Book
The gods of Greenwich
Record details
- ISBN: 9781250000354 (pbk.)
-
Physical Description:
print
xi, 482 p. ; 19 cm. - Publisher: New York : St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2012, c2011.
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Investment advisors -- Fiction Fraud -- Fiction Wall Street (New York, N.Y.) -- Fiction |
| Genre: | Suspense fiction. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at BC Interlibrary Connect.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dawson Creek Municipal Public Library | PB SUSPENSE (Text) | DCL120817 | Adult paperbacks | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2011 March #1
This novel is grounded in the all-too-real triple-digit drop in the Dow a few years ago that was launched when a hedge fund began selling short. Vonnegut spins that moment into a fine thrillerâwitty, energetic, full of sharp writing and top-notch reporting. Jimmy Cusak is a failed money manager forced to partner with a dubious hedger who devises an evil scheme: he'll short a bank until he makes billions off its failure. But the bankers fight back, and, in the novel's only failing, too many pages are spent detailing their dollar wars. Things pick up, though. A damnably attractive killer moves through a few chapters for no apparent reason. Then the reason becomes clear when we learn just why Cusak was hired, leading to a suspenseful, violent finale that somehow never stops being funny. Readers will enjoy Vonnegut's insight into inhabitants of "Hedgistan," as he calls the characters' Greenwich hometown. They tear each other to pieces, not for money but so they can look like they have money. Conspicuous consumption that bites back. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2011 February #2
Things go from grim to worse for rising hedge-fund star Jimmy Cusack when his company collapses and the fund that recruits him is targeted for destruction by cutthroat bankers in Iceland and a sheikh in Qatar. One-time stockbroker Vonnegut (a distant cousin of the late Kurt) follows up his debut, Top Producer (2009), with a hectic Wall Street thriller. Cusack, a blue-collar Boston native, is sitting pretty with his 61st floor office in the Empire State Building, a $3 million condo in New York's trendy Meatpacking District and a pregnant, loving wife with Beacon Hill bloodlines. When investors suddenly pull out of his hedge fund, he is left facing foreclosure. Serendipitously, or so he thinks, he lands with the prosperous LeeWell Capital in Greenwich, Conn. ("ceremonial capital of Hedgistan"). It's run by Cy Leeser, a product of Hell's Kitchen who has a weakness for expensive art and has a beautiful Brazilian romance novelist for a wife. Cusack quickly scores a major account he hopes will bail him out, but nothing and no one are what they seem--especially the sexy hit woman on the loose. The fund spouts leaks and Jimmy is left desperately racing against time to save himself and his wife Emi. He can only hope for help from his old Wharton friend, Geek, and a mystery man who leaves him notes signed with the name of former NFL quarterback Daryle Lamonica. Vonnegut knows the territory almost too well--it's sometimes difficult to keep up with his dense inside plotting--and Cusack could hardly be a more callow protagonist. But the novel moves at such a fast clip, spilling goods on recession-era wheelers and dealers as it goes, that readers will get caught up despite the flaws. Copyright Kirkus 2011 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2011 March #1
Vonnegut follows up his debut (Top Producer) with a first-rate thriller set in the world of hedge fund managers during the 2008 financial meltdown. When Jimmy Cusack's father-in-law withdraws $120 million from Cusack's fund, Cusack is forced to shut down. Heavily in debt, Cusack feels lucky to find work with LeeWell Capital in Greenwich, CT, ceremonial capital of "Hedgistan." His boss, Cy Leeser, is locked in a battle over shorting Iceland's Hafnarbanki. When one of the bank's managers fights back with Arab support, the pressure increases on Cusack to find new investors. As the financial world collapses, a female assassin carries out her work. When Cusack's pregnant wife, Emily, is threatened, he has to fight to save everything he values most in life. VERDICT Vonnegut's skill at creating characters at risk will make even less wealthy readers root for Cusack to survive his financial debacle with millions intact. This thriller will appeal to fans of Joseph Finder and might serve as a cautionary tale to anyone who envies the seemingly idyllic life of the superrich. But don't we all like to read about them? [Author tour.]âRon Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson
[Page 71]. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2011 February #1
Vonnegut follows his debut, Top Producer, with another invigorating dip into the shark pool of Wall Street's hedge fund industry. In late 2007, Jimmy Cusack, a cagey but honest money manager, finds himself in trouble after his hedge fund collapses thanks to the pullout of his biggest investor. Burdened by a huge mortgage and pressing financial obligations to his family, Cusack goes against his better judgment and takes a job with Leeser Capital, run by the shady Cy Leeser, whose investment strategies have always been far from transparent. Cusack's misgivings grow as losses begin inexplicably mounting at Leeser amid rumors about the company's involvement in an Icelandic bank and a hedge strategy based on life insurance claims. Vonnegut, a financial professional himself, not only gets the language and tone of Wall Street right but has an instinctive feel for dialogue and action. Especially enjoyable is the rip-roaring finale at the Bronx Zoo. Author tour. (Apr.)
[Page ]. Copyright 2010 PWxyz LLC
