Paw Prints in the Ledger by Tara Choate

Paw Prints in the Ledger by Tara Choate
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Irene Lisner is a forensic accountant who could tell you all about fraud, corruption, and embezzlement in Oregon… if only she had the time. Between her wonderful dog, difficult family, and recent diagnosis, she barely has time to say hello to her best friend. When she is assigned a politically fraught case, Irene is sure the city’s problems go beyond staff turnover and governmental drama. The discovery of concealed expenses and forged bank statements make it apparent that this won’t be a simple fix. Confronting thieves is part of Irene’s job, but that doesn’t make it easy. She identifies the problem and faces the embezzler, but her family is not as easy to solve.

There’s nothing simple about municipal politics.

Irene was a well developed and interesting character who had a lot on her plate. I liked the fact that I was able to get to know her not only through her work but also through her close friendship with Sharon and her sometimes tense relationships with her sister and mom. These moments showed off parts of the main character’s personality that she’d never think to share at work but that were important for understanding how she faced health challenges, life with an aging pet, or people at work who weren’t always honest with her.

I struggled with the pacing of this book due to how unevenly certain clues were released and how much time Irene spent on things that weren’t panning out well for her. While I wouldn’t expect every conversation to be a fruitful one, it was challenging for me as a reader to keep my interest levels high when progress was so slow at times.

Dysfunctional relationships have many different appearances, and I liked the fact that this book explored multiple ways they can disrupt how a family, workplace, or community function. When people get used to bowing to the needs of one emotionally unhealthy person, the entire group can become unbalanced as healthier members steer clear of sensitive topics at all costs or overcompensate for someone else’s negative behavior. This added layers of meaning to all of the storylines and was a strong addition to the plot, especially once Irene realized what was going on and began trying to change the way she responded to unhealthy behaviors. Readers who have ever experienced these sorts of conflicts in real life, whether they were minor or major issues, may find plenty of food for thought here.

Paw Prints in the Ledger kept me guessing until the end.