A USA Today Bestseller“Immersive, satisfying, tense–and timely: This is probably happening for real right now.”–Lee Child“First-rate…Slick, heart-hammering entertainment.”–The New York Times Book ReviewOn an early morning in November, a couple boards a private plane bound for Geneva, flying into a storm. Soon after, it simply drops off the radar, and its wreckage is later uncovered in the … radar, and its wreckage is later uncovered in the Alps. Among the disappeared is Matthew Werner, a banking insider at Swiss United, a powerful offshore bank. His young widow, Annabel, is left grappling with the secrets he left behind, including an encrypted laptop and a shady client list. As she begins a desperate search for answers, she determines that Matthew’s death was no accident, and that she is now in the crosshairs of his powerful enemies.
Meanwhile, ambitious society journalist Marina Tourneau has finally landed at the top. Now that she’s engaged to Grant Ellis, she will stop writing about powerful families and finally be a part of one. Her entry into the upper echelons of New York’s social scene is more appealing than any article could ever be, but, after the death of her mentor, she agrees to dig into one more story. While looking into Swiss United, Marina uncovers information that implicates some of the most powerful men in the financial world, including a few who are too close to home. The story could also be the answer to Annabel’s heartbreaking search–if Marina chooses to publish it.
The Banker’s Wife is both a high-stakes thriller and an inside look at the personal lives in the intriguing world of finance, introducing Cristina Alger as a powerful new voice in the genre.
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I could not put this book down.
The Banker’s Wife is a portrait of two women, each of whom has become entangled in the murky world of offshore banking and money laundering — and, as a result, finds herself in grave danger.
When a plane bound for Geneva crashes in the Alps, Annabel Werner is informed that her husband, Matthew, a private banker with Swiss United, perished along with a female client. Annabel gave up her own career to move with Matthew to Geneva so that they could start over following tragedy and disappointment, and Matthew could enjoy a successful, lucrative career. Annabel is devastated, but there is no time for mourning when she realizes that he left behind his encrypted laptop, details about client identities and transactions, and his assistant convinces her that she is not safe. She soon discovers that she was not provided truthful information about the place crash and she has to unravel the mystery of what Matthew was really up to in order to survive.
Back in the U.S., Marina Tourneau is about to trade her career as a journalist reporting on America’s rich and famous for marriage to Grant Ellis, whose father, James, is about to announce his candidacy for President. But her mentor and friend, Duncan Sander, is found murdered in his home and Marina does not believe that he was the victim of a robbery gone wrong. Duncan had been working on a big story for quite some time. He was determined to track down Morthy Reiss, convinced that Reiss fakes his own suicide and absconded with the proceeds from the Ponzi scheme that Reiss disguised as a hedge fund. When Marina receives inside information from a whistle blower, she is determined to complete the story — for Duncan and to learn the truth. While following the trail of money straight to Swiss United, Marina finds evidence implicating some of the most powerful players in the international world of finance, business, and government.
In The Banker’s Wife, the stories of Annabel and Marina are interconnected, even though the women are not acquainted. Unwittingly, they both find themselves immersed in a very tangled web of power, finance, and illegal schemes to avoid taxes, and they must both be exceedingly inventive and expeditious as they search for the truth. For both of them, as well as Matthew’s assistant, Zoe, their very lives depend upon their ingenuity and deductive reasoning. The result is a tense, intricately constructed tale about the corruption of power and wealth, and the lengths to which the wealthy and powerful will go in order to protect their status. The book’s pace never lags, careening with increasing speed and urgency to a shocking, but emotionally satisfying conclusion.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader’s Copy of the book.
After Annabel’s husband, Matthew, was killed in a small plane crash, both she and journalist Marina investigated the whys. Even though the two woman have never met, their worlds will soon collide in this fast-paced, sophisticated, and suspenseful financial thriller.
This was a fascinating look at offshore banking and hidden Swiss bank accounts and reminded me a bit of books by Ken Follett and Dan Brown. The story focused on two strong female characters: Annabel, who was recently widowed, and Marina, an investigative journalist. After Matthew’s death, Annabel started to wonder if things at Swiss United bank, where Matthew worked as a tax attorney, were above board. Did someone at the bank want him silenced? Meanwhile, Marina was on the other side of the world in NYC wondering if her boss, Duncan, was really killed during a random home invasion. Is it possible that the two deaths were somehow related?
I read The Banker’s Wife in 1.5 days because I couldn’t put it down! This was my first book by this author, and I look forward to more.
I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Locations: Geneva Switzerland, New York City, and Somerset Connecticut
This is a great book about secrets and corruption and money – LOTS of money. It’s a clever mystery that keeps you guessing over whether characters are honest or corrupt and your opinion is going to change several times until you get to the fantastic ending of the book.
There are two strong female characters that most of the book revolves around – Annabel the widow of a banker killed in a plane crash who left clues behind over what was going on at the Swiss bank that employed him and Marina – a journalist who gets a tip about money laundering by Swiss banks and has to follow the story to the end. Both women end up being pursued by people who don’t want them to share any of the information that they have and will stop at nothing to make sure that they remain silent. I really can’t say much about the plot without giving away potential spoilers but I will say that it’s fast paced and a real page turner! I loved it.
I read an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Two women in dangerous situations through no fault of their own.
Annabelle was married, but her husband seemed to be married to his job. After a plane crash, she finds out why there had been a plane crash with him in it.
Marina writes stories about men like Annabel’s husband, but this current story is a bit too dangerous to continue with even though Marina does.
Actually a lot of folks seemed to be in danger, and the persons behind this situation are aware of every move Marina, Annabel, and others are making.
After the plane crash and when Annabel was out of her Geneva apartment, it was ransacked. Annabel really became angry and frightened when she came home to the damage. Marina really became angry when she found out some information about her future father-in-law and when she found her friend had been murdered for uncovering incriminating information.
What was going on? It all seemed to stem from the Swiss bank and its clients.
So many people were involved in this illegal money hiding. It is a pretty frightening concept that seems like it could be “real” in today’s world.
The behind-the-scenes hacking and finding out information is also a bit on the scary side.
The story line was interesting, but was a little slow at times with all the technical information. As the story continued, though, the tension mounted as everyone involved in the money scheme was coming to the surface and trying to keep those who knew what was going on quiet.
THE BANKER’S WIFE addressed high profile and powerful men and women where money was the catalyst, and as the saying goes “the root of all evil.”
Perhaps it isn’t a good idea to be a “banker’s wife.” 🙂
If you enjoy secrets, intrigue, corruption, and love, you will enjoy THE BANKER’S WIFE. 4/5
I received an advance copy. All opinions are my own.
I had the opportunity to read this book in advance from First to Read by Penguin Press.
Besides the obvious typos and interchanging of character names (which is a big pet-peeve of mine!), i really enjoyed this book. It was a little slow to start off with but really managed to pick up speed about a fourth of the way through. I am normally an avid reader of thrillers and detective-crime novels, so this book was right up my alley. I liked the fact that it was about white-collar crimes and not murder, etc. Same genre, different subject. I really enjoyed the characters. I felt that the reader is able to connect with the characters on a personal level, which is sometimes hard for me when I read a new author. I especially liked how certain characters took matters into their own hands and didn’t succumb to the evil in the book. I would and have recommended this book to a few friends. If you like crime novels and thrillers, this is a good one to pick up.
What a thrilling, fast paced story! Told by different people with strong female voices, this book keeps you on the edge of your seat. This is a definite must read if you love thrillers! I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam . All opinions are my own.