Thomas William Simpson's The Caretaker is a fun read, that's for sure. It speaks to anyone who has ever fantasized about getting someone back for a past deed. But most of us just fantasize about it, we don't actually do it. But most of us aren't The Caretaker.

Sam and Gunn Henderson are your typical family. He's a big-time salesman, she's a stay-at-home Mom to the two kids. Life is good. But maybe it's about to get better. Because Gunn has just been offered the job of a lifetime. The job comes with huge perks, like a mansion in East Hampton, private school for the kids, and a salary that makes the Hendersons drool. But beware when something sounds "too good to be true". Because in this case, it's not true. None of it. It's all a huge scam, designed to lull Gunn Henderson into a false sense of security, only to rip it all out from under him. By the time the scam is over, Gunn will know what it's like to lose everything.

I haven't spoiled the story by any means. That's because the reader is clued in from the very beginning. We know exactly who is setting up the Hendersons, and why. In fact, the narrator talks directly to us quite a bit, making sure we understand exactly what's going on. It was a strange device, that got annoying after a while. I kept thinking that I can understand what's going on, without having Mr. Narrator stop to explain it to me. Furthermore, I think the story would have been more fun, if some surprises were left for the reader to figure out on their own, rather than having everything handed to us.

Still, it's fun to follow the story. Even though there is absolutely no mystery for us to solve. Gunn Henderson is painted as such a horrible man, so greedy and nasty, that it's easy for us to root for the scam artist. We revel in Gunn's misery as we watch a life devolve one step at a time. And the revenge plot, itself, is quite clever. This antagonist has thought of everything. With years to plot, and huge resources at his disposal, his diabolical plan involves destroying Gunn's life from every possible angle.

So what's not to like about this revenge-driven story? Well, I don't like when "innocents" get hurt. I'm all for people getting what they deserve. But not when innocent bystanders have to get hurt in the process. In this case, the revenge-taker is so devoted to destroying Gunn's happiness, he cares little who else gets hurt. Most notably, Gunn's wife Sam, who never did anything wrong (until the middle of the book or so). She certainly doesn't deserve all that happens to her. Then there's Gunn's mother, another innocent woman hurt by this process.

I also feel the characters were a little too one dimensional, making them entirely predictable. And it's their predictability that allows the plan to work as flawlessly as it did. If Gunn hadn't been so greedy, the plan never would have worked. If he'd been kinder to his wife, it never would have worked. Time and time again, the revenge plot depended on Gunn acting as predicted, and sure enough, he always did. Sam's not much better. She, too, is part of the plan, and she plays her predicted role to perfection, and feeds right into the protagonist's hands. Even their son is written the same way. He's a bratty teenager whose predicted actions further the plot along flawlessly. These one-dimensional characters make the story feel "silly", rather than "thrilling".

Still, The Caretaker is a fun way to spend an evening or two.


Also by Thomas William Simpson:
The Hancock Boys

Recommended: Yes