A mathematician’s murder draws Toronto PI Neil Walker into a web of Ponzi schemes, political corruption and global cybersecurity nightmares.
Walker, an ex-RCMP financial-crimes specialist, has out-fought warring bikers and put Mafia dons behind bars. Now he’s forced to work with Carole Lisgar, a high-powered political operator he once arrested for corruption. As more bodies drop and the stakes ramp up, Walker uncovers a conspiracy that stretches from Parliament Hill in Ottawa to a beach-front estate outside New York City and the back roads of earthquake-shattered Haiti.
Fans of Robert B Parker’s Spenser and Robert Crais’s Elvis Cole won’t want to miss this riveting tale of high finance, low morals and international secrets.
Plot/Idea: 9 out of 10
Originality: 9 out of 10
Prose: 8 out of 10
Character/Execution: 9 out of 10
Overall: 8.75 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot: The plot ebbs and flows with the grace of a surfer-made wave. The shocking crime that begins the narrative unfolds into the depths of corporate conspiracy, making for interesting reading.
Prose/Style: The prose varies as the author goes from boardroom plotting to vicious assassination, from a possible boring moment to literary fireworks. The prose consists of an appropriate mix of business jargon and murderous mayhem.
Originality: The financial malfeasance unveiled for the reader may not necessarily new, but the way it is presented in a nuanced way distinguishes it from other books. The surprising and exciting whodunit element is the key here to keeping readers invested.
Character Development: The characters range from noble but flawed to the hopelessly corrupt throughout the book. They are unique in their loyalty to their vices or to their causes.
Blurb: Unfolding at a fast pace, the story grips, intrigues and holds the reader throughout. Timely in its storyline, the characters are comparable to the villains and heroes of today’s crime and search for justice
Date Submitted: May 28, 2019
Reviews
Prentice’s taut debut draws the reader into the world of Ponzi schemes, money laundering, political corruption, and greed. When a killer snaps the neck of financial consultant Rachel Lisgar, who’s also a professor of advanced mathematics, on her return home to Toronto from New York City, where she uncovered some troubling information about a Manhattan-based investment firm, the client who sent her to New York, Janos Pach, hires PI Neil Walker to investigate. Neil, a former Mountie who specialized in financial crimes, is soon at odds with the victim’s powerful and wealthy family, particularly her aunt, Isabelle Lisgar, “Canada’s pre-eminent female entrepreneur” and “a fierce backroom power broker in the Conservative Party.” When an American, with whom Rachel spoke the day of her murder, is killed, the FBI and the U.K.’s National Crime Agency enter the picture, as do a Russian oligarch, a Chinese arms dealer, and a shady Spanish businessman. Prentice’s complicated but enjoyable thriller provides some insight into current real-life headlines about international criminal activity. (BookLife)
