Customer Reviews

Reckless: A Novel

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have read all of Andrew Gross's books and I find it hard to say which is the best. I realize writers are supposed to give us better writing as time goes on but Andrew Gross has consistently given us great books since his first book. "Reckless" features Ty Hauck as he changes his vocation to a financial firm having decided he wanted to try something other than police work. Reckless is also very much up-to-date regarding the world financial situation with many banks and large financial institutions having loads of troubles causing some to close their doors and others to absorb huge losses. Were these loses caused strictly by the economy or were they "helped" by some rigging of stocks and other assets?

When several break-ins occurred with murders in each one, some became suspicious that the break-ins were not really that but were deliberately acted out to get rid of the financial people in those houses. The police were accepting the killings as normal high-class neighborhood robberies with things gone bad causing the killings. One of those killed had been a very close friend of Ty Hauck's several years ago and he started questioning the killings as he wondered why was this woman killed?

Merrill Simons was a well-known socialite who had just gotten a divorce from Peter Simons who was Chairman of Reynolds Reid, one of the largest Wall Street financial corporations. Merrill is now in love with Dani Thibault, who was a well-known financial player in many areas of the world. Merrill met Dani and was charmed by him so much that she fell hook, line, and sinker for him. But after being with him for some time she became suspicious of this "perfect" man. She went to the Talon Group, Haucks's employer, and asked if they could help her obtain information about Dani, thus bringing Ty Hauck into the case. Ty had spent many years on police forces from bottom to top and he missed police work but he also enjoyed his position with Talon. When he was called into a meeting and introduced to Merrill, he was requested to help her out in finding information about Dani so she could put her fears behind.

What comes next takes Hauck around the world to check all the information about Dani's past employment, bogus names, crooked deals, and much more. This information opens a broad investigation not only about Dani but also his past cohorts and present contacts. "Reckless" delves into the world finances and those that control them. While some of us might think some of these manipulations exist in our present world, after reading Reckless your eyes and mind will be opened quite a bit as to the many questionable things we hear about in our news today. A terrific fast moving story. Andrew, you have done it again with a terrific suspense story.

After writing five books together with James Patterson, Gross surpasses his former partner/mentor with Reckless, his fourth solo book. Its plot, which will have the pages flying through your fingers, effectively combines murder, suspense and romance as Ty Hauck (an ex-police lieutenant and now an exec with a worldwide security company) uncovers a global conspiracy targeted at the U.S.'s and the world's financial markets. In Reckless, no one is safe -- not the financial executives who wheel and deal in the boardroom, not their families who seem to know nothing, not the innocent bystanders who by accident might know too much, and certainly not the authorities who are paid to protect them. While Reckless is a heavily plot-driven book, Gross does a commendable job in developing interesting main male and female characters (i.e. Hauck and Treasury agent, Naomi Blum). However, some of the book's more secondary characters are thinly developed and, as such, come across as not much more than serviceable. Reckless is a book I think you'll enjoy a lot when you're in the mood to read a fast-paced, suspenseful, plot-driven book with a good amount of twists and turns. Keep in mind, that the reader will likely be able to figure out some of the intended surprises before they actually occur, but I don't think this will detract much from your enjoyment.

Reckless By Andrew Grossman
A Review by [...] Reviewer Jenna Arthur

Money is the cornerstone of our culture as Americans, and at the wheel of this economic machine is Wall Street. In his new novel, "Reckless", Andrew Grossman compiles a compelling story of lies, terrorism, betrayal, and tells the story of Hauck an ex-detective gone private security guru, in his journey to find the truth in two unsolved Wall Street deaths.
Hauck catches a whiff of murder in the air, picking up where he leaves off with his detective skills, using his old connections to catch facts on the headline murder case, only to discover that among the murder victims, is an old friend April, and her Wall street husband and their teenage daughter. Meanwhile, he is commissioned through is security firm to investigate the boyfriend of a high powered socialite, who is not who he appears to be. Traveling cross country and investigating internationally, Hauck along with Naomi, an investigator for the Treasury Department, delve deeper into this mysterious chain of events. The reader is immersed throughout the story in connections between murders and this mysterious man Hauck is investigating that leads to a plot that will shake both economic and political ground.
Mr. Gross does a splendid job presenting some complex facts, as well as, an easy flowing plot, which allows the reader to have the desire to continue. Starting with a bang, the story does not disappoint however, with its twists and turns, and several uphill battles, it never fully leaves the reader with the plot climax that they crave. But do not be deterred, I would recommend this compelling novel to anyone craving a story of suspense and conspiracy.

Ty Hauck, newly retired and working in the private sector (for a company named Talon), finds himself in the middle of a very complicated and messy conspiracy. While looking into the background of a client's boyfriend, Hauck finds that all isn't what he seems and may be involved in his good friend (April's) death. Following the clues, Hauck eventually crosses paths with Treasury Agent Naomi Blum who has linked April's murder with others and believes she has stumbled onto a complicated plot to devastate America's financial system. As the team sets out to unravel the conspiracy (to ruin the financial market), they realize that all is not what it seems and is more deadly than what they initially thought. Over zealous investors, corrupt officials, defunct banks, ex-military assassins, and other actors are in a conspiracy that neither, Hauck or Blum anticipated.

