Customer Reviews

Shadow Account

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is not the worst book ever to grace the shelves of a library. Next time you enter one, take a look at the mystery/thriller section. I myself am an avid reader, perhaps 150 books a year. Most of them are in the mystery genre. Yet when confronted with a mystery section that has been compiling books for sixty years its hard to say that even 5% of the authors are familiar to me. Most of the books are covered with decades of dust and forgotten tombs of years gone by. That is the way 'Shadow Account' strikes me as being remembered in the years to come. It is a book you will find at the bottom of stacks in yard sales and church functions. This is not a book or an author whom like Chandler, Christie, or Hammett will be read far into the future.

The writing is plodding, sections of the novel are well done, but the tempo and style of these individual pieces clash with other sections so that you are left with a soup of mushy ideas. To put it another way, this book does not hold up well as a whole.

Another thing is the plot. Frey starts the story off with a brutal murder in young Conner Ashby's apartment. Conner is pulling down a couple of hundred G's a year so this is probably a posh place were talking about. He is having a daliance with a lady, leaves to hit up the local supermarket, spends a few minutes there, comes back, and she is dead. Conner had recieved an email a few moments before he left and it comes to his attention that the murder was done so that the evidence of the email could be covered up. OK, I can live with that. But the way Frey unfolds it all is so goofy that it pretty much destroys the rest of the book. Some CEO character sends out an email to Conner and with in 20 minutes he hires a hit man, sends him to Conners place, tears it apart, kills a girl, and then confronts our protagonist. Conner then chases the bad guy around NY for an hour, comes back to his place with some cops, and everything that was destroyed is put back into place without a sign of anything wrong happening. Whats up with that?

I am not giving away anything here. This occurs in the first few pages and sets up the rest of the book. Conner just had the lady he loves murdered in his place and then over the next few chapters he misses time from his insanely competitive job to have flirtatious hours long conversations and seems to have not been affected at all by the terrifying events. Repetedly in this book he is attacked and then a few pages later he is suave and making moves with young ladies.

This book is slow. This book goes into chapter long discources on the corruptability of fortune 500 companies. This book has long episodes of buildup that leads nowhere, not even as a diversionary plot thread.

All in all this is a trainwreck of a novel and I suggest that you leave it alone. I would point you towards 'Mystic River' by Lehane or 'Tell No One' by Coben for novels in this style that actually work.

Disappointing, but I read until the end and then laughed at myself for doing so. If you are reading this review to decide whether or not to read this book next - my recommendation is grab another book from your stacks.

The storyline is more fantasy (silly) with a splash of romance than thriller. It is unfortunate because the storyline could have been solid with a bit more focus and character development.

So many books and so little time - pass on this one unless you have a need to read every book Stephen Frey puts his name to.

Two ½ stars.

I bought this because I told a friend about a great new international thriller I loved with an investment banker as one of the lead characters. She told me if I liked that I'd eat this up. I'm a financial professional, I'm home sick and read this in one day, and let me tell you, if I wasn't sick before I'd be now. In the first place, the setting and characterizations in the financial sector are not real or believable. Next, the story has events that are so hard to swallow (the guy's girlfriend is murdered in the first scenes, and he's romancing somebody else within a few chapters--offensive to me as a woman--this after uncovering major fraud involving his firm, then chasing the assassin around NYC, all within an hour) that you can't let yourself get drawn into the story. Finally (and I could keep going on, but I won't), the ending was not at all satisfying after all the convoluted sub-plots going on, and I didn't feel everything was satisfactorily resolved. Please don't bother with this one. On a sick day (or any day), if you want a well-spun, believable tale of a financial type caught up in events beyond his control, then has to rise to the occasion, read Trojan Horse. Or try an old classic like The Day Of The Jackal (I just read it).

Shadow Account is yet another winner from Stephen Frey. In my experience, Frey has never failed to craft an enjoyable financial thriller that, at worst, easily holds your attention and at best, leaves you with no choice but to stay up late at night to find out "what happens next."

Others have said that Shadow Account is filled with far too many "coincidences" and shallow characters to be believable and, thus, enjoyable. While I don't think that Shadow found it to be quite good. If you're looking for a financial story that is entirely true-to-life, stop wasting your time in the fiction section and go buy the biography of Carly Fiornia (or that of any other intriguing business behemoth). On the other hand, if you're looking for an enjoyable, hard-to-put-down read that weaves its way through the more elite levels of New York's financial world and Washington's political maze, Shadow Account (and many of Frey's other books) are for you.

"The computer beeped softly, indicating the arrival of a new e-mail. [He] rose from the bed, sat down behind the desk, and clicked the icon. He didn't recognize the sender's address, but scrolled down and began reading anyway.

