If Books Could Kill

Narragansett resident Norb Vonnegut is the cousin of legendary author Kurt Vonnegut

Some talents run in the genes. The penchant for writing runs rampant within the Vonnegut clan. Kurt’s cousin Norb Vonnegut, a Narragansett resident, recently released The Trust, a financial thriller that’s the perfect beach read. Norb compares writing novels to managing money. “When I was in the wealth management business, my team managed $2 billion for our clients,” he says. “We asked one question every day: ‘What can go wrong?’” Now, as an author of thrillers, Norb asks the same question – but rather than doing so to protect investors, he does it with the intention of creating a “roller coaster experience for readers who want to lose themselves in another world.” The Trust takes readers on a journey through Charleston, South Carolina, where a Catholic Victims’ Fund’s monies are being grossly misused for sinister purposes.

Norb knocked out most of the novel last summer, on his front porch overlooking Narragansett Bay. “I spent a great deal of time on the phone with FBI agents, private investigators with expertise in international financial crimes, a member of the government in the Turks & Caicos and at least one fellow who ran drugs for a living many, many years ago,” he says. Combined with his own financial expertise, Norb’s thorough research turned his “big idea” into a well-executed tale of a nasty villain who “hides behind the first amendment – specifically, freedom of religion.”

For anyone who’s ever contemplating penning a novel, the 306-page book took Norb one year to complete: three or four months for the rough draft and the rest spent on tweaks and re-tweaks. “Writing a novel is more of a marathon than a sprint,” he says. “I’m always editing... 306 pages equals about 10,000 words. I bet that I’ve made, on average, 10 corrections for every word.” Mathematically, then, it took 1,000,000 words to finish this book. All of his blood, sweat and tears were not in vain, as this novel is an intelligent and exciting read from one cover to the other. The book goes on sale July 17.