Published By: Zaffre
Pages: 400
Released On: 14/09/2023
London, 2007. It’s summer in the City: the economy is booming, profits are up and the stock market sits near record highs.
But journalist Gil Peck is a lone voice worrying it can’t last. Deep in the plumbing of the financial system, he has noticed strange things happening which could threaten the whole economy. But nobody wants to hear it: not the politicians taking credit for an end to boom and bust, not the bankers pocketing vast bonuses, not even Gil’s bosses at the BBC, who think it’s irrelevant.
When Gil gets a tip-off that a small northern bank has run out of money, everything changes. His report sparks the first run on a UK bank in 140 years. The next day, Marilyn Krol, a director of the Bank of England dies in an apparent suicide.
For Gil, it’s personal. Marilyn was his lover: was his scoop connected to her suicide? Or is there something more sinister in her death? Gil is determined to find out.
The more he investigates, the more he is drawn into the rotten heart of the financial system, where old school ties and secret Oxbridge societies lubricate vast and illegal conflicts of interest. The whole economy has been built on a house of cards, and Gil is threatening to bring it down.
When simply reporting the facts can make or break fortunes, Gil has to ask himself: is he crossing the line between journalist and participant? Are his own conflicts of interest making him reckless? And in a world ruled by greed where nothing and no-one is too big to fail, what price will he pay for uncovering the truth?
*****
Thanks to Zaffre for gifting me this advanced proof in return for an honest review.
I am not into politics, in reality and fiction. I don’t understand it much and I find it dreadfully dull on a day-to-day basis. Yet I know it’s obviously very important. But that’s probably why I don’t read many political thrillers as I think I won’t understand them or they’ll be boring. But this was anything but, right from the off.
You can tell how much first-hand experience Robert has in politics as everything sounds so convincing. Some of it went a little over my head, all the technical political and financial jargon, but it didn’t spoil the reading or enjoyment of it.
I did wonder how exciting it would be, you know, the world of finance and politics, but he’s definitely found his talent here.
I liked Gil, I felt he was a wonderful character. Not wholly good or bad, he was confused, emotional, and struggling. But he was written so well that I immediately warmed to him and stayed that way throughout. There’s many other characters – Jess was particularly stand out- but for me this was Gil’s story and he burst out of every scene he was in.
I believe this is part of a series following Gil Peck, but there’s no need to read them in some sort of order. There may have been little nuances in this one that I didn’t realise as I haven’t read any other, but it was definitely it’s own standalone novel. But it will be interesting if I get to read any more from him, if I can see any kind of link.
I won’t lie, it isn’t an easy read, or at least it wasn’t for me. Maybe if you have an understanding of the financial market then you can read it easily. But for me, whilst it was good to read and exciting and I wanted to know more, I found it hard to get through. It took me probably double the time it would normally to read a book of this length because it is complicated, there are many characters and interlinking stories. It is definitely one that needs to be concentrated on rather than a quick read you do with the TV on in the background. But I will say, whilst it started off difficult for me, it got faster pace as it went along and by the end I was fully wanting to carry on Gil’s story.
I found it surprisingly emotional. Yes it’s thrilling and intelligent, but there is a heart to it, a heart we may not always see in the political world.
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