Victor,
Update on Project Delphi ... we've got a problem. They're pumping up earnings per share with the phantom income from headquarters ... there are insider dealings with the board and the senior execs. If all this gets out, the stock tanks and people lose a ton of jingle-juice. We'd be hauled up in front of Congress ... [oh and] the Minneapolis operation is way out of hand. So far the Washington office hasn't gotten dragged into what's going on out there in corporate America ... but Delphi could be the one that screws us.
What do you want me to do?
Rusty

Before he can decide what to do about this misrouted message, Liz asks him to run out and get her some cigarettes. He has been having an affair with her, even though she claims to be engaged to another man; she wears a three-carat ring on her left hand and is able to twist him around her finger. Yet, he doesn't completely trust her ... he knows she is manipulative and wonders why she doesn't break it off with her fiancée, since she claims to love him.

When he gets back to his apartment, "the door [is] ajar ... he pushed it open, and his pulse spiked. The apartment had been destroyed. His computer was on the floor ... hard drive removed." What happened? Who could or would do this to him? Where was Liz ... he spots "something on the far side of the bed. He scrambled onto the mattress, then froze. Liz lay sprawled on her back in the corner of the room near the desk, her neck and chest a spattered mess. As his fingers touched her still warm skin, he heard something over his shoulder and spun around. A man stood in the middle of the room, staring at him" ... a gun at the ready. He "lunged for the window and tumbled onto the fire escape ... just as gunshots crackled in his ear."

"He" is Conner Ashby, a young, eager and very ambitious man. He works for Gavin Smith, an investment banker who owns Phenix Capitol. "The old man was the nearest thing to a father he's had in a long time. And Gavin was paying him $175,000 a year plus bonus." Thus, when Gavin said, "jump," Conner asked "how high?" Under Gavin's wing, Conner feels that his career is cemented and his personal wealth guaranteed.

Paul Stone also works closely with Gavin. He has a secret agenda that necessitates ruining Conner any way he can. Conner is very aware of Paul's hatred toward him, but it all comes to a head at Gavin's house one night when Conner accuses Paul of breaking into his computer, and Gavin tells him: "Right off the bat there are problems, pal ... there are lots [of] mistakes ... throughout the presentation. Paul printed out two copies and brought them [to me."] Conner knows that Paul "inputted the typos before he printed it out ... to make [him] look bad." He is furious and appalled, and can't believe that Gavin is on Paul's side.

"Lucas Avery was loyal to the president only by extension. His passion was chess, [he was] a grinder, who methodically forced his opponents into a corner. Then and only then did he attack. Lucas had followed the same kind of long-term strategy in his career." He was patient "until he saw an opening, then acting decisively when the opportunity presented itself." Now, "after two ... Congressional staff tours and an administrative management position at party headquarters, Lucas had come to the West Wing to serve as deputy assistant political director to the president." Blinded by his ambition and unrealistic goals, he is duped into a scheme that is supposed to change the course of American history but it puts his life in danger.

Stephen Frey is a consummate writer of financial thrillers. And in SHADOW ACCOUNT he reaches beyond anything he has composed yet. The reader is hooked after the first few paragraphs and may be astounded at the level of suspense that builds and is sustained throughout this timely peek into how corrupt investment bankers work; how a traitorous Vice President of the United States can turn against the powers who put him in office; and a glimpse of people who will do anything to fill their need for power and feed their greed.

Fans of Frey expect him to offer them the same kind of thrills they would find on a roller coaster. His ability to mix red herrings with real clues is a challenge to those who enjoy solving the mystery at the heart of all of his books. For those who want to just go along with him for the ride, he ties up all of the loose ends at the end of his stories regardless of how complicated the plot may be. Frey's writing style is easy to read and his ear for dialogue is pitch perfect. SHADOW ACCOUNT is a good, fast read that shines a light onto the financial and political secrets we see everyday in the national news.

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

Conner Ashby, an investment banker, is enjoying an evening at home romancing his engaged-to-another-man lady, Liz. He receives an e-mail, apparently not intended for his eyes and he is troubled by what it says. Liz sends Conner off to the local quickie-mart to fetch a pack of cigarettes. Upon Conner's return, he finds his apartment ransacked and Liz dead on the floor. To completely ruin his night, he discovers the killer is still in his apartment. The killer chases Conner out the window, down the fire escape and through the alley, shooting Conner in the arm. Our adventure begins......

