Book Review: Wet Work, by Christopher Buckley (1991)

 

The paperback cover of Wet Work, by Christopher Buckley, 1991.

Christopher Buckley’s third book was the 1991 novel Wet Work. Buckley’s first book was the 1982 non-fiction book Steaming to Bamboola, the chronicle of an Atlantic crossing by a cargo ship, and his second was the 1986 political satire The White House Mess, so it was anyone’s guess what form and subject matter a third Buckley book would cover. I’m not sure that anyone could have predicted Wet Work, the tale of a septuagenarian billionaire who takes murderous revenge on drug dealers after his granddaughter fatally overdoses.

Wet Work is an odd mixture, as it combines dark humor with the relentless action of a thriller. Unfortunately, I didn’t find it funny enough or thrilling enough to be an effective combination.

The main character of the novel is Charley Becker, a billionaire who suddenly turns into a vigilante. (Had there been a movie of Wet Work, Charles Bronson could have played this role.) Part of my problem with Wet Work was the premise. I felt empathy for Charley’s grief over losing his granddaughter, but I wasn’t fully on board with his plan for murderous revenge. It’s a bit difficult to relate to a billionaire who is bent on homicidal revenge at all costs. I wasn’t really rooting for anyone in the novel—the most sympathetic character was probably Frank Diatri, an FBI agent who is trying to unravel the mystery of who’s been killing all these drug dealers.

There are portions of Wet Work that are great fun, as when the climactic chase scene cleverly keeps switching points of view between the drug lord and Charley. There’s also a dollop of art history that adds a tasty flavor to the novel. Buckley aficionados should take special note when one of the characters says, “Industry is the enemy of melancholy.” Charley asks, “Is that Shakespeare?” Nope, it’s one of the favorite sayings of William F. Buckley.

Christopher Buckley had a difficult time writing Wet Work. In an email to me, he wrote “I worked harder on that damn book than on any other. 33 months, total.” Wet Work received some positive reviews upon its release, and one fan of the book was Buckley’s good friend Christopher Hitchens. Wet Work is a quirky book, and certainly an outlier in Buckley’s bibliography, but it’s not without its merits.