The assassination of the Chinese premier during a state visit to Hong Kong sends the HK markets into freefall, triggering a global financial crisis. Various governments turn to their Central Bankers for a solution. The Bankers decide to use their unlimited cash resources to beat the speculators at their own game and turn global panic into profitable recovery. They need an expert to organise the rescue - and in Jonathan Maynard they have just the man. Maynard and fellow expert, Karen Lau, decide on Bermuda as the location of the global rescue fund. But when the markets turn upward, Jonathan and Karen begin to wonder whether Bermuda is an island paradise or a twelve-square-mile prison where they can't hide? Who will share in the huge gains they reap as world markets recover? Why do five Central Bankers make them an offer they can't refuse?
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'Kilduff knows his territory well, writes authoritatively about it and spins a compelling tale ...riveting stuff' Irish Times on THE DEALER. "Quite simply, a first-rate novel from a first-rate writer." -- Shots 20011108 "A heady-paced thriller" -- Shots Magazine 20011108 'Kilduff knows the world of high finance and international banking inside out and he uses this insider knowledge to deliver an effective, punchy read' Irish Independent on THE DEALER 20011108 'A slick, punchy thriller by a banking insider, full of financial know-how' Daily Mail on SQUARE MILE 20011108 'An entertaining debut with an all-too-believable ending' Sunday Telegraph on SQUARE MILE 20011108 'A rattling good yarn. An exciting and topical thriller by a banking insider who knows his stuff.' -- Yorkshire Post 20011129 'An attractively written first novel, whose strength lies in the creation of the bank's atmosphere, and the detailed analysis of financial jiggery-pokery' Evening Standard on SQUARE MILE 20011129 'A world class page-turner -- The irish Independent 20011129 'An exciting and topical thriller by a banking insider, who knows his stuff.' -- Yorkshire Post 20011129
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Paul Kilduff spent six years in the City working for a US securities house and an international banking group. He returned to live and work in Dublin in 1995.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Starts good, but then fizzles,
By
This review is from: The Frontrunner (Paragon Softcover Large Print Books) (Paperback)
The title of this book, "The Frontrunner", refers to an illegal practice that stock dealers can engage in: buying some stocks personally just before placing a large buy order for a client. I found this piece of information, and many other descriptions of things such as hedge funds and derivatives, to be fascinating. It's clear that the author really knows a lot about the global stock markets and this is a major plus for the book.
The characterizations of the two main persons are also good. You don't expect the hero in a thriller to be a single father who spends a lot of time worrying about his children, nor do you expect the heroine to be a woman who was abused by her father. I like it when the characters in books are described as real people instead of being shallow clichés. But now, unfortunately, I'm running out of positive things to say about this book. The story starts out good but there are two serious problems. First, there is no really nasty bad guy that you can hiss and boo. The world's stock markets go into a tailspin but it's more or less just by chance, not because of the manipulations of some sinister and greedy villain. So the hero and heroine have to save the world, but without the benefit of a nasty opponent. The second problem with the story is that towards the end of the book the author creates a situation that is obviously very contrived. The hero and heroine are trapped on the island of Bermuda and are being threatened by a couple of nasty and unscrupulous characters, but the way in which they get trapped and the extent of the threats (just enough to provide some tension but not enough to really create a panic) is so artificial that I practically lost all interest in the story. Another problem is that I found it unrealistic that so many of the characters in the book were corrupt and unsavory. The Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board is cheating on his wife and so stupid that he thinks you can trust blackmailers. The Governor of the Bank of England is corrupt enough to try to make a personal killing out of the international stock market rescue effort. The Governor of the Bank of Japan is engaged in expenses fraud, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority faked his college diploma, and the President of the European Central Bank is passing insider information to a lover. Maybe I'm naive, but I don't think this large a percentage of top businessmen are unethical. Then there's a technical quibble that I have regarding the way in which the hero creates an Internet web page to unmask the bad guys. It's possible, although very unlikely, that our hero could learn how to use Microsoft FrontPage by just reading the manual, and learn how to use a scanner and an FTP program through trial and error. But then we're told that this web page, which contains dozens of scanned pictures, got one million "hits" during one day! That would give a bandwidth usage of several gigabytes, which is enough to bring any ordinary web server to its knees! Finally, I found the author's writing style, with very short sentences and clever quips, to be somewhat irritating. In summary, very good information about the global stock markets, good characterizations and a fairly good story until it becomes too contrived. But by the time you reach the end of the book you feel that the problems outweigh the good points. Rennie Petersen
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