Past Crimes on society.
Past Crimes is a textbook thriller. Not entirely a bad thing, Pinter keeps pace moving extremely well. He provides just enough characterization and emotion to engage a reader. The story plays off real world concerns through pop culture references and a finger on the pulse of the vectors of technology. And the mystery Cassie becomes embroiled in, despite its foregone conclusion for anyone who has read such a book, is strung along nicely. If there is a class out there How To Write Bestselling Thrillers, Pinter attended, took notes, and executed to good effect. The novel is sunnily beach-readable despite its murderous facade.
But like all such material, the reader is advised not to peek beneath the covers. Do that and it becomes readily apparent just how fast and loose Pinter is playing with his characters and plot devices, which in turn cheapens the real world concerns (perhaps even drawing them away from where they should be?). The bad guy is as predictable as the tides, which stretches disbelief a la any recent Tom Cruise movie. There is a large amount of authorial hand waving to pass off some situations and transition certain scenes. And there are cheesy lines. To be fair, Past Crimes does not have a plethora of maudlin dialogue, but certainly it pops up here and there, and the ending, it perhaps goes without saying, is so saccharine as to need a toothbrush (aka the beauty queen smile).
In the end, Past Crimes is an entertaining read—which is what it clearly set out to be. Mission success, from that regard. The story has great pace and rhythm. It's titillating and sensational. And it plays off people's interest in true crime. But like most bestseller facades, it's easy to poke holes for anyone interested in doing so. It's a paper tiger. Begging to be a Hollywood blockbuster, I kept picturing the story on screen, wondering who the lead actress would be. If you're looking for an easy, escapist, page turning thriller in a near-future world playing off the potential application of virtual reality software, this is it.
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