I enjoyed this riveting tale of corruption that reached the upper levels of government, but hate that the love that Hauck thought he found didn't last. However, for those who love Hauck, rest assured I see tons of possibilities in his future. Written in an easy to read style (short chapters), Gross' latest book "Reckless" was a joy to read. Quick paces, suspenseful and filled with thrills and chills, "Reckless" rocked and I can't wait to read the next Gross novel.

See Book summaries above.
As a whole I found the novel to be satisfying. Most of the characters
seemed real and down to earth. As another reviewer may have mentioned,
the two main characters were in way over their heads with what help they
didn't have, but still were able to get things done, thus reducing the plausibility
factor somewhat. The story itself moved at a fast pace and the whole idea behind a finacial disaster instigated by the powerful had some merit to it.
Andrew Gross is becoming a writer that will soon be known to all
thriller readers.

Admittedly, I am a huge Andrew Gross fan. But, fan or not, this is another great read. Like Gross' other works, first and foremost, it's a page turner from beginning to end. Personally, that is the single most important quality for me. When I start a book, I want to NOT want to put it down....to look forward to when I will next pick it up,
and to NOT want the book to end. Reckless accomplishes all that.
I won't review the plot, others have done that. Suffice it to say, it is totally believable (a must requirement for me) with an ending that does not disappoint. Most importantly, like Gross' other books, the book is far more than just a beach novel. It's extremely well written and thought provoking. This is a timely work with a plot that could actually occur...a very scary thought.
What more could a reader of this type of genre ask for? Gross gets better and better. I can't wait for the next one.

Co-author of five bestsellers with James Patterson, Andrew Gross's RECKLESS is his fourth solo novel and the third book featuring former Connecticut cop and now private investigator Ty Hauck. Hauck returns for another thrilling adventure after the harrowing events in DON'T LOOK TWICE. Gross writes seemingly formulaic situations, in which Hauck investigates what appears to be only coincidental murders that he later discovers are related to him.

The initially thin plot tells of villainous Mideast hooligans and never-heard-of financier Dieter ("Dani") Thibault, whom Hauck discovers has "a shadowy past that surely covered up something that the man had gone to great lengths to conceal." He and Treasury Department agent Naomi Blum are going rogue when they track Thibault to Serbia. Jet-setting to London, Hauck unwittingly street surfs on Piccadilly --- without a beneficial surfboard. Holding on to an SUV's luggage rack, "His feet dangled against the pavement as he was dragged along."

Unfortunately, readers have no opportunity to learn about the psychological motivation of characters other than that of Hauck and Blum. "Something he hadn't felt in months" keeps readers wondering if a romantic interest will develop. "As a rule, Hauck trusted government agents about as much as car salesmen." And his relationship with Annie Fletcher is tested when she questions Hauck's devotion to the woman with him in a photograph secreted in his bedroom.

There's a bit of a Bernie Madoff thing going on when Hauck and Blum discover that Wall Street rogue trader Marc Glassman has "been shifting funds between accounts, all over the globe." Eleven billion dollars have gone missing now, in this topical tale of "too big to fail" Wall Street firms, with a seismic event that makes Madoff's Ponzi pyramid look like an anthill. "First it was the subprime debacle. Then it was Fannie and Freddie teetering, AIG coughing up blood."

Gross throws in a cherry-hued herring by orchestrating coincidental burglaries in the affluent neighborhoods of Greenwich, Connecticut. Hauck takes a personal interest when three members of the Glassman family are brutally murdered in what appears to be one of those burglaries gone bad. Then the seemingly unrelated "suicide" of Wall Street mortgage bond trader James Donovan is linked to Hauck with an improbable bit of circumstantial evidence. Resourceful Hauck makes good use of ice skates after curious events make him aware that he's been put in harm's way. Diabolical forces try to get to Hauck by hurting those close to him.

The crime-fighting duo of Hauck and Blum topples upper-echelon members of a truly vile organization in this frighteningly realistic thriller. All the president's men fall from Humpty Dumpty's wall, as they piece together fragmented facts that lead to a "politically charged" conclusion about investments made with abandon that appropriately defines the word "reckless."

This book is so current and plausible it's hard to tell where the news headlines leave off and the fiction begins. Why should terrorists bother with little bombs when they can bring down entire countries by attacking their economy? If huge financial institutions can profit during financial downturns, why not go ahead and orchestrate one? We'd better hope Wall Street and Al Qaida aren't reading this book---or did they already get the idea 2 years ago?
I liked the characters, the pace and the plot. It's a little predictable once it gets going but still thoroughly enjoyable.

This is a fast-paced thriller that gets more and more exciting the further you get into it. The protagonist, Ty Hauck, is a middle-aged guy who has recently left his long and successful police career to take a tony job for a prestigious security company in Greenwich, Connecticut. The wealthy locale and clients afford him an opportunity to investigate the background of a society divorcee's boyfriend. At the same time, a couple high-profile Wall Street brokers - and in one case, a family - are dying. Hauck's investigations into the boyfriend and the murder of an old friend lead him on a heart-pumping adventure through New York, Serbia, London and Washington.
The set-up is global and larger-than-life. The characters are all complex and well-developed. The writing is seamless, so it's easy for the reader to get lost in the adventure. This is a fabulously enjoyable book!

Put in the right hands this could make a terrific action thriller movie. As a book, I enjoyed the two main characters. I thought the author had a decent plot and much of the book moved along nicely. I found myself getting bored in parts particularly when talking about the financial banking woes. Many things seemed implausible but if it were a Jason Bourne type movie I think it would do well.