Stephen Frey The Power Broker

The Power Broker

Stephen Frey

Ballantine, Aug 2006, $24.95

ISBN: 0345480600

CEO Christian Gillette has turned Everest Capital into one of the more successful ethical Wall St investment companies in spite of nasty shady rivals. Part of the accomplishments of the firm Christian knows belongs to his top assistant wealthy heiress Allison Wallace (see THE PROT G ), who he would trust with his life.

Two fascinating offers arrive at about the same time as Christian stakes out Vegas for possible investments. First African-American senator Jesse Ford is running for president and wants Jesse on the slate as the VP candidate. Second U.S. Oil CEO Hewitt demands Christian join the powerful secret entity the Order, consisting of nine mega-influential white American businessmen and government leaders who since the group's inception during the Van Buren administration has manipulated the finance, media, political and other key societal elements. Now they want to insure that Ford loses and that the push to turn Puerto Rico and Mexico into states fails. Fearing refusal means his death; Christian turns paranoid when he realizes the Order has ties to Allison.

This is an action-packed thriller that never slows down from start to finish as Christian is unsure of who to trust since he learns of his former prot g 's ties to the Order; he even doubts long time friend and ally Stiles though the CEO knows he is being paranoid. Though Christian's reactions to events make the tale exciting, readers also need to forego that dreaded L word as logic is not a part of this fun conspiracy thriller. If the audience can ignore the impossibilities of the spins, THE POWER BROKER is an entertaining wild twisting ride.

Harriet Klausner