Dogboy v Catfish by Luke Gracias

Dogboy v Catfish by Luke Gracias
UK Publication: May 2023
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★]

This ARC was provided by Luke Gracias (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

The knives are out…but who for?

Synopsis from Goodreads: On the day of her second wedding, Katherine Fisher, aka ‘Catfish,’ set the date for her divorce. In precisely 18 months, she would be entitled to half of their combined assets and receive maintenance payments until her five-year-old daughter, Emma, turns 18. Just as Catfish was about to take her husband, Lindsay ‘Dogboy’ Kramer (a successful businessman and dog whisperer) to the cleaners, he goes missing.

The police investigation into Dogboy’s disappearance leads them into the dark world of counterfeit designer goods, money laundering, and drug smuggling.

With Dogboy’s assets frozen and the mob protecting their interests, the missing persons case escalates to homicide. Catfish is in a race against time to get hold of Dogboy’s assets before the police get hold of her.

One question remains – is Dogboy dead or alive?

My Thoughts: This is a new kind of story for Luke Gracias his previous books were centred around saving humanity for unholy influences but this one is set firmly (almost) in the real world and reads like a psychological thriller, although it does have various asides that slow that pacing when the author gets into the details of various scams.

The central narrative gold digging wife, millionaire husband who vanishes just as he stands to lose everything is great, as is the slow reveal of what Dogboy knows and how he sets about protecting himself. The criminal enterprise side got very confusing and I am still not entirely sure who was doing what and why but that might just be me.

At its heart this book contains a scathing look at the Australia justice system when it comes to divorce and child support as well as how this could be a contributing factor to male suicide.

I enjoyed the ending to the book and the big reveal about why Dogboy ever married Catfish in the first place.

Who would like this? This is an interesting look various criminal activities including money laundering and fake goods if you are interested in how these schemes work this book is very detailed. If you are also interested in good vs bad then the plotting between Dogboy and Catfish will satisfy that need.

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