Man in the Middle
Author: Ken Morris
List Price: $25.00
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 1890862258
Publisher: Bancroft Press (15 March, 2003)
Sales Rank: 212,758
Average Customer Rating: 4.83 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
In the Middle of Treachery
Ken Morris, a former hedge fund trader, captures the relentless pulse and attraction of being the inside man in the financial market, while at the same time maintaining a streamlined, vivid thriller about a man in the middle of treachery he can not fathom. Peter Neil becomes lured by, and then immersed in, the world of big time hedge fund trading. But as he gets caught up in a tangled web of lies and murder, he begins to become part of world he used to hate.
The book addresses intriguing questions: How can a man work in high stakes stock trading and maintain his integrity? How far will criminal elements in our society go in order to wash their money clean? And just how much of this activity is taking place in our society right now?Morris writes about what he knows and makes the reader know and care about the world of hedge funds and stock manipulation. If you want a pulse-pounding thriller that is thoughtful and engaging, buy stock in this book.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Great Financial Novel
As an investment banker I enjoy reading novels built around finance intrigue vs. lawyers, doctors or policemen. This is a very good book of a recent college grad who after the death of his mother is given an opportunity to be a hedge fund trader. In a year he goes from not wanting the job to being one of the top traders and all the internal office politics that develop.But this is no ordinary job and he wasn't recruited based upon his intelligence. The novel starts with two deaths of people who do business with the hedge fund as well as the death of his mother. Morris weaves many different plot lines like the death of his mother, his family life and a relationship with the attorney of the hedge fund, his love life involving the daughter of the attorney, and his conflicted views of wealth.
Overlapping these story lines is a great "whodunit" as the new trader fights to learn a business and duck clues that may involve him in an elaborate scheme. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in a good murder mystery built around a financial world background.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Entertaining & Accurate
This book entertains. It is pretty well written and the characters and conflict seem authentic. The story is fluid and I give Morris credit for projecting his knowledge of the securities markets into a format that isn't pious or clinical - not an easy task.My only problems with the book are as follows: 1) the corny dialogue, mostly between Neil and his coworker; and 2) the difficulty in reconciling the Neil character before and after he starts his trading position. They seem like two entirely different people, with two entirely different thought processes and intellects. There is just a giant leap in his actions from the beginning of the story to the end. Maybe that is Morris's point - "realizing his potential." I just found it a little difficult to grasp.
These are really nit-picks however. This book is fun to read and I congratulate Morris on an impressive first effort.
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