From Publishers Weekly
Diminished by dull prose, but distinguished by colorful, well-drawn characters and an arresting, labyrinthine plot, this 10th novel by Frey (after Silent Partner) illuminates the machinations of big business and high finance. Frey introduces Christian Gillette, who will be a continuing character in this inaugural volume of a projected series. As 36-year-old Gillette walks out of a Park Avenue church after delivering the eulogy following the suspicious "accidental" drowning of the late chairman of Everest Capital, he is nearly killed when a firebomb obliterates his waiting limo. Undaunted, newly elected chairman Gillette steps into another car and carries on with his planning: he's determined to make the company's new equity fund, Everest Eight, the biggest in the history of private equity and to eliminate his competition within the firm. Corporate chicanery, boardroom sex and backstabbing abound, and conspiracies proliferate, as Gillette enters into a deal with the chief of a mega-insurance company to increase Everest Eight's capital to $15 billion in a bold attempt to surpass rival Paul Strazzi at Apex Equity and become the nation's dominant private equity firm. Sadly, a perfunctory denouement does no justice to the clever plot. Agent, Cynthia Manson. (Mar. 29)
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From
After the chairman of Everest Capital dies and private-fund manager Christian Gillette is elected successor, Gillette finds himself wielding previously unimagined power and exposed to equally unimagined danger (he barely averts being assassinated when his limo explodes). He doesn't mind wielding his might, first by firing one of the managing partners, then by snubbing a U.S. senator; however, accumulating enemies does not stop Gillette from planning the biggest venture fund in history. Frey does not characterize Gillette as a purely evil money-grubber; he is also shown to have a weakness for the downtrodden and gives generously to many needy families--even going so far as to buy them homes and establish trust funds for their children. Frey tries a bit too hard with this fast-paced financial thriller, and his plot contains a few glaringly implausible scenarios--would billionaire Gillette really frequent pool halls in seedy neighborhoods just to win $5,000? This is Frey's first series so perhaps the next Gillette venture will be a bit smoother. Mary Frances Wilkens
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