Filthy Lucre (novel)

Filthy Lucre was the twelfth full length novel published by Big Finish Productions as part of their Big Finish Bernice Summerfield series. It was written by James Parsons and Andrew Stirling-Brown.

Publisher's summary
Money makes the world go round, as can a few too many strong drinks. But when Benny, in a fit of sobriety, agrees to do a pre-Advent favour for Irving Braxiatel, little does she suspect that a bit of corporate schmoozing with a fast food magnate is going to lead her into the biggest spin she's experienced for a very long time.

In a whistle-stop tour of frontier planets, she encounters mysterious burials, guns and swords, legs and claws, lost treasure, mortal combat, conspiracy, stomach-churning posh nosh and a little man called Perkin.

Oh, and love and war, again.

Meanwhile, Jack has to tackle possibly the most irritating computer virus ever created, and Ruth must clamber through the bowels of a crashed ship with "the Man With The Vulpine Tattoo".

And this was supposed to be the holiday season?

Chapter titles

 * 1) Pay Day
 * 2) Pecuniary Interest
 * 3) The Best Things in Life...
 * 4) Spend, Spend, Spend
 * 5) Quantitative Easing
 * 6) Filthy Lucre
 * 7) C(r)ash
 * 8) Deposit Box
 * 9) Danger Money
 * 10) Death Duties
 * 11) Squids In
 * 12) Secret Stash
 * 13) Too Tight to Mention
 * 14) Filthy Rich
 * 15) Life Savings
 * 16) Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
 * 17) Knight's Fee
 * 18) Credit Where It's Due

Plot
On Benny's chosen day of sobriety, Ruth takes her to the White Rabbit where Irving is serving free Yarryl's Root Vegetable Chips as part of a deal with Adam Yarryl. Irving calls Benny into his office and asks her to meet with Adam, an enthusiast of archaeology who has heard of Benny and might be willing to fund her, and she agrees on the condition that she, Ruth, Jack and Peter get a holiday on Bella Sol afterwards. Peter, however, is unavailable.

Benny attends Adam's party dressed as Twiggy and meets the host, who tells her about his dig on the war-torn planet Tugara and invites her to join him there. When she does so, Dr Shima Vassari shows her the graves of nine mummified girls that they have found and Benny identifies it as a Clock of Children indicative of worshippers of Time. Privately, Vassari shares with her that she has found evidence that Adam intends on expanding his factory and knowingly wrecking an archaeological site. She wakes up next to Adam and sees on the news that Vassari's mutilated body has been found in Elanara.

As Benny, Ruth and Jack return from Bella Sol in the Irverfield, they receive a distress call from a freighter and go to help. Jack remains in the shuttle whilst Benny and Ruth investigate, but Sylana tells them that the distress call was an accident and that they do not require assistance. Sylana Shakhar reveals that she, Jardin and Wolf are pirates and have taken over a Five Systems Bank freighter carrying unlawfully-gained money. Benny uses the Irverfield's systems to reboot the freighter and they crash in a lake on Oxyrincus, which Wolf knows to be a nightmare world of hybrid creatures.

The freighter is attacked by giant squid/lobster hybrids and Jardin is killed. Whilst Jack deals with Vira, a virus that has infected the Irverfield, Benny, Ruth and Wolf decide to leave, but Sylana is unwilling to leave the treasures aboard. She shoots Wolf and is killed by one of the hybrids as the ship is flooding. Benny and Ruth get back to the Irverfield and leave with Jack, flying back to Legion.

Benny is invited to speak at a Yarryl Corporation event and exposes Adam as an art thief and smuggler. She reveals that those left in the wake of Adam's crimes have formed the group Fightback, using a sphere of evidence acquired from a princess to prove her claims. Peter defends Benny from Adam's guards with Robo-drones and escapes with her to the Irverfield.

When they get to Legion City, Benny is kidnapped by Adam, now a bankrupt fugitive, who tells her that her romantic feelings for him were due to his pheromone-enhanced aftershave and body splash. He is obsessed with history and warfare and has been deliberately causing wars around the universe, as well as making those who disappoint him fight to the death, which is what he did to Vassari. Benny is given a squire, Perkin, and made to fight a robot which she defeats by knocking its legs from under it before sending Adam flying onto its lap, leading to his death.

Benny returns to the Silo Base and updates Irving on the past thirteen days. Ruth, she learns, is still recovering from what happened on the freighter and that Peter wants to speak with Benny about a mission. She accuses of Irving of having manipulated, but he denies it and claims to have been unaware of the extent of Adam's crimes, which she comes to believe due to the honest look on Irving's face.

Characters

 * Bernice Summerfield
 * Ruth
 * Jack
 * Peter Summerfield
 * Irving Braxiatel
 * Adam Yarryl
 * Jardin
 * Sylana Shakhar
 * Wolf
 * Gerrant Arnoir
 * Shima Vassari
 * Danielle Kerenson
 * Hans Bliss
 * Marco Bliss
 * Perkin
 * EOIN

Worldbuilding

 * Sylana Shakhar's father was a pilot who spent his life on haulage lines and cheap passenger runs. Her mother was an engineer and was left with substantial debts by her business partners.
 * "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" is, Ruth believes, a traditional Earth folk song.
 * Welcome House is a café in Legion City.
 * Adam Yarryl's father was also a successful businessman.
 * Benny asks for a holiday on Bella Sol.
 * Benny mentions Henry V. Ruth has never heard of the titular character.
 * Irving buys Benny a selection of party wear from an Ikerian clothes dealer. The costumes are Queen Victoria, Mother Theresa, Margaret Thatcher and Twiggy.
 * Till Madden attends Adam's party dressed as Stephen Hawking.
 * Adam dresses as George Armstrong Custer.
 * Adam serves Yarryl's Root Spirit.
 * Benny makes a suggestive joke about Little Big Horn.
 * Benny sarcastically mentions having a degree from Heidelberg University.
 * The Kastor Vorax was a fabled union of planets who came together after a natural disaster in their system. They made the Nine Crowns of the Kastor Vorax.
 * Adam has a Playstation.
 * A cist is a simple grave.
 * The Widow Maker is a new fighter bomber.
 * Babs are posts on the Babblesphere.
 * Irving has a Mark 6 Kredysonuzzi Healing Bed.

Continuity

 * Benny mentions her recent adventure on Nemeqit. (AUDIO: A Handful of Dust)
 * Benny is still unhappy about the name of the Irverfield. (AUDIO: A Handful of Dust)
 * Ruth mentions giant lizards. (PROSE: The Weather on Versimmon)
 * Ruth and Jack know that Antonio is apparently imaginary, but have not told Benny. (AUDIO: Everybody Loves Irving)
 * Benny recognises Till Madden. (AUDIO: A Handful of Dust)
 * Toothless Bob is mentioned. He would reappear in AUDIO: The Brimstone Kid.
 * Peter has something for Benny to do. (AUDIO: HMS Surprise)