By William S. Allen
Special to THE DAILY

In “Bad Monkeys,” author Matt Ruff has crafted a book that does not so much cross the lines of genre as ignore them. Is the book science fiction or psychosocial drama? Not until the very end does the true genre reveal itself. Ruff is a master of misdirection and plot twist. Trying to outguess him kept me turning the pages and staying up later than I had intended to.

Jane Charlotte has been charged with murdering a man in Las Vegas. She admits to the crime, but when she begins claiming membership in a secret society called the Organization, dedicated to fighting evil, she is transferred to the Clark County Detention Center’s psychiatric wing for an extended series of evaluation interviews by a Dr. Vale. Alternating with each short interview chapter is a longer chapter in which Jane recounts her life story.

Jane’s alleged first encounter with the Organization occurs in her teens. She suspects that the school janitor is a serial killer and child molester called the Angel of Death and decides to trail him. The janitor traps Jane and is about to kill her. The Organization steps in and, with their help, Jane eliminates the janitor. Or does she?

After 20 mostly misspent years in San Francisco, Jane is recruited as an agent by the Organization due to the spirit that she showed in dealing with the janitor. The Organization has kept her under observation and feels that she could be useful to them.

As the story progresses, it becomes evident that the Organization is vast in scope. So much so that by the end of the book, it appears that almost everyone is either a member of the Organization or its archenemy, the Troop, an equally vast organization dedicated to doing evil.

The Troop’s emblem is a mandrill, and they are nicknamed Bad Monkeys. That also happens to be the nickname of Jane’s branch of the Organization, the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons. Final disposition means exactly what you think it does.

Jane, under the guidance of mentors, is given several assignments, most of which she manages to bungle in some way. Bodies pile up, but the deaths are usually judged by the authorities to be by natural causes. This is because the gun used does not fire bullets. Instead, it shoots out a beam that causes either heart attacks or fatal strokes.

No persons, places or events are what they seem to be in this book. For instance, Jane’s younger brother, Phil, unexpectedly visits her several times through the years. No, wait — Phil was abducted and murdered as a child. No, Phil is alive and is an agent of the Troop. Or is it the Organization?

Elaborate sets, called Ant Farms, are constructed for use in carrying out assignments. Neither the majority of the characters nor the reader is ever sure what is a real place and what is a stage set.

Major events that the reader “witnesses” turn out to be nonexistent in official records.

The subject matter of “Bad Monkeys” can be grim, but the style never is. Try this book; it’s fun to read. But don’t expect to be able to predict the ending.

Email This Page