Thursday, July 23, 2015

Spin Move by David Lender


  • ISBN-10: 1477827277  Paperback  $15.95
  • Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (January 20, 2015), 268 pages.
  • Review copy courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

The blurb:
Fugitive financier John Rudiger has lived a lush life in Antigua for eleven years, but now the local officials are demanding ever more exorbitant payouts to maintain his cover. And since his ex-girlfriend Katie Dolan swindled him out of his last $30 million, Rudiger is on thin ice. Meanwhile, Katie is holed up with her ailing father in Cape Verde, an African paradise conveniently lacking an extradition treaty with the U.S., an idea she took right out of Rudiger’s playbook. Despite the double cross, Rudiger is still hot for Katie, and he knows just where to find her when he decides it’s time to leave Antigua. But with U.S. Attorney Charlie Holden set on catching them both, they’ll have to tread carefully. To make matters worse, Katie’s been sucked in by a dashing, disreputable Swiss banker and has deposited the $30 million right into his hands. Can they get it back and make their escape before it’s too late?

Review:

Looking for a light, action filled white collar/finance thriller?  As long as you're willing to suspend disbelief for a fun read with likable characters that you can cheer for, Spin Move is a good summer read.  It's short though, so you might end up like me,  feeling like you could read another hundred pages about John Rudiger and Katie Dolan.  Instead of complaining, I'm looking forward to the next David Lender novel and hoping that it'll provide a few days of escape. 

About the Author:

David Lender is a former investment banker who spent twenty-five years on Wall Street. After earning his MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, he worked in mergers and acquisitions for Merrill Lynch, Rothschild, and Bank of America. His first three novels—Trojan HorseThe Gravy Train, and Bull Street—turned Lender into a bestselling e-book sensation. He lives in northern New Jersey with his family and a pitbull named Styles. Spin Move is his seventh novel.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Radiant Angel by Nelson DeMille


ISBN-10: 0446580856 - Hardcover $28.00
  • Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1St Edition edition (May 26, 2015), 320 pages.
  • Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley.

The blurb:
After a showdown with the notorious Yemeni terrorist known as The Panther, John Corey has left the Anti-Terrorist Task Force and returned home to New York City, taking a job with the Diplomatic Surveillance Group. Although Corey's new assignment with the DSG-surveilling Russian diplomats working at the U.N. Mission-is thought to be "a quiet end," he is more than happy to be out from under the thumb of the FBI and free from the bureaucracy of office life.

But Corey realizes something the U.S. government doesn't: The all-too-real threat of a newly resurgent Russia.

When Vasily Petrov, a colonel in the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service posing as a diplomat with the Russian U.N. Mission, mysteriously disappears from a Russian oligarch's party in Southampton, it's up to Corey to track him down. What are the Russians up to and why? Will Corey find Petrov and put a stop to whatever he has planned before it's too late? Or will Corey finally be outrun and outsmarted, with America facing the prospect of a crippling attack unlike anything it's ever seen before?

Prescient and chilling. DeMille's new novel takes us into the heart of a new Cold War with a clock-ticking plot that has Manhattan in its crosshairs.

Review:

Radiant Angel, Nelson DeMille's latest John Corey novel is shorter than the novels that came before it.  We encounter John Corey after he's working in New York keeping watch over UN Diplomats and their staff with the intent to prevent terrorism.  Corey  follows the Russian contingent, which he compares to his previous assignments following Middle Eastern diplomats.  His current charges are more fond of drinking and partying, but he's convinced that they're dangerous especially with the fiery rhetoric under Putin.   

Corey follows Petrov to the home of a Russian billionaire oil magnate to a raucous party, but he can't point to any specific thing that raises his suspicions.  There's no red flags, just that Petrov has brought someone unusual with him.  Corey convinces his colleague to go undercover - relying on his instincts - and they observe their quarry as the party goes on around them.   There are beautiful women skinny dipping, cases of vodka consumed and quiet conversations.  When Petrov and hi
s companions take off on a boat with beautiful young women, Corey is convinced that they've something beyond partying on their agenda.  Corey leverages his relationships with local police to instigate a manhunt - hoping to stop an attack on New York.  


Though Radiant Angel is shorter than the usual Nelson DeMille thriller, it delivers a complicated, engrossing and complete story.  I was thoroughly drawn in from the start.  A satisfying read!

About the Author:

Nelson DeMille is a former U.S. Army lieutenant who served in Vietnam and is the author of eighteen acclaimed novels, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers Night Fall, Plum Island, The Gate House, The Lion, and The Panther. His other New York Times bestsellers include The Charm School, Word of Honor, The Gold Coast, Spencerville, The Lion's Game, Up Country, Wild Fire, and The General's Daughter, the last of which was a major motion picture. For more information, you can visit NelsonDeMille.net.