Customer Reviews

19 Purchase Street

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book really should be made into a movie. It's got all the elements for a good thriller flick. Glamour, suspense, intrique. I loved it. The death by bread in the shower scene alone is worth the read. Find this book and read it! It's been years since I've read it, but I have never given up looking for that house full of money on "19 Purchase Street." Kevin Spacey was born to play the lead in this story.

From the moment I first found this wonderful book on the mahogany shelves of my parents' expansive library, I was hooked. So much glamour, intrigue, passion, and an undertone of evil (a WASP mafia--who knew?), I couldn't resist. Many plot twists continue to keep the pages turning, and it has that classic timelessness the way so many 70s potboilers do. You jet across the globe (in a Concorde, now sadly defunct, of course) from NYC to Zurich to Paris to Ellis Island back to Suburban Connecticut. I haven't read any of Browne's other books, but it's always been on my to-do list. Start with this one and discover his expert crafting and addictive prose.

Gerald Browne's thrillers tend to have a definite formula: the protagonist is always a man on the up, in love with a fabulously wealthy but quirky woman and with a grudge against the baddies. And he always ends up having to pull an impossible heist against the baddies, with an ingenious plan.

If you are not looking for great intellectual moments, this book delivers. The fabulously wealthy woman is adorably quirky, the baddies are very bad, the grudge is appropriately deep and the heist is indeed impossible and therefore the ingenious plan is massively entertaining. There's plenty of vicarious "how the rich live" stuff, multiple high-action gunfights, Browne's signature cynical dry humor and even a happy ending for the hero (and his fabulously wealthy, quirky lady).

I did not receive any of my Gerald Browne order. It was many books and I am very disappointed. Amazon was unreachable and gave me no response when emailed.

This is a summer book. Every summer, I take it to the beach, get settled with a nice cool drink, listen to the waves and enjoy. This isn't great literature, nor is it pulp fiction, it's the perfect mix for a summer book: a story you can sink your teeth into; Bond-like action; and a believable conspiracy theory. I can't recommend it enough.