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At thirty-one, Michael Cantella is a rising star at Wall Street's premier investment bank, Saxton Silvers. Everything is going according to plan until Ivy Layton, the love of his life, vanishes on their honeymoon in the Bahamas.
Fast-forward four years. It's the eve of his thirty-fifth birthday, and Michael is still on track: successful career, beautiful new wife, piles of money. Reveling in his good fortune, Michael logs in to his computer, enters his password, and pulls up his biggest investment account: Zero balance. He tries another, and another. All of them zero. Someone has wiped him out. His only clue is a new e-mail message: Just as planned. xo xo.
With these three words Michael's life as he knows it is liquidated, along with his investment portfolio. Saxton Silvers is suddenly on the brink of bankruptcy, and he's the leading suspect in its ruin. Michael is left alone, framed, and facing divorce, with undercover FBI agents afoot, spyware on his computer, and mysterious e-mails from a "JBU." Embroiled in corporate espionage, he's desperate to clear his name and realizes that several signs point to his first wife, Ivy, as a key player. But what if Ivy has come back from the dead, only to visit on Michael a fate worse than death?
With echoes of The Firm, James Grippando's newest thriller takes readers to the inner circle of Wall Street, illustrating the very real dangers of what Warren Buffett called "financial weapons of mass destruction."
James Grippando is a New York Times bestselling author. Blood Money is his twentieth novel, the tenth in his acclaimed series featuring Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck. James Grippando was a trial lawyer for twelve years before the publication of his first novel in 1994 (The Pardon). He lives in South Florida with his wife, three children, two cats, and a golden retriever named Max, who has no idea he's a dog.
As he contemplated leaving the law, Grippando set his sights on becoming a writer, a career shift not as drastic as one might imagine. "A trial lawyer is in many ways a story teller," he said in an essay in Mystery Scene magazine. "Still, I had no idea how to become a novelist... So, I set a couple of ground rules. First, I would do my writing on the sly, nights and weekends, while continuing to bill my obligatory two thousand hours a year. Second -- and this was by far the most important rule -- I was determined to keep it fun."
Both Grippando's legal expertise and his determination to "keep it fun" were readily apparent in his 1994 debut, The Pardon, a taut thriller that introduced Jack Swyteck, a brash young Miami criminal defense attorney who successfully defends an admitted killer -- only to find himself framed for his defendant's murder. Called "a bona fide blockbuster" by the Boston Herald, this well-plotted first novel marked Grippando as a writer to watch.
Despite the popularity of The Pardon, Grippando would not return Jack Swyteck to active duty for eight more years. His second novel, written while he was still practicing law, was a fast-paced crime thriller called The Informant. Shortly after it was published in 1996, he left his practice for full-time writing and published a string of well received stand-alones, including The Abduction, Under Cover of Darkness, and A King's Ransom.
Then, in 2002, Grippando revived Jack Swyteck, placing him at the center of Beyond Suspicion, a gripping courtroom drama involving an insurance scam and the Russian Mafia. Readers reacted so joyfully to Swyteck's return that the author has -- with very few exceptions -- kept attention focused on his beloved series protagonist. As the review journal Booklist put it : "Grippando, whose best thriller have been full of imagination and out-of-left-field surprises, looks like he's found a winner in the Swyteck series."
Before becoming a writer, Grippando was on the fast track to becoming a partner at Steel Hector & Davis, the Miami law firm at which former Attorney General Janet Reno began her career.
Some interesting outtakes from our interview with Grippando:
"In this world of revolving doors, I'm what you might call a professional anomaly. I've had the same publisher (HarperCollins) and agent (Richard Pine, along with his father Artie until his death) since the start of my career. I've also had the same editor (Carolyn Marino) since my second novel. I treasure these relationships. It is because of them that I am able to do what I love for a living."
"My first published novel was actually inspired by a near arrest in a case of total mistaken identity. One night in October 1992, tired of staring at a blank computer screen, I went for a walk before going to bed. I got about three blocks from my house when, seemingly out of nowhere, a police car pulled up onto the grassy part of the curb in front of me. A cop jumped out and demanded to know where I was going. I told him that I was just out for a walk, that I lived in the neighborhood. He didn't seem to believe me. "There's been a report of a peeping Tom," he said. "I need to check this out." I stood helplessly beside the squad car and listened as the officer called in on his radio for a description of the prowler."Under six feet tall," I heard the dispatcher say, "early to mid-thirties, brown hair, brown eyes, wearing blue shorts and a white t shirt." I panicked inside. I was completely innocent, but it was exactly me! "And a mustache," the dispatcher finally added. I sighed with relief. I had no mustache. The cop let me go.
But as I walked home, I could only think of how close I'd come to disaster. Even though I was innocent, my arrest would have been a media event, and forever I would have been labeled as "the peeping Tom lawyer." It was almost 2 a.m. by the time I returned home, but I decided that I needed to write about this. I took the feeling of being wrongly accused to the most dramatic extreme I could think of. I wrote about a man hours away from execution for a crime he may not have committed. What I wrote that night became the opening scene of The Pardon."
"My first editor on everything I write is my wife, Tiffany, who was an English Lit major."
