Benny’s daughter, Andrea, a recent journalism graduate of the University of Pennsylvania is experiencing the frustration of many recent college graduates. She can’t seem to find a job in her chosen field. Against her better judgment, she agrees to let her father assist her in her search. Through his contacts she lands a position with the Philadelphia Press, resurrecting the column Mr. Action, a political, economic Ann Landers.

Andy is befriended by Shep Ladderback, a veteran writer and friend of her father’s, who has for years had the dubious honor of composing obituaries for the paper. Ladderback is completely speechless when the news comes in that Benny Cosicki has been found dead, in the ruins of the burned out building that was once a neighborhood bar that he had frequented.

Andy is convinced her father has been murdered, and is determined to prove it. She is certain he had no reason to visit the site, and he had a date to have lunch with her at the time he died. He knew the remaining structural elements were unsound, and would never have voluntarily walked on the remnants of the second story floor through which he fell to his death. To determine the circumstances that led to her father’s death will, without doubt, tax her investigative skills, but she cannot rest until she knows the truth.

It is difficult to believe that this novel is the product of the imagination of a successful journalist. Journalists are supposed to write in a clear, straightforward manner, presenting the facts with a minimum of superfluous information. Street Money commences with the statement that Benny Cosicki is dead. It then backs up and provides a brief history of Benny’s life and the type of character that he was. Along the way, other characters are introduced who provide commentaries on their own views of life, not necessarily related to their association with Benny.

There is a multitude of extraneous information presented that has absolutely no bearing on the death of Benny Cosicki or his daughter. It takes a least fifty pages to establish the significant elements of the plot, which tried my patience sorely. Not only was the excess verbiage irrelevant to the story, it was series of a succession of thoughts that led nowhere.

The characters, with the notable exception of Shep Ladderback are stereotypical and one-dimensional. The blurb on the dust jacket suggests that the reader will be sympathetic to Andy’s plight, but I couldn’t work up much feeling toward the lass at all. Benny, though admittedly a fellow that saw good in everyone, doesn’t do or say anything to make him believable. On the other hand, Mr. Ladderback, a man that has a job not many people would want to do or could do, gives some insight into what is necessary to accomplish his tasks. He perceives, correctly I think, that his job is to minister to the people close to the deceased, rather along the lines of a funeral director. He can’t do anything for the dead, which is all right because they don’t care. He can, however, elevate how those still alive view the deceased - by tactfully listing their virtues and accomplishments.

When the author finally assembles enough relevant information to establish the semblance of a plot, the action moves along at a fair pace. There are no real surprises or revelations to be found. A vague sense of how the shadier elements of society act, talk, and speak create a bit of atmosphere to accompany an otherwise bland story, and the uninformed reader will learn the meaning of the term, “Street Money,” but there is little in the novel that sets it apart from others or will leave the reader with much to think about when he has reached the final page.

--Andy Plonka