This is the second book by Stephen Frey which features the financial wizard Christian Gillette. The first was The Chairman, a great book.
Here we meet a Gillette firmly in control of his investment firm,
Christian Gillette is a great character. He is a man with a lot of resources, a quick brain, and not afraid to seek assistance when he encounters problems he doesn’t quite know how to handle with. And he is a likable, multi-facetted guy that actually is quite likable, even though he is stinking rich and works in the financial industry.
Now the Gillette needs all his wit. The problems are mounting, and he is being manipulated by an ultra-secret government organization as well as the Mafia. And once again, he is in a situation where people he has connections to are dying left and right. And not only is his work situation getting tough – he has problems in his personal life as well. A new and very pretty young female partner, an attractive heiress to a great family fortune, seems to want more than a partnership at the firm, and his girlfriend is not very happy.
One of his most trusted employees, a man he wants to elevate to his right hand positions, David Wright – The Protégé, is in deep trouble as well. He has “accidentally” killed a prostitute in the course of a heavy session: “He kept replaying that awful scene in the bondage chamber in his mind. His foot hitting the block of wood, the awful sound of her neck snapping like a brand new Ticonderoga pencil between two thumbs.”
This is a book with a lot of plots and side-plots, and with surprising twists and turns. And this time Frey manages to keep them all in the air and let the suspense build. The Protégé is very good and very interesting. A great financial thriller, of the kind Frey excels in writing. One of the best books so far by Stephen Frey in my opinion.
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