Product Description

Having survived his rise to Chairman of Everest Capital, the world's largest private equity firm, and the ferocious attempts on his life that ensued, Christian Gillette finally seems safely perched atop the financial industry.

He's just accepted Everest's largest private investment, he's poised to takeover his ex-rival's sinking firm, and he's just embarked on his firm's most exciting venture to date, buying the NFL's newest team -- the Las Vegas Twenty-Ones. Plus, one of his young employees -- an ambitious deal maker named David Wright -- has caught his eye. Wright reminds Gillette of himself just a few years back, and he's drawn to the thought of teaching the wunderkind everything the ups and downs of the industry. But everything comes to a screeching halt when a shadowy man calls him to a meeting, requesting a favor and offering in return new information about Gillette's father and his still mysterious death.

Christian Gillette can't stand to be controlled, but he also can't afford to lose a chance at finally learning something substantive about his father's death. And as he becames more entangled with the strange deal, and the frantic pace of business continues without his full attention, he feels his grip on Everest weakening -- and soon realizes his life is once more in desperate jeopardy. When all signs begin to point to David Wright, Gillette realizes that his toughest decision as Chairman lies directly ahead...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #634384 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-27
• Released on: 2005-12-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Christian Gillette's second outing in financial thrillerland finds Chris heading Manhattan-based investment firm Everest Capitol after his boss was murdered in the series debut, The Chairman. Everest is a huge success, as is Chris, though disaster looms from early on as Chris's right-hand-man, David Wright (the title protégé), has accidentally killed a prostitute in the course of a heavy session: "He kept replaying that awful scene in the bondage chamber in his mind. His foot hitting the block of wood, the awful sound of her neck snapping like a brand new Ticonderoga pencil between two thumbs." As the chapters march by, readers will find themselves swamped with questions: Why do government spies want to involve Chris in a secret nanotechnology scheme? What really happened when his father died in a plane crash? Will the Mafia infiltrate Chris's new Las Vegas NFL franchise operation? Will his romance with superstar pop singer Faith Cassidy fail? And many, far too many, more, though it is to Frey's credit that he is able to hold all these plots together and knit the tangled threads into coherence by the action-packed end. Multibillion-dollar deals and snappy financial jargon help fill things out, but readers looking for more than a quick payoff will have to seek gratification elsewhere. (On sale Dec. 27)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
Midway through this book involving a secret American spy outfit, the Mafia, and Big Business, the listener may despair. Surely there can be no way that business mogul (and super nice guy) Christian Gillette can make everything turn out right. It's a good thing that author Stephen Frey has a more agile mind. Reader Holter Graham keeps the listener on the edge, raising expectations and just as quickly dashing them. He has a voice of quiet authority, a voice to trust, a voice you'll want to hear again. The way he seamlessly shifts from Gillette's calm voice to the Australian lilt of his second-in-command or the wheedling tones of traitor David Wright is inspiring. This is a blue chip winner. M.S. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
In Frey's The Chairman (2005),Christian Gillette took over Everest, a multibillion--dollar private equity firm and brought it to new heights of fame and fortune. Here, Gillette continues his quest for financial domination but, at the same time, begins to consider life outside Everest--especially his love for his pop-star girlfriend--and contemplates the process of choosing an heir-apparent. But just who should his protege be? He settles on David Wright, a young gun with proven talent who always aims to please. What Gillette doesn't know, however, is that Wright has another agenda, one not of his own making but rather a fait accompli set in motion when one night of wild sex goes terribly wrong. Frey tells a fine story, but he dresses it up a bit too much with over-the-top plot twists. Still, when it comes to high-finance intrigue, this series continues to look good on the bottom line. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved