PHOENIX PEOPLE

A graduate student writes her dissertation about a billionaire real estate developer imprisoned for securities fraud in this debut novel.

K.T. “Katy” Alvarez is working toward a Ph.D. in forensic psychology at the University of Washington when she hears of Mark Kauffman. In a classic rags-to-riches scenario, Kauffman went from spending his childhood in a converted chicken coop to owning a real estate empire valued in the billions. Mark is now in prison for fraud, and Katy, for her dissertation, wants to determine whether he has any mental illnesses or personality disorders that may have influenced his crimes. Mark declines the offer but later reconsiders and tells Katy the story of his life. He assures her he isn’t a criminal and his only intention was to be nice to friends and family, but Katy views him as spoiled and arrogant. As the two get better acquainted, Mark realizes that Katy has endured unbelievable hardships and her academic success did not come easily. Mark’s real estate concerns began with a $6,000 home purchased in Seattle in the 1960s and grew to astronomical heights, so much so that he was able to easily fund his son’s biotech startup. But certain financial maneuvers got the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Mark’s whole world began to unravel. Pauw’s mostly epistolary storytelling is always captivating and is peppered with enough knowledge of finance and law to give the novel a good deal of credibility. On the emotional side, Katy’s tale about life with a troubled mother adds an important layer as she seeks greater connection with her study subject. Intriguing moral questions are raised here, in large part about law and justice in the United States, though the structure of the book does cram most key issues into the third act.

A thorough, detail-heavy, and convincing story about the rise and fall of an empire.