Shadow Account

By Stephen W. Frey

Book Overview

His novels of big money and murder in the world of finance have earned New York Times bestselling author Stephen Frey a richly deserved reputation as a master of suspense who always delivers a high yield. Now he raises the stakes, and the risk factor, in a new thriller that pits a young Wall Street player against corporate conspiracy and White House intrigue--in a dangerous game of double crosses, dirty tricks, and deadly consequences. An investment banker in the maverick firm Phenix Capital, Conner Ashby is doing all right for himself. At twenty-seven, he's practically the right-hand man of the company's founder--a wealthy old pro looking to make a big comeback on The Street while grooming Conner for a place at the top. Between his career and his gorgeous girlfriend, it's a good life, with every indication of getting even better--until a wayward E-mail crosses Conner's computer, and plunges his near-perfect world into a terrifying downward spiral. "The 'operation' is way out of hand. If we don't do something, it's going to detonate." It's a communication not meant for Conner's eyes, between people he doesn't know, about a company he's never heard of--a company that's engaged in corporate fraud on a massive scale. With no way to trace the E-mail, it's impossible for Conner to act on the volatile discovery. But with millions of dollars at stake, high-powered careers in the balance, and hell to pay if the truth comes out, whoever clicked the "send" button by mistake isn't about to take any chances. And for Conner, the evening that began in the arms of a beautiful woman ends in a harrowing race for his life. As he follows a twisting trail of misdeeds and misinformation that stretches nationwide, Conner slowly uncovers a shocking plot as undeniably real as the gunshot wound in his arm. Now, surviving will mean struggling to expose the truth as relentlessly as his shadowy enemies seek to conceal it-- and fighting for his life as ruthlessly as those determined to end it. At every unexpected turn, Shadow Account deftly reveals Stephen Frey's many and considerable gifts: his genius for plotting, his mastery of suspense, and his unmatched insight into the dark territory where finance meets felony, money meets mortality, and profit and loss are matters of life and death.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345457595
• ISBN13: 9780345457592
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Delivered quickly

Stephen Frey keeps you on your toes throughout, always changing direction when you think you have it figured out.

Superb

Conspiracy reaches high into the President's Administration.The President is in a tough reelection campaign. He's proposing radical populist tax reforms. Corrupt corporate executives and accountants are fabricating bogus earnings results. Conner Ashby, an investment banker is a plausible hero. This is a quite enjoyable, action packed page turner.

A fun financial thriller

Shadow Account is yet another winner from Stephen Frey. In my experience, Frey has never failed to craft an enjoyable financial thriller that, at worst, easily holds your attention and at best, leaves you with no choice but to stay up late at night to find out "what happens next." Others have said that Shadow Account is filled with far too many "coincidences" and shallow characters to be believable and, thus, enjoyable. While I don't think that Shadow found it to be quite good. If you're looking for a financial story that is entirely true-to-life, stop wasting your time in the fiction section and go buy the biography of Carly Fiornia (or that of any other intriguing business behemoth). On the other hand, if you're looking for an enjoyable, hard-to-put-down read that weaves its way through the more elite levels of New York's financial world and Washington's political maze, Shadow Account (and many of Frey's other books) are for you.

Readers will be hooked after the first few paragraphs!

"The computer beeped softly, indicating the arrival of a new e-mail. [He] rose from the bed, sat down behind the desk, and clicked the icon. He didn't recognize the sender's address, but scrolled down and began reading anyway.Victor,Update on Project Delphi ... we've got a problem. They're pumping up earnings per share with the phantom income from headquarters ... there are insider dealings with the board and the senior execs. If all this gets out, the stock tanks and people lose a ton of jingle-juice. We'd be hauled up in front of Congress ... [oh and] the Minneapolis operation is way out of hand. So far the Washington office hasn't gotten dragged into what's going on out there in corporate America ... but Delphi could be the one that screws us.What do you want me to do?RustyBefore he can decide what to do about this misrouted message, Liz asks him to run out and get her some cigarettes. He has been having an affair with her, even though she claims to be engaged to another man; she wears a three-carat ring on her left hand and is able to twist him around her finger. Yet, he doesn't completely trust her ... he knows she is manipulative and wonders why she doesn't break it off with her fiancée, since she claims to love him.When he gets back to his apartment, "the door [is] ajar ... he pushed it open, and his pulse spiked. The apartment had been destroyed. His computer was on the floor ... hard drive removed." What happened? Who could or would do this to him? Where was Liz ... he spots "something on the far side of the bed. He scrambled onto the mattress, then froze. Liz lay sprawled on her back in the corner of the room near the desk, her neck and chest a spattered mess. As his fingers touched her still warm skin, he heard something over his shoulder and spun around. A man stood in the middle of the room, staring at him" ... a gun at the ready. He "lunged for the window and tumbled onto the fire escape ... just as gunshots crackled in his ear.""He" is Conner Ashby, a young, eager and very ambitious man. He works for Gavin Smith, an investment banker who owns Phenix Capitol. "The old man was the nearest thing to a father he's had in a long time. And Gavin was paying him $175,000 a year plus bonus." Thus, when Gavin said, "jump," Conner asked "how high?" Under Gavin's wing, Conner feels that his career is cemented and his personal wealth guaranteed.Paul Stone also works closely with Gavin. He has a secret agenda that necessitates ruining Conner any way he can. Conner is very aware of Paul's hatred toward him, but it all comes to a head at Gavin's house one night when Conner accuses Paul of breaking into his computer, and Gavin tells him: "Right off the bat there are problems, pal ... there are lots [of] mistakes ... throughout the presentation. Paul printed out two copies and brought them [to me."] Conner knows that Paul "inputted the typos before he printed it out ... to make [him] look bad." He is furious and appalled, and can't believe that Gavin

Great financial thriller

In Manhattan, Connor Ashby is in his apartment with his wealthy engaged to someone else girlfriend Liz Shaw when the email addressed to a Victor arrives claiming major wrong doings at an unnamed firm. Connor realizes the email he received was an error, but before he can decide what to do Liz sends him out to buy cigarettes. When he returns Liz looks dead, the place is trashed and a goon tries to kill him, but he escapes. However, when he returns with the cops, his apartment is clean with no corpse as if nothing happened.Connor knows that the cops think he is a con artist. He also believes Liz is dead and these guys will kill him to erase a problem. Thinking of playing Chicken against unknown assailants, he decides to make inquiries, but if he succeeds in uncovering the truth and lives to tell it, the scandal reaches as high as the president's cabinet.SHADOW ACCOUNT is the typical Stephen Frey financial thriller (see THE INSIDER) that takes an everyman financial expert and places them in the midst of conspiratorial environs in which their life is an accounts payable. Though Connor seems like a low rent David up against several Goliaths with no chance of triumph, the tale hooks the audience from the moment Connor brings the cops to his neat as a pin apartment until the final High Noon like climax. As usual no one takes complex financial issues and explains them inside an action packed plot as well as Mr. Frey does. Fans will better understand some of the recent meltdown scandals