"I can't underestimate the impact Miami -- the city in which I live -- has had on my writing. Miami evokes all the right buzz words -- smart and sexy, young and beautiful -- but it also has a self-destructive quality that triggers the kind of fascination we have with a reckless youth. It is blessed with natural beauty, but it's threatened by developers. It has the gift of cultural diversity, but is plagued by ethnic tension. Its nightlife is unrivaled, but the threat of violence is never far enough away. There's glitz, there's money, there's the see-and-be-seen -- and then there are neighborhoods that seem straight out of the third world. You often hear it said that truth is stranger than fiction, and nowhere is that more true than in south Florida. Where else could the United States Attorney lose his job after losing a big case, getting drunk, and biting a stripper? But it's where I live, it's where I practiced law, and it will always be an inspiration to my writing.
I was hooked on this book from the start all the way to the finish. Michael Cantella is on a cruise vacation with Ivy and they impulsively marry on the cruise. They decide to leave the cruise to go sailing and Ivy disappears, apparently drowned and food for the sharks.
Fast forward three years and Michael is remarried, fairly wealthy and one of the top traders as Sexton Silver, a large investment house. During a routine check of his porfolio, Michael discovers that someone has sold all his holdings at a loss and then funnelled all the funds to an off-shore account and then cleaned out that account. In a panic, Michael realizes he is the victim of identity theft.
Michael tries to get this investigated but soon learns that his problems are just beginning as someone is doing their hardest to make Michael's firm go out of business. Not only that but they are making it appear as if Michael is behind everything and that he is lying about what happened to his portfolio.
Michael's new wife wants a divorce and the FBI is interested in arresting Michael. The book is a non-stop thrill ride a minute and I couldn't put it down. It was like watching a silly movie (eg. American Pie) that you know is far-fetched but you find yourself compelled to watch. As I said what actually happens, is totally unbelievable to the reader and many explanations left me shaking my head. That is why I couldn't give it the full five stars.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 28, 2012
You will be in shock at what happens at the end.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.WIgogirl
Posted October 12, 2011
Have not completely finished the book, but it is really getting interesting. Have always enjoyed Grippando which was the reason I puchased this book. It's a book to take with you while waiting for a doctor's appointment and then wishing the doctor is very late.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Smart, witty and cleaver writing. The arthur has managed to deliver a story filled with twists and turns thay keeps you turning the page. This is a great read, you won't be disappointed.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Firstlovereading
Posted October 20, 2010
I throughly enjoyed reading the Jack Swyteck series by Grippando, but I ran out of books. I picked this one up because I love his writing style. I was not disappointed at all. As a matter of fact I found myself pouring through this book because I wanted to know what happened next. It is like the rest of Grippando's books with twists and turns you don't expect.....one of the many reasons that I love his books. Pick this one up for a read if you want to be thrilled.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This novel entertained me even as I snickered at how absurd some of the storyline was. It's a quick read to keep you entertained on a flight.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Think all the dirty dealing goes on in small rooms off dark alleys, that those are the only people willing to kill without hesitation and sometimes for pleasure? Think again as you'll find in the incendiary, un-put-downable MONEY TO BURN. This time the bad guys are in plush Wall Street offices wearing custom made suits and Hermes ties, driving Lamborghinis and summoning private helicopters whenever they choose.
In a thriller as up to the minute as this morning's paper we're introduced to 28-year-old Michael Canatella, a guy who has it all. His star is on the rise at the investment bank Saxton Silvers, he's the chief's #1 man. Life is too good to be true, and he's found the love of his life in Ivy Layton. However, that love doesn't last long because she dies on their wedding night.
Fast forward to seven years later. Michael has remarried - her name is Mallory and she's a trophy wife if there ever was one. Beautiful, fun, and apparently doing everything she can to make Michael happy, even to throwing a sumptuous surprise birthday party for him in the Grand Ballroom of the Pierre Hotel. She's booked the penthouse suite for them to enjoy after the party, and Michael is trying hard to focus on what he has and not what he's lost. Yet somehow the memory of Ivy is always there.
That same night as Mallory showers he is shocked to find out what else he has lost - after opening his laptop he went to the Saxton Silvers Web page and logged on to his personal investment account. He liked to look because his liquid assets "were almost ten times the `age thirty-five goal'" he had once set for himself. But, what he saw was heart stopping - everything had been liquidated, most at a loss. How could that have happened?
However, as bad as that was it was only the beginning as "financial weapons of mass destruction take their toll" and victims of a crazed killer mount.
Grippando keeps us guessing until the final pages through jaw dropping twists and surprising turns. The plotting is masterful.
- Enjoy!
- Gail Cooke
Anonymous
Posted April 8, 2010
James Grippando is one of the authors that delight me with every book. He is most comfortable with adventures in Florida. The last couple of books have been set in the north east, Boston and, now , New York. With this book he has stepped way out of his comfort zone and mine by writing about the incredible happenings on Wall Street in our recent past. This is boring subject matter to me.
The book is about a massive Ponzi scheme. Grippando pulled off this one by adding an ending that Bernie Madoff must envy while sitting in his cell contemplating his next 200 years of incarceration.
Congratulations on your extreme bravery in picking a very tough subject and creating a book that I didn't want to put down, Mr. Grippando!
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Overview
At thirty-one, Michael Cantella is a rising star at Wall Street's premier investment bank, Saxton Silvers. Everything is going according to plan until Ivy Layton, ...