Morty Martinez, a likable character with somewhat questionable ethics, tells his story to Father Gomez, in a sortof confession and an explanation of the package that he is sending along. In the time-honored tradition of suspense novels, the reader has to wait until the end of the book to learn what is in the package. Meanwhile, she is vastly entertained by Morty's adventure.

Morty is what his trade calls a "feeler," someone who looks for stashes of cash left by people who didn't trust banks and hid their money in their homes. He is in the Home Content Removal business. "Old people believe a sofa is somehow more secure than Citibank. They do this because many of them remember the Great Depression, a time before ATMs and credit cards, a time when cold hard green cash was king, and so they hoard cash. Often they stored it tightly rolled in nut cans under the sofa.

And that is where Morty finds 32 "tight ones" in an apartment that he and his helpers are clearing on Vanderhoosen Drive. He has competitors in the business, at least one of who is dangerous. As it turns out, it is not just the dangerous competition who makes life and prosperity so difficult for Morty. He and we learn gradually that there was another apartment being cleared on Vanderhoosen Drive that week.

He has won the proverbial jackpot with his tight ones. He knows that it will not take long for word to get out, and he must hide his $800,000 safely. It really is "his" money because the apartment owners sign a complete release of the apartment or house contents to the clearing company, assuming that everything of value has already been removed. In this case, however, there is a family member who suspects that money was hidden there, and the chase is on.

Meanwhile, we are becoming fond of Morty who is clever and has his own sense of honor. He meets a beautiful young woman who seems to appreciate him. He is making plans to leave (quite legally) with the money and move to Mexico, perhaps with her. He has long believed that he is a descendant of the Spanish conquistadors, and has a genealogy company investigating his heritage.

Alas, someone is also investigating him. The villain of the book thinks Morty's find was his own concealed ill-gotten gains from a robbery. Wiprud likes his characters. Even the villain is not evil, just confused. Somehow the reader is not confused, just eager to see how or if it will all work out. Surprises lie in wait all along the way.

Feelers, unpredictable and witty, is available at the Mary Willis Library.