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...


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105911 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-25
• Released on: 2006-07-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The mob and a disgruntled competitor are trying to kill Christian Gillette, the charismatic, good-looking and wildly successful chairman of Everest Capital, a multibillion-dollar private equity firm. He's got government spooks trying to use one of his companies as a front for a top-secret nanotechnology program. And on top of all this, he still has to run his firm and figure out the truth about his father's death. Narrator Graham does the book justice, voicing the high-powered businessmen with all the right intonations, using slight alterations to distinguish between characters, including a spot-on British accent (although his mob hit man accent does seem a bit trite). His facility for dialogue makes Graham an ideal choice for this audiobook, as the novel's characters are its primary strength. Graham is also adept at reading the narrative sections, using deliberate pacing that makes the action compelling and easy to follow—and this is essential, as the novel features a complex web of plot threads that, at times, strains credibility. Fortunately Graham provides a stabilizing influence, keeping the story more firmly grounded in reality even as the author has it veer off into thriