The Insider: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephen Frey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

New York Times bestselling author Stephen Frey writes thrillers of "ruthless financial terror" (Chicago Tribune), intricately plotted, fast-paced novels where "Grisham meets Ludlum on Wall Street" (USA Today). Now Frey has written his most exciting novel yet, taking us even deeper into the volatile world of raw ambition, million-dollar deals, and wide-eyed dreamers willing to risk everything for a profit.

Hungry to leave his dead-end banking job and to play in the big leagues, Jay West lands a coveted position with the powerful investment firm of Donovan & Lloyd, working for the influential, charismatic Oliver Mason, a deal-maker with the Midas touch, a fierce ally who handpicked Jay for the job. With the incentive of a million-dollar bonus at the end of the year, Jay strives to make his mark, unaware that he is stepping into an elaborate trap--baited with the seductive promise of power and influence.

Jay soon suspects that Oliver's stellar track record is more than a result of hard work or good luck. The man seems to have everything--not just fast cars and a luxurious home in Connecticut, but a violent temper, a strained marriage, and a boundless hunger for money and prestige. The stakes are raised when a trusted coworker is brutally murdered and the beautiful Sally Lane joins the team, a mysterious blonde with the ability to coax secrets out of others--while seductively keeping her own.

With a conspiracy of deceit and corruption beginning to close around him, Jay races to untangle the sordid lies that have quickly and too conveniently blackened his name. Trusting no one and remaining one step ahead of both the law and his unknown adversaries, Jay must rely on his own cunning and wits to stay in the game--and to stay alive.

With breakneck pacing from the opening bell, The Insider is a multilayered, action-packed thriller of wealth and the lust for it, heated passion and ruthless competition, survival and power--no matter the cost.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Jay West leaves his job at a commercial bank to take what he feels will be a more exciting and lucrative position at the investment firm of McCarthy and Lloyd. But he finds more excitement than he bargained for: shortly after arriving at the firm, a colleague disappears and is found murdered, and there are indications that some of his associates are involved in illegal trading and other serious crimes. Gradually Jay realizes that he may be facing a life-threatening situation. Easygoing and low key, he is surrounded by more intense personalities, each with his or her own motivations. He starts out with a na vet that disappears as he discovers what is really going on, demonstrating confidence and intelligence that enable him to handle whatever situations arise. The author maintains a suspenseful atmosphere throughout. Narrator Jack Garrett reads at an even pace that keeps the story moving along; his characterizations capture the individual identities of the players in this drama. Highly recommended for all fiction collections.DCatherine Swenson, Norwich Univ., Northfield, VT
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Frey has been a banker and has worked at J. P. Morgan in mergers and acquisitions. He is also the author of recent best-sellers, such as The Inner Sanctum (1997) and The Legacy (1998). Reviewers usually assign Frey's work to the "financial thriller" genre, but the intrigue he weaves here runs the gamut from romantic to political. Even though his plot employs a complicated financial scheme, Frey avoids losing his readers by using narration and dialogue that clearly explain the details. The hero is Jay West, who jumps at the chance to work for a powerful Wall Street investment firm. Little does he know that he is being set up by the man who hired him. Every piece of advice and every invitation or gift the man offers West is part of a sinister strategy to implicate West in crimes the boss has committed. Along the way a body is dumped in an alligator-infested Louisiana swamp, a corporate jet is blown up over the Atlantic, a secretary at the firm is strangled with a necktie in a hotel room, and an illegal arms deal goes down in Afghanistan. Frey's crisp style keeps you eagerly racing ahead, curious to find the connection between all these misdeeds. David Rouse --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345480368
• ISBN-13: 978-0345480361
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 3.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,009,692 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Frey is a managing director at a private equity firm. He is the bestselling author of fourteen previous novels, including The Fourth Order, The Insider, and The Takeover. He lives in Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good story, but a little 'borrowed'..., July 6, 2000

