The Great Mr. Lloyd

In this debut legal thriller, a young employee's questioning of data results in grave consequences for many involved in a Boston startup. Arthur Lloyd brings his grandson Spencer into Celldesign for "an opportunity to change the world." The startup company, which Arthur co-founded with Mary Knightbridge, is developing a "patch," akin to a vaccination, to fortify immunity in citizens of countries without ready access to purified water. Spencer, who recently graduated from Tufts University, has the job of collecting data on the ongoing patch trials. But when he spots what seems to be faulty data, he sends an email to Mary, who forwards the message to CFO Olga Numerovski, who is also her friend. Olga's heated response scares Spencer into going home for the day, but not before he prints the data, considering it potential "evidence." Yet the real bombshell is his decision to pass that information to an ambitious local reporter. As it's fairly obvious who the resultant article's anonymous source is, Celldesign hires Charlie Apple, a lawyer, to sue Spencer. Now Arthur is torn between siding with the company he believes in and his family. Apple publicly declares Spencer a thief since the data is proprietary information, and he demands Spencer renounce his email. Arthur initially agrees with Apple, but it isn't long before everyone returns to Spencer's original claim. A Celldesign employee's subsequent disappearance only exacerbates the situation, as implications of illicit activities threaten the company, which had been preparing to go public, and the lives of those associated with it.Freeman's novel convincingly reveals how easily companies' and individuals' reputations can crumble. Spencer sends an email to Mary that he hopes will be innocuous. But his simple message ("I think the data I am working on isn't being reported quite accurately") has ramifications that few would have anticipated. While the narrative is leisurely paced, the continual fallout, like unexpected and rather disturbing deceptions, gradually builds tension. Bolstering the tale is a handful of shocking turns, from some fatalities to a gold mine of incriminating evidence Arthur discovers, pointing to misdeeds that aren't necessarily Celldesign-centric. While the story's female characters are indelible, some of them are decidedly unsympathetic. Olga, for example, is unlikable from the start. But even Arthur's wife (and Spencer's stepgrandmother), Dorothy, is cold and seemingly indifferent to the troubles at her husband's company. At the same time, both Arthur and Spencer have their share of flaws. Arthur isn't always law-abiding (including something he did prior to this book's events) while Spencer may have to acknowledge he did indeed steal Celldesign property. These shady characters make for an often gloomy story, which carries over to an unforgettable wrap-up. Fortunately, the author offers glimpses of hope, namely a subplot involving Spencer and his romantic interest, Pamela, a waitress. Though he's concerned that he's more committed to the relationship than she is, it's a relatively light dilemma compared to everything else that's happening, injecting notes of tenderness throughout. A suspenseful, meticulously drawn tale of white-collar transgressions and deceit.

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