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Hastened to the Grave by Jack Olsen

© Catten Ely

Jack Olsen has written 31 books, including The Bridge at Chappaquiddick, "I"-The Creation of a Serial Killer, and Son: A Psychopath and his Victims.

In this book, Hastened to the Grave: The Gypsy Murder Investigation, Olsen tells the story of Fay Faron, AKA Rat Dog Dick (yes, really), a private eye who tracks down the incredible and alarming trail of Gypsies who exploit lonely elderly people.

The book reads like a fiction novel, and I can't tell if it's Olsen's style of writing or just the absolutely amazing story he narrates. In any case, it was a great read and it brought to light a crime that isn't often addressed, that of elder abuse.

In this case, a family of Gypsy con artists befriend old people and then bilk them out of their life savings and homes. To add insult to injury, in some cases the people were slowly poisoned, to ... well, hasten them to the grave.

Olsen switches often from straight third-person narration to third-person omniscient, getting into Faron's head and tossing in an odd comment here or there. In fact, it's hard to separate what Faron's thoughts are from the author's opinions, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The story flows smoothly and builds a steady sense of outrage in the reader as the chapters progress. The one thing I found a little annoying-and it could be just me, I admit-was the cutesy names of Faron's computer (Evil Evie the Everex), and her car (The Frog Prince). The dog, Beans, was marginally okay, but the frequent references to him as her partner was a little much. I think it drew too much attention away from the seriousness of the crime.

Okay, so what about the story? In a nutshell, Faron, a San Francisco skiptracer, stumbles on a scam in which elderly singles are befriended and then convinced to sign over their property and/or bank accounts to their new "friends." The police drag their feet and Faron continues uncovering instances of the same group, the Tene Bimbos (a Gypsy clan, and that's pronounced "teeny"), moving from one mark to the next. Her frustration mounts as more evidence builds and the police remain uninterested and unhelpful. Want more? Read the book!

I thank the publisher for not promising "8 pages of shocking photos!" The spread features a few pictures of the Gypsy players and their targets, three photos of Fay Faron, and one of Beans, who, the caption notes, is a private investigator. (I love my dog, too, but come on...)