The Directive: A Novel

by Matthew Quirk

Overview

“With elements of a technothriller, this is a nonstop, heart-pounding ride. . . . another high-powered hit” from the national bestselling author of The 500 (Booklist, starred review).

After escaping the corrupt back rooms of Washington, DC, Mike Ford is again playing a dangerous game—and this time the stakes are even higher. Mike's brother is in over his head in a powerful conspiracy to steal a secret worth billions from the rarely understood, vitally important trading desk at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Trying to bail his brother out, Mike quickly finds himself trapped into planning the heist himself, forced to call on all the skills of his criminal past in order to escape. In this sharp, fast-paced sequel to The 500, Mike Ford again stars as the cunning and courageous former con man with a big heart, and Matthew Quirk confirms that he is one of the most exciting thriller writers at work today.

“A roller coaster of a thriller. . . . If you like Ludlum you are certain to like Quirk.” —Forbes.com

“Thrilling. Fascinating details . . . combine with a relentlessly charged plot. Stellar.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer

“An action-packed thriller that should end up in many beach bags.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“A nonstop, heart-pounding ride . . . Quirk has another high-powered hit on his hands.” —Booklist

“An engrossing plot . . . this page-turner will attract not only fans of such financial-thriller authors as Christopher Reich and Joseph Finder but all those looking for a fun, fast-flowing beach read.” —Library Journal

“Another exciting page-turner.” —Associated Press

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316198653
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	09/24/2024
Series:	Mike Ford , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	369
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Matthew Quirk studied history and literature at Harvard College. After graduation, he spent five years at The Atlantic, reporting on a variety of subjects, including crime, private military contractors, the opium trade, terrorism prosecutions, and international gangs. He lives in San Diego.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for THE 500:

"Gripping...the action never lets up for a second, and the pages cannot be turned fast enough."
—Associated Press


"This ripping yarn springs and snaps along like a row of wolf traps."
—Newsday

From the Publisher

2014-05-07
A young Washington, D.C., attorney who inherited his con man father's skills and love of risk is forced under pain of death to steal trading secrets worth billions from the Federal Reserve Bank.Mike Ford may be a Harvard Law graduate, but he never learns. In Quirk's previous novel, The 500 (2012), he got in murderously over his head spying on influential congressmen for a life-altering payday. In this new book, a brutal schemer threatens to kill Mike and his brother, Jack, a chronic screw-up on the verge of landing in prison like their old man, unless Mike breaks into the D.C. office that issues billion-dollar trading directives to the Fed. When, on the eve of his engagement party, Mike starts offering phony excuses for his sudden disappearances, he angers his fiancee, Annie, one of the spoils of The 500. Her snooty British father, who runs a shadowy hedge fund, has never liked him. Pulling stunts like bursting into a social gathering and threatening a man with a knife doesn't smooth tensions with her. After enduring grueling torture, Mike applies his considerable skills to the heist, including picking supposedly impenetrable locks, cracking security systems and setting up his own surveillance. He also sets traps for the bad guys—for whom, he increasingly suspects, Jack is working. There's enough action for three thrillers and plenty of twists and turns. But the shaky plot, which revolves around Mike's trust-him, don't-trust-him feelings toward his brother, quickly becomes tiresome. Mike's cardboard personality ensures that the book will fail to involve the reader more than superficially.A fast-paced but emotionally empty follow-up to The 500.

Kirkus Reviews