The plot was a little familiar. Shadowy organization of men controlling political events from behind the scenes to further their own interests etc… I usually enjoy books that give insight into a world I’ll never be part of but this one never grabbed me. Each time the ‘protagonist’ was threatened or in danger I couldn’t really feel bad for the guy. After all, he created his own destiny. He shouldn’t have felt put upon, what did he expect playing with the big dogs?

The fawning secretary that follows him around and does everything he tells her to (including screwing him) was a bit much. Pretty stereotypical. And the ultimate stereotypical ending with them on a beach in the Caribbean – please! Of course they have defeated the bad guys and came out millions of dollars richer. It was and ending worthy of the hideously untalented John Grisham. ( )

4187 The Takeover, by Stephen W. Frey (read 9 July 2006) This is a 1995 'thriller' laid in the investment banking world and is like a John Grisham book substituting investment bankers for lawyers. It is a very fast-moving and exciting story but it is so outlandish that it is never credible, and the central character is an immoral guy who I kept telling myself not to be too concerned about since it would not be a loss if he got his comeuppance. The outcome is not what I as a good Democrat would have hoped for, and it is all fantastic and unreal and extremely non-subtle but it catches one up and I found myself eager to read in it. ( )

Investment banker Andrew Falcon is spearheading , the biggest hostile takeover in Wall Street history and counting on a staggering five-million-dollar fee if he can pull it off. But Falcon doesn't realize that he has stumbled onto the secret power of a shadowy organization known only as The Sevens. He discovers a scheme so interwoven in financial and political sabotage, so vast and brilliantly designed, that it staggers the imagination.

His only chance to stop it depends on taking overwhelming risks--and learning which of the two beautiful women in his life can be trusted. Andrew Falcon's struggle for survival begins as he tries to outwit his betrayers--and a hidden enemy whose hatred is implacable. ( )