Jay West leaves his job at a commercial bank to take what he feels will be a more exciting and lucrative position at the investment firm of McCarthy and Lloyd. But he finds more excitement than he bargained for: shortly after arriving at the firm, a colleague disappears and is found murdered, and there are indications that some of his associates are involved in illegal trading and other serious crimes. Gradually Jay realizes that he may be facing a life-threatening situation. Easygoing and low key, he is surrounded by more intense personalities, each with his or her own motivations. He starts out with a na vet that disappears as he discovers what is really going on, demonstrating confidence and intelligence that enable him to handle whatever situations arise. The author maintains a suspenseful atmosphere throughout. Narrator Jack Garrett reads at an even pace that keeps the story moving along; his characterizations capture the individual identities of the players in this drama. Highly recommended for all fiction collections.DCatherine Swenson, Norwich Univ., Northfield, VT
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Frey has been a banker and has worked at J. P. Morgan in mergers and acquisitions. He is also the author of recent best-sellers, such as The Inner Sanctum (1997) and The Legacy (1998). Reviewers usually assign Frey's work to the "financial thriller" genre, but the intrigue he weaves here runs the gamut from romantic to political. Even though his plot employs a complicated financial scheme, Frey avoids losing his readers by using narration and dialogue that clearly explain the details. The hero is Jay West, who jumps at the chance to work for a powerful Wall Street investment firm. Little does he know that he is being set up by the man who hired him. Every piece of advice and every invitation or gift the man offers West is part of a sinister strategy to implicate West in crimes the boss has committed. Along the way a body is dumped in an alligator-infested Louisiana swamp, a corporate jet is blown up over the Atlantic, a secretary at the firm is strangled with a necktie in a hotel room, and an illegal arms deal goes down in Afghanistan. Frey's crisp style keeps you eagerly racing ahead, curious to find the connection between all these misdeeds. David Rouse