The Patriots Club [Kindle Edition]

Christopher REICH (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Thomas Bolden, successful 32-year-old investment banker and Harlem Boys Club Foundation trustee, has come a long way from his turbulent childhood on the mean streets of Chicago. But his street smarts surface at the start of Reich's action-packed but convoluted latest (after Numbered Account), when Bolden chases a pair of muggers through Manhattan's financial district after they rob his girlfriend, Jenny Dance. They abduct him at gunpoint, but after a perplexing interrogation by members of a mysterious clan, a narrow escape reunites him with Jenny. Bolden already knows too much, though, and the organization of the novel's title—a centuries-old secretive order of powerful lawyers, businessmen and politicians convened to preserve political special interest initiatives that the country's founding fathers defended—soon systematically dismantle Bolden's life. He and a newly pregnant Jenny run for their lives, tracked at every turn by the well-connected "club," which is headed by retired detective Francois Guilfoyle. While they each investigate the clandestine group, a flurry of politically fueled machinations unfolds, setting the stage for the obligatory showdown. Reich's conspiracy thriller eventually loses the momentum needed to deliver on the tight suspense it promises. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Who would have thought that Thomas Bolden would become a successful Wall Street businessman, living the high life and about to become engaged to the perfect woman? Having grown up as "Tommy B from the wrong side of the tracks," Bolden is a bootstraps guy who managed to leave the past behind and carve out a nice life for himself--or so he thought. His world turns upside down when he is inexplicably kidnapped. His captors apparently think he has valuable information about something--but Bolden has no idea what. He's released, but his problems are far from over. Soon he becomes mired in a manhunt that forces him to tap into the street skills he learned as an orphan. As he runs for his life--literally--he uncovers secrets involving a bizarre club of corrupt politicos with roots extending back to the Founding Fathers. Bolden makes a captivating hero, as Reich uses the ordinary-man premise to good effect, engendering sympathy for a financier who never forgets his past. A first-rate, high-concept thriller that will leave readers breathless and cheering for Bolden to pull through. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 353 KB
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (July 26, 2005)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000FCKAY4
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,312 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Hi Everyone,

It's great to be part of Amazon's new Author Page. Here's a short bio.

I was born November 12, 1961 in Tokyo, Japan and moved to Los Angeles four years later, in late 1965. I graduated from Harvard School (now Harvard-Westlake) in 1979, then made the move to Washington DC where I attended the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Upon graduating with a degree in international economics (a field in which I was neither particularly gifted nor interested), I worked as a stock broker for two years. One day my best client said, "Chris, you're a nice guy, but you have no idea what you're doing in this business. You might get into trouble one day. You gotta get your butt to business school." I followed his advice and headed down to Austin, Tx, to earn an MBA at UT.

After graduating from UT, I moved even farther east....all the way to Switzerland, where I joined the Union Bank of Switzerland, first in Geneva and then in Zurich. I left banking and worked first as a consultant, and then as the CEO of a small watch company in Neuchatel. The only thing I missed out on was the chocolate business! Anyway, after 7 years in Switzerland, I decided that it was high time to become an author. I'd never written a short story and I hadn't taken a single English class in college. So what? I was a demon reader and I thought for sure I could do. My wonderful wife supported the decision wholeheartedly and we moved back to Austin, where I would write my first novel, Numbered Account.

The rest, as they say, is history....Or, as I say, "history in the making!!"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars David fights Goliath., August 10, 2005

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Patriots Club (Hardcover)

Thirty-two year old Thomas Bolden is the hero of "The Patriots Club," Christopher Reich's new thriller. As a youngster, Bolden was always in trouble. He lived in a series of foster homes, and he also spent time in reform school and prison. Somehow, he manages to straighten himself out, and he eventually graduates with honors from Princeton and the Wharton School. After graduation, he gets a job on Wall Street and works his way up to the position of director at a prestigious investment banking firm. Along with his high-paying job, Bolden has a beautiful girlfriend named Jenny whom he adores, and he also mentors high-risk teens in his spare time.

One evening, Bolden's life changes forever when he and his girlfriend are attacked on the streets of Manhattan. Bolden is kidnapped and interrogated, and when he does not answer his abductors' questions satisfactorily, he is nearly killed. Although he manages to escape, Bolden is soon framed for murder, and he is forced to go into hiding. Throughout most of the novel, Bolden survives by his wits as he tries to figure out who is after him and why.

"The Patriots Club" is about influential conspirators who work behind the scenes to manipulate politicians, the economy, and even the Pentagon. Although it starts out entertainingly enough, the story quickly loses any semblance of realism. Bolden has a superhuman ability to elude capture, even though both the criminals and the cops are on his tail. The characters are one-dimensional, and the villains are so evil that they hardly seem human. Much of the dialogue is forced and the four-hundred page book is padded with too many extraneous characters and events. In addition, "The Patriots Club" is so complicated that the reader needs a scorecard to keep track of its myriad twists and turns. A good conspiracy thriller can be fun if it is written in a crisp and clear style, with well-developed characters and an intelligent story line. Sadly, "The Patriots Club" doesn't fulfill its promise.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Conspiring minds want to know, August 19, 2005

By 

G. Ware Cornell Jr. "anotherlawyer" (Weston FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Patriots Club (Hardcover)

Just because you are paranoid, doesn't mean someone is not out to get you.

In this book a young investment banker confronts a deep and dark conspiracy, a black hand that successfully influenced events throughout American history, a self-perpetuating cabal who membership included the President of the United States. Thomas Bolden stumbles into the workings of the club in what may be the final days of the club or the republic. Bolden proves resourceful and he is aided by mysterious but determined allies. Time is of the essence as the club plots the assassination of the new President of the United States.

This book is eerily reminiscent of The Firm, but without the black humor of the control of a law firm being in the hands of the Mafia. If you believe there are no coincidences you will love this book. If you think that conspiracy theorists ought to be in the loony bin, you will still enjoy it.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars ANOTHER CONSPIRACY TO PONDER, December 15, 2007

By 

Red Rock Bookworm (St. George Utah) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Patriots Club (Mass Market Paperback)

If you are a reader who is intrigued by "conspiracy theory" books and enjoyed David Baldacci's The Camel Club you will most likely enjoy this offering from Christopher Reich. If, however, you found the premise of Camel Club ridiculous and the plot convoluted, no doubt you will harbor the same feelings about Patriot's Club.

As Reich's Patriot's Club opens, former troubled street kid who made good, Thomas Bolden, and his girlfriend are attacked after leaving a Man of the Year award dinner and Bolden is "kidnapped". He is taken to "Guilfoyle" and questioned about his knowledge of "crown" and his involvement with Bobby Stillman. Bolden pleads ignorance in the matter, manages to escape his captors and goes to the cops with his tale. He is promptly framed for murder......forcing him to go "on the run". And that's only the tip of this iceberg.

The book itself could have been a script for the Survivor series considering Bolden's ability to "outplay", "outwit" and "outlast" his pursuers. The "multiple" conspiracies and Bolden's transformation from Wall Street wiz to super-hero possessing seeming immortality is nearly laughable.

The author's explanation about the high-powered, driven, immoral, and greedy conspirators who have targeted the protagonist is more than a bit far-fetched. You will find no middle of the road characters in this tome, and you can choose your favorite conspiracy......corporate, political, etc. It seems thatReich has abandoned character development and in turn, has asked us to abandon logic.