Vested Interest
A David Elliott Mystery
A gifted girl’s murder speaks to the changing world for women in the mid-1960s in the perceptive mystery novel Vested Interest.
In Bailey Herrington’s taut mystery novel Vested Interest, a pastor confronts the senseless murder of his young congregant, unraveling a tangled web of murder and deceit.
In 1966, David and his wife, Judy, attend to the needs of his Grace Lutheran Church. News that a local eighteen-year-old girl, Elaine, has gone missing brings life to a standstill in their Pennsylvania community. Elaine was a star pupil at a prestigious all-girls institution who borrowed her best friend’s car “to think things over”; the car is found without Elaine.
Months pass and rumors swirl, including an ugly rumor involving David. Torn between his duties as a spiritual advisor and an amateur detective, David helps the police manage the rising chaos. When Elaine’s body is found in a ravine, the autopsy has shattering effects on her parents, her friends, and Grace Lutheran. Elaine’s school, which functions under an imperious headmaster, comes under suspicion. And when another congregant is found dead, David faces his most confounding crisis yet: Some want to oust him from his pastoral role.
The mystery at the heart of the story—who killed Elaine and why—incorporates perceptive commentary on the changing world for women in the mid-1960s. The enigmatic prologue takes her point of view as a teenager selected to represent her school at a conference in New York City, and her excited, naive thoughts about her future opportunities in a realm dominated by men strike a foreboding note. The plot grapples with this period of sexual liberation through Dave and Judy’s debriefs in the comfort of their home, a refuge of tranquility and peace from the chaos swirling in their community.
David, meanwhile, presents an outward appearance of deliberate calm and objective inquiry that is not always what it seems: He suffers from perfectionism, which acts as a foil to the good work he does in comforting and counseling his congregants. His moments of self-doubt are apparent in his conversations with Judy and a pastoral mentor, grounding his characterization as he contends with his need to make everything right. Judy is his consistent counterpart as she navigates the changing times without resorting to moral judgments; she bolsters David and helps him work through the perplexities of the murders with a keen, discerning mind. The book is best read as part of its series, though, as it contains a substantial number of other returning characters whose relationships to one another are not placed in sufficient context for newcomers.
Blending cozy and sinister elements, the book calls out the spiritual struggles of Grace Lutheran in an era flush with changes that unsettle its more hidebound members. The pacing is on point throughout, and intermittent splashes of conflict elevate the psychological and social dramas. However, while the second congregant’s death is a compelling curveball, the denouement includes an implausible cause with little credible explanation.
Still, Vested Interest is an engaging historical mystery novel in which an interknit community grapples with murder and social upheaval.
Reviewed by
Peggy Kurkowski
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
