Wall Street banker-cum-sleuth extraordinaire John Putnam Thatcher finds himself caught in an international investment scandal, this time involving a quasi-government commission to modernize the Kiel Canal. When he heads off to Poland for a firsthand look at the potential investment, this seemingly straightforward mission turns into risky business. Murder strikes in the heart of the fog-ridden canal and Thatcher must struggle to keep his head above water. With their unique blend of puzzle solving, political sparring, and international intrigue, it's no mystery, why Lathen's novels continue to hit the mark with today's readers.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
At first glance, a banker-as-private eye seems a less than scintillating choice for a mystery novel's hero, but it doesn't take long for Emma Lathen's protagonist, John Putnam Thatcher, to win the reader's heart and mind in Shark Out of Water. Putnam, a Wall Street banker, is in Gdańsk trolling for new investment opportunities when a whistle-blowing member of a European consortium turns up dead. In the course of solving the murder, Putnam also delivers a neat explanation of international finance, which is nearly as fascinating as the crime itself. Money, murder, and an exotic setting--Lathen delivers the goods with style and panache.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"The Agatha Christie of Wall Street." -- -- L.A. Daily News
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another winner for Lathen,
By
This review is from: A Shark Out of Water: A John Putnam Thatcher Mystery (Hardcover)
The latest John Putnam Thatcher book continues the trend of focusing less on Thatcher and his fellow bank associates, and more on third party participants in the murder and mayhem going on around Thatcher. The European locale adds flavor to the plot; the internal politics of a unified western Europe organization makes for interesting reading. Readers know what to expect from Ms. Lathen, and will not be dissapointed. Hopefully the series will continue despite the death of one of the two co-authors using the Emma Lathen pseudonym.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As terrific as always,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Shark Out of Water: A John Putnam Thatcher Mystery (Hardcover)
An environmental disaster has struck Germany^Rs Kiel Canal whena fogcauses numerous collisions and oil spills. Due to the accident and the high degree of shipping through the canal, the German government is thinking of taking out a loan to rebuild and widen the canal. The myriad of insurance claims that follow the aftermath and the potential German project are both being handled through the Baltic Area Development Association (BADA). Wall Street, ever interested in a good deal, dispatches John Putnam Thatcher to Gdansk, Poland to learn whether it pays to invest in the canal renovation deal. However, the simple business transaction takes a nasty turn when a BADA official claims to have uncovered fraud within the organization. Immediately after the announcement, the official^Rs battered corpse is found and the murder of his lover shortly follows. The Polish police officer Oblonski turns to Thatcher to help him muddle through the world of international finance to uncover the identity of a fiscal murderer. A SHARK OUT OF WATER is the twenty-third book in the Thatcher series and surprisingly with all of those novels, the current story is a refreshing tale. Thatcher is a great character and the story line is filled with self deprecating irony as Emma Lathen laughs at the slapstick efforts of governments and international corporations capitalization of the former Soviet Union. The who-done-it is well written, but it is the intricate glimpses into the wacky, weird, almost mystical, world of international finance that turns this into another great Thatcher novel. Harriet Klausner
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great to the last.,
By Colin Glithero "nedalleyn" (Auburn,WA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Shark Out of Water (John Putnam Thatcher Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)
Sadly, this was the last book in what is, for me, one of the wittiest, best-written, classiest, downright finest series of mysteries. Emma Lathen was the pseudonym of two writers who, amazingly, wrote alternate chapters. Lathen sets her stories in locations and situations in which John Putnam Thatcher, bank vice-president, can plausibly be at the center of the action. In this book he is in Europe for a Baltic economic association meeting. Boring? Confusing? Not in Lathen's hands. Tensions, well-etched characters, murders forecast and unexpected, an excellent solution, shrewd and often very funny observations on people and life, distinguish all Lathen's books, from the first ,Banking on Death, to Shark out of Water. Ideally you should read the series from the beginning, but any one of them is great. Buy, read, and enjoy.
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