Numbered Account
A Novel
-
-
4.2 • 102 Ratings
-
-
- $7.99
-
- $7.99
Publisher Description
In his explosive debut thriller, Christopher Reich tells the harrowing story of a young man willing to risk everything--his career, his integrity, and even his life--to hunt down his father's killer. Set in the secret, labyrinthine world of Swiss banking, Numbered Account, with its detail and intelligence, could have been written only by an insider--the author himself worked at a major Swiss bank for three years.
Former U.S. marine and Harvard Business School graduate Nicholas Neumann seems to have it all: a dream job, a beautiful fiance, a future bright with promise. But beneath the dazzling veneer of this golden boy is a man haunted by the brutal killing of his father seventeen years before. And when new evidence implicates the venerable United Swiss Bank in the crime, Nick finds himself willing to do whatever it takes to uncover the truth.
Leaving behind everything he holds dear, Nick takes a job in Zurich with the United Swiss Bank, and is soon plunged into a world where everything--loyalty, power, even life and death--can be bought and sold for the right price. As the secrets of the venerable bank are laid bare, suddenly Nick knows far too much--about the offer he never should have accepted, about the money he never should have handled, about the woman he never should have loved. And as the darkness gathers around him, Nick is faced with a shattering truth: To catch the criminal who murdered his father, he must become a criminal himself.
A work of searing intelligence and sheer storytelling genius, Numbered Account is one of those rare thrillers that not only make you sweat, but make you think.
BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Christopher Reich's The Prince of Risk.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The Swiss banking industry has been taking some hard hits in the headlines recently, and it doesn't fare any better in this excellent debut thriller of finance and international intrigue. When Nicholas Neumann gives up his fiancee and a fast-track job at Morgan Stanley to take a position at his late father's bank (and, if possible, to learn the truth behind his father's unsolved murder), he soon discovers that the bank is being used for political ends by a money-laundering suspect known only as the Pasha. The DEA wants the bank to help it bust the Pasha; as a result, Neumann is forced to choose between betraying his country or his employer. Perhaps to compensate for the weakness of the mystery surrounding the murder of Neumann's father, Reich throws in a smorgasbord of subplots: a hostile takeover from a rival bank; an over-the-top DEA agent who wants the Pasha taken down; an upcoming act of Middle Eastern terrorism; not to mention the Russian nuclear weapon that seems to be for sale in just about every post-Cold War thriller. To Reich's credit, he puts an original spin on the equally obligatory romantic subplot, which in this case reinforces the novel's focus on fiscal skullduggery. Despite the many story lines and a formulaic setup and finale, Reich has written a gripping tale of murder, money and immorality. Foreign rights sold in the U.K., France, Japan, Germany, Spain, Holland, Italy, Norway and Finland; $300,00 ad/promo; BDD audio; author tour. FYI: Reich worked at a Swiss bank for eight years.
Customer Reviews
Good book
Great action books are hard to find so I settle for a satisfying read. Looking at power grabs through the money angle was a different twist to the standard formula.
The bad guys were predictable but overall the main characters were developed enough to make you want to see how they fared as the plot matured.
I plan to read another Reich book to see how his style develops.