PITFALL

The stock market crash of 1929 upends the life of Chicago’s biggest trader in wheat futures.

At 32, Frank Cork, a poor Irish/Polish kid from Chicago’s South Side, has made it to the top of the wheat futures heap, reaping a lavish home, beautiful wife, two lovable children, and a brand new, eye-catching “Hudson Super Six Cabriolet in jade and moss green.” But wheat prices have been falling for the past two days, and Frank senses trouble is brewing. On Monday, October 28, 1929, he’s driving to the Chicago Board of Trade building after a breakfast meeting during which he secures a significantly large trade investment. Suddenly, he finds himself caught in the middle of a mob hit. He escapes from the scene, but not before his flashy Hudson is noticed and Frank and the shooter make brief eye contact. And his day is about to get even worse. He learns from his best friend, Robert “Bobby” MacNamara, president of the Board of Trade, that he and his company are being accused of market manipulation by Canada’s Yuri Dyachenko, head of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. The next morning, the stock market crashes, and Frank’s fortune crashes with it. Distraught, he catches the first train out of town, not yet realizing he’s heading to Canada, where he will secretly remain for many months. Kirk’s intriguing tale of a man rediscovering himself in the wheat basket of the Canadian Prairie is part tender personal drama and part a vivid depiction of the bad days during Chicago’s history of political corruption and mob rule, when Al Capone and Bugs Moran fought for control of the illegal liquor business during Prohibition. The novel abounds with historical tidbits about cross-border bootlegging. And although the narrative is not quite a thriller, once Frank temporarily joins up with the Canadian liquor exporters, which involves contact with the mob, the pace and excitement build considerably. Kirk’s prose is crisp, plus she offers an accessible primer on the ins, outs, and perils of day trading and playing the market on agricultural futures.

A satisfying read with a complicated, engaging plotline.