Poor Mrs. Rigsby

June 1, 2004
Herman's " Poor Mrs. Rigsby " asks whether it can ever be right to steal. When her husband, Sam, leaves her for another woman, Sally Cox is left almost penniless, so she takes some training and becomes a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) at a rest home. One of her patients is Elsie Rigsby, who squirreled away a quarter million through the years. Her son and grandson try to wrest it from her, but Elsie pretends to be demented, and in any case, if the money were found, it would belong to Medicaid and the IRS. When Sally learns Elsie's secret, she doesn't know what to do. Then Elsie dies, and another CNA convinces Sally to join with her to dig up the money. A first-rate mystery follows, replete with petty criminals, a trail of bodies, and some telling observations about being poor in America. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)