By 

Gr33n4blu3 "La leche se arde." (Virginia, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Insider (Hardcover)

Let me start off by saying that Stephen Frey is a very good writer, and THE INSIDER is a very suspensful and entertaining read. Unfortunately I have read some of Frey's other works prior to THE INSIDER (THE TAKEOVER, THE INNER SANCTUM, or THE VULTURE FUND for example.) The problem is that while Frey's books are very enjoyable to read, they do tend to follow the same format. That is, the hero is a recently hired investment wiz in a high rolling investment business and is tricked into either participating or covering up a scheme of some sort. One reviewer said that Frey's characters are all very attractive people that have similar personalities. That comment was well founded.

Now don't get me wrong, I loved THE INSIDER, Jay West was quite a character. But Frey uses the same character mold in his other books (THE TAKEOVER), and after reading some of his other books the theme gets played out. I gave it 4 stars because if it is the first Frey book you have read, then it is very good. However, if you have, like me, read his other material, then you will quickly find THE INSIDER to be a little anti-climatic.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quick read with a resourceful main character, August 9, 2000

By 

P. Connors "Colonialpara" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Insider (Hardcover)

Stephen Frey is a talented writer who provides his readers with main characters who have the uncanny ability to get themselves into trouble without even trying. In his latest outing, THE INSIDER, that poor unfortunate person is Jay West, an unlikely candidate for a seat on an arbitrage desk at a boutique investment house on Wall Street.

Jay is everything that he shouldn't be in investment banking. He is not an IVY grad and lacks a prestigious MBA. He holds an English degree from Lehigh University and comes from a working class family in the steel region of eastern Pennsylvania. Despite his apparent shortcomings, he is selected, recruited and hired for a position with McCarthy and Lloyd and his future looks bright.

Immediately immersed in the day-to-day activities of the arbitrage desk, Jay proves to be so insightful that he shortly realizes all is not as it should be. Once he catches on, he still tries to succeed because after all, he has a powerful incentive. At the end of one year, he stands to reap a cool million dollars as his bonus.

But that reality is never meant to be and Jay is set up to take a serious fall. Before the book is 2/3 of the way through, Jay is being pursued by the US Government and some really nasty characters from an extremist Irish liberation organization.

Another reviewer here at Amazon has stated that Frey borrows his newer characters from books he has previously written. I won't diagree completely. Some of them are starting to sound very much alike. But there is still enough of a difference to keep the reader wanting to know how Jay West will get out of his precarious position. That's what makes Frey's books such entertaining page turners. He doesn't use a lot of detail where it isn't necessary and he keeps the plot moving in a forward direction. This is not Tolstoy or Faulkner. What this book is is a quick, entertaining read with a likeable character who the reader comes to care for. A beach book or a book for when you're snowed in is what comes to mind.

I've read his other books, also sold here at Amazon and liked them enough to seek this one out. Give it a try, I think you'll like it.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not bad for fast food, but beware of the IBS, July 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Insider (Hardcover)

Like so many modern authors of pop literature, Stephen Frey tries to be everything to everyone. He wants to be Robert Ludlum (terrorism), John Grisham (corporate espionage) and Raymond Chandler (noir heros and heroines) and fails on all counts. He's the got the set-up down pat, but after the first 100 pages, when plot development is needed, the book falls apart, clinging to a series of ridiculously convenient and contrived scenarios. There are some potentially interesting characters here like Oliver Mason and Sally Lane, but we never learn enough about what's going on inside of them to care what happens. This is in part due to Frey's frenetic point of view jumping, placing us inside the heads of every character but never delving below what we can find on the surface. This style of voice (3rd person omnicient)can work, but here it just comes off as sloppy.

All this might be forgivable, but then Frey grinds the story to a halt in the last third of the book by explaining every bit of back story (we've already gleaned 90% at this point) through one of his main characters while he's walking through the park! How many people review events chronologically and in this much detail?

Proof yet again that yarn spinning and writing are very different crafts indeed.