#ReadThis #TheBankersWife by #CristinaAlger @PutnamBooks
Ernest Hemingway says to write what you know! We know banking, and it is incredibly offensive and annoying to be sporting banking brand gear that you have earned from your job killing yourself with impossible work over long hours and have someone comment "Does your dad/husband/boyfriend work there?" We would have been even more interested in a title of The Banker's Husband, but the title did make our group quite curious we admit. How about The Trader's Husband next, Cristina? We do not know Cristina Alger but our first experience with her inbetween these pages is a solid hit!
Though not bankers, three female protagonists in historically female roles of wife, journalist and secretary wow you from the start. It is sad that one of these leading ladies gives up her career in New York for her banker husband; that made us cry. However, the alacrity and depth of this novel make The Banker's Wife a completely thrilling work to crack open immediately! Told in a highly fictitious light, this caper of international intrigue though it came out a few years ago is absolutely current now especially in light of Madoff passing. It goes without saying this book is highly appealing to those that work in compliance and hopefully they have none of the same entertainment in real life. Like cops, whom we tremendously admire (RAY KELLY FOR MAYOR!!!!!!!) , there are always a couple of bad apples in any profession and in this case: private banking. For those not in the finance know, that means retail banker (not institutional unless the person is an institution!) to the wealthy.
Told with platinum intensity, this takes place in both Europe and the USA predominantly and specifically, Switzerland, London, New York and Washington, D.C.., and a lovely island. Government cover-ups, terrorists, society somebodies and wannabes and a cast of characters that spans quite a lot add color and style to these pages that fly by, no pun intended with a plane crash. Deciphering the truth is at the heart of this mystery. Research skills, avoiding the bad spies, sniper abilities and calling out BS are all laudable and necessary skills to have to survive to the end.
All our avid readers are going to recognize beaucoup de spots referenced here, especially in the best part of town, obviously the Upper East Side. Page 91 references St. James's Church which is across the street from in person Saint of Haircolor Thomas Morrissey in tandem with Saint Salon-owner John D'Orazio! (And if we knew him we might also include Saint Ralph...)
Also Connecticut, best state of all except for maybe Florida, is referenced quite a bit and we were glad to see Lakeville make an appearance (up with Skip at Lime Rock!). We know of a Somers in real life but not Somerset in Connecticut. And leave it to a Tourneau to always be WATCHing.
Marina, Annabel and Zoe, oh my! As Poirot would say, Epatant!
(Stay tuned for more Agatha Christie...)
THE BANKER’S WIFE by Cristina Alger is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
A G.P. Putnam’s Sons Hardcover & eBook
Inspired by one of the characters in her debut novel The Darlings, Alger revisits the intriguing world of finance in THE BANKER’S WIFE, but this time as a sinuous, suspenseful novel that follows two women racing for answers after a mysterious plane crash.
When a private plane bound for Geneva drops off the radar during a storm, the wreckage is later uncovered and passenger Matthew Werner, a banking insider at the powerful offshore bank Swiss United, is presumed dead. His young widow, Annabel, is left grappling with the secrets he left behind, including an encrypted laptop and a shady client list.
Meanwhile, now that ambitious society journalist Marina Tourneau is engaged to Grant Ellis, son of Presidential candidate James Ellis, she will stop writing about powerful families and finally be a part of one. But when her mentor is found murdered in his Connecticut home, Marina agrees to dig into what would have been his final story. While looking into Swiss United, Marina uncovers information that implicates some of the most powerful men in the financial world, including some who are too close to home.
About Cristina Alger
CRISTINA ALGER is the author of The Darlings and This Was Not the Plan. A graduate of Harvard College and NYU Law School, she worked as a financial analyst and a corporate attorney before becoming a writer. She lives in New York with her husband and children.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Hardcover ISBN 9780735218451
eBook ISBN 9780735218468
