The Audit.

The Audit By Edward J. McMillan 384 pages; paperback; $15.95 Harwood Publishing, Churchton, Maryland

Fraud in the world of not-for-profit organizations is not new, and every once in a while, a news story surfaces about illegal activities in or by an NPO. In his first novel, the author brings his expertise in the field of NPOs to a suspenseful plot with plenty of twists and turns. All the right ingredients of a good mystery are here--heroes, villains, a psychopathic killer, a transatlantic chase, electronic fraud, romance, international price-fixing and embezzlement.

Patrick McQuire, the hero of the story, returns to his Baltimore home after serving in the U.S. Marines. He has a strong desire to complete college, get an accounting degree and become a CPA. He gets a job at a firm where his best friend--a CPA whose father is one of the senior partners--works. The firm specializes in auditing NPOs. Once in the organization, McQuire in quick order finishes college, passes the CPA exam, is put on a fast track at work and discovers a fraud on one of his first assignments. (At this point, if you've ever read John Grisham's The Firm, you may be wondering what Pat is being set up for ... but read on.)

McQuire is on the audit team of the National Tobacco Federation (NTF), the firm's biggest client where all is not well. Its leaders are running a massive price-fixing scheme and channeling large sums of money illegally, unbeknownst to the auditors. Someone balancing the books is helping them. Jim Hampton, the president of NTE quickly sizes up McQuire as a threat because of his no-nonsense military bearing and his auditing skills. Hampton's thug soon tries to violently warn off McQuire.

Meanwhile, Hampton decides it's time to get out of the business with a multimillion dollar "bonus." He tells his accomplices of his plan and threatens to expose them if they try to stop him. Using fraudulent papers, he sets up an elaborate disappearing scenario and goes on the run with his wife. But when one of the CPA firm's partners is murdered, his scorned lover Rita Davies--the assistant to the NFT president--worries about her safety and asks for help. McQuire takes charge, and they create a plan to get incriminating tapes of the price-fixing meetings and retrieve the bonus. The transatlantic chase, mayhem, electronic fraud and romance between McQuire and Davies add up to exciting reading. The plot resolutions are clever and will keep you guessing--probably incorrectly--which, in a mystery, is a good thing.

STANLEY PERSON, CPA, of New York-based Person and Co. believes in reading for education and relaxation. His e-mail address is [e-mail].