19 Purchase St.

by Gerald A. Browne

Book Overview

Sworn to avenge the murder of his sister, Andrew Gainer joins a cabal operated by a master strategist who has perfected the art of washing money. Racing through Manhattan, Zurich and Paris, this... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 042506154X
• ISBN13: 9780425061541
• Release Date: September 1983
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 468 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic

This is a summer book. Every summer, I take it to the beach, get settled with a nice cool drink, listen to the waves and enjoy. This isn't great literature, nor is it pulp fiction, it's the perfect mix for a summer book: a story you can sink your teeth into; Bond-like action; and a believable conspiracy theory. I can't recommend it enough.

I've Been Rereading This Book Since Childhood

From the moment I first found this wonderful book on the mahogany shelves of my parents' expansive library, I was hooked. So much glamour, intrigue, passion, and an undertone of evil (a WASP mafia--who knew?), I couldn't resist. Many plot twists continue to keep the pages turning, and it has that classic timelessness the way so many 70s potboilers do. You jet across the globe (in a Concorde, now sadly defunct, of course) from NYC to Zurich to Paris to Ellis Island back to Suburban Connecticut. I haven't read any of Browne's other books, but it's always been on my to-do list. Start with this one and discover his expert crafting and addictive prose.

19 Purchase Street

ISBN 042506154X - I was about 75 pages in before I actually cared whether or not I forgot the book on a bus - slow starter, a little meandering, but after that, it picked up. It was a little ironic to me that I was reading this book as the Roberto Calvi murder story was making news, and even more ironic that Calvi was murdered in 1982, the same year this book is copyrighted. Calvi's a lot like Gordon Winship - replace the High Board in the book with the Vatican, and Browne seems almost psychic. Andrew and Norma Gainer were, for all the system knew, orphans - so the system tried to swallow them up. Norma, however, had different plans, and broke free of the system with her younger brother. They found themselves doing rather dubious things for money, but none of it compared to the dealings they had with the men at 19 Purchase Street. Carrying dirty money out of the country to be laundered, Norma thought she was working for the Mob and risked her life by skimming a little every time. When she paid with her life, her brother decided to get even. He, too, thinks Norma was working for the Mafia. Indirectly, perhaps, but neither of them have a clue who the Mafia is working for. In an effort to clean large amounts of money faster, the Mafia turned to a banker, Gordon Winship, who took them to the cleaners. Soon, the Mob was working for the High Board - comprised on men of impeccable backgrounds, from wealthy families, in positions of great power in the U.S. And the High Board turned out to be far more ruthless than the made men ever expected. The seedy, kind of small-time criminal element taking on what they think is the Mob leaves the reader cheering for one criminal element or another; there are no "good" guys to cheer for here. The way it all plays out, and some of the details Browne manages NOT to overlook (like Norma's "forgotten" ashes) make it worth reading. Of course, it's 1982. The technology is sometimes dated, and I'd bet Browne backed the wrong pony and bought a Betamax himself back in the day. A little gory, especially the murder of Norma, and if sex in your books bothers you, don't even pick this up. Mostly, though, a good read! - AnnaLovesBooks

You gotta read this book.

This book really should be made into a movie. It's got all the elements for a good thriller flick. Glamour, suspense, intrique. I loved it. The death by bread in the shower scene alone is worth the read. Find this book and read it! It's been years since I've read it, but I have never given up looking for that house full of money on "19 Purchase Street." Kevin Spacey was born to play the lead in this story.