I shared all that with you because it is the best and only part of the book worth reading. Mr. Frey tries too hard to lead the reader down dead-in paths with enough red herrings to start a sushi bar. There are redeemable moments in the story that make you want to pay attention, but overall, it's a poorly written book with too much going on. There's a lot of great suspenseful books out there, this just isn't one of them. One dimensional, unbelievable characters add to the frustration level. If you are looking for excellent suspenseful/drama/action/mystery, try J.F. Freeman, now there's a man who can keep a reader on the edge of their seats.

In Manhattan, Connor Ashby is in his apartment with his wealthy engaged to someone else girlfriend Liz Shaw when the email addressed to a Victor arrives claiming major wrong doings at an unnamed firm. Connor realizes the email he received was an error, but before he can decide what to do Liz sends him out to buy cigarettes. When he returns Liz looks dead, the place is trashed and a goon tries to kill him, but he escapes. However, when he returns with the cops, his apartment is clean with no corpse as if nothing happened.

Connor knows that the cops think he is a con artist. He also believes Liz is dead and these guys will kill him to erase a problem. Thinking of playing Chicken against unknown assailants, he decides to make inquiries, but if he succeeds in uncovering the truth and lives to tell it, the scandal reaches as high as the president's cabinet.

SHADOW ACCOUNT is the typical Stephen Frey financial thriller (see THE INSIDER) that takes an everyman financial expert and places them in the midst of conspiratorial environs in which their life is an accounts payable. Though Connor seems like a low rent David up against several Goliaths with no chance of triumph, the tale hooks the audience from the moment Connor brings the cops to his neat as a pin apartment until the final High Noon like climax. As usual no one takes complex financial issues and explains them inside an action packed plot as well as Mr. Frey does. Fans will better understand some of the recent meltdown scandals

I seem to remember reading and enjoying a few of Stephen Frey's previous books. That was not the case with his latest offering.

Shallow characters, unbelievable coincidences and predictability mar Shadow Account. The reader would have been better served had Frey and his editors entitled this book "Shallow Account."

Maybe be I have missed something during the past few years. Since when are all investment bankers, accountants, corporate executives driven solely by greed? Are not any of them conflicted? Why are white collar criminals lined up at the prosecutor's office seeking to be the first to rat out their former colleagues?

I see a more complex financial world than Frey presents. To write a great book, an author needs to render complex characters in a complex setting. This creates a believable story. At the very least that requires drawing a character with at least two dimensions, preferably three. Frey failed.

I finished the book, so it rates three stars. But, in the interest of full disclosure, I was glad I borrowed it from the library.

Conner Ashby is an up and comer things really seem to be going great and only getting better.Connor is working at Phenix capital a firm with a job of advising companys about mergers and acquisitions this company is just starting out and Conner seems to be on the groud floor he is just about Gavin Smith's right hand man (Gavin being the owner of Phenix Capital).Conner has a hot girlfriend the only problem with her is that she is engaged to be married to some wall street big shot and just seems to be using Conner for sex.

Well during one of her's and Conners get togethers,conner gets on the computer and checks his emails always work and notices an email concerning a company that maybe inflating its profits and Conner knows he was not intended to get this email but he does not know what to do.Connor's girlfriend decides she needs some cigarettes and sends him out to get some and when he returns his apartment his trashed,computer is missing and his girlfriend his dead apparently murdered.

While connor is looking around his place he notices someone in there and starts to run with this person in pursuit while the chase goes through the streets and down in the subway where conner gets shot but luckily it is just in the arm but he gets away and comes back up on the street where there just happen to be a cop. So he explains that he was chased and his apartment broken into so the cops take him back to his place and when they get there conners place is like nothing ever happened is conner losing it or what happen?

This book is fast paced with quite a cast of characters there is a fair amount of business talk but easy to understand as is with all freys books

Investment banker Connor Ashby has a great job at Phenix Capital. At twenty-seven, he has a loving girlfriend, a great boss and the opportunity to have a position at the top of his company. Everything is going good until he receives an email meant for someone else. In the email the sender warns of trouble and explains the "operation" is way out of hand. After reading the email, Connor runs to the store while his girlfriend remains in his apartment. Upon his return, Connor finds his girlfriend dead and the killer waiting to finish off Connor.

Uncovering the truth will be a difficult task as Connor must unravel a mystery of lies and deceit while a killer tracks his every move. As he races to find answers, as well as save himself, Connor realizes he is a pawn in a dangerous game where money rules and the players are willing to kill to keep their secrets safe.

`Shadow Account' is a complex financial thriller with plenty of twists and turns. Fast pacing, original plotting and well drawn characters are to be expected in a Stephen Frey novel, and his latest is no exception. The intricate plot may puzzle some readers at first, but Frey keeps things moving with surprising twists until the explosive ending where everything ties together.

Stephen Frey has crafted another great thriller that will surely be a best-seller and please his legion of fans.

Nick Gonnella