Tainted Money Can Fulfill Youth’s Dream of College

The Skeleton Man by Jay Bennett (Franklin Watts: $10.95)

When Ray Bond turns 18, his uncle places $30,000 in a safe deposit box and tells Ray the money is for his college education. Then Uncle Ed swears Ray to secrecy. Nobody is to know, “Never, at any time. Nobody.” The next day Ray’s uncle is dead. Is it suicide? Or murder?

Ray discovers that the money was borrowed from a loan shark who demands it back. All sorts of other intriguing people surface, connected with the money in some way or other. One of these is the uncle’s fiancee, Alice, who reveals that Ed was a compulsive gambler like Ray’s father, and that Ed had seen everything important in his life melt away because of his obsession. “I died a long time ago,” he once told Alice. “My skeleton drags on. I’m just a bunch of rattling bones.”

Alice persuades Ray that Ed paid for the money with his life. To give it up would be disloyal to that sacrifice. Needless to say, the loan shark doesn’t see things quite this way.

Instead of the typical knee-breaker, he’s a cold, rather civilized man, and he even likes Ray a little. However, when he realizes that Ray plans to keep the money, he makes it graphically clear he means to have it back even if he has to kill Ray.

Fast-Paced Novel

Of course, this is pretty grim stuff. And well done, a taut, fast-paced novel by young adult mystery writer Jay Bennett that also looks at the damage done to a family by compulsive gambling: The father who stole to support his habit and died in prison; the mother’s bitterness and inability to communicate with her son; Ray, himself, full of unarticulated fears and guilt, focusing all his energy on his dream of becoming a lawyer.

The money will help Ray fulfill that dream. What bothers me is that Ray seems to feel that this is his only guarantee of college. Never once does he consider grants, student loans or scholarships. He does debate the morality of using Ed’s money, but only briefly. The reader may wonder as I did if he’s simply rationalizing and taking the easy way out.

While Bennett’s spare prose style is great for building and maintaining suspense, characterization sometimes suffers. Bennett’s lean writing does work, however, with the mother. Her pain and awkwardness comes through as she tries to reach out to Ray.

Other characters are not developed as successfully, particularly Ray’s girlfriend, Laurie. Even though the two have had a long-term relationship, there’s little warmth and understanding between them.

Somber Portrait

The two rarely touch and there’s no passion that I can see.

Using lots of of unattributed dialogue and short, terse description, Bennett paints a somber portrait of a young man’s restricted life in a small town. The mood is skillfully developed, as in a black and white drawing, but one begins to long for a little color, a touch of humor to contrast the grimness.

Despite these problems, Bennett weaves his story with a deft touch and a high level of suspense that will keep young adult readers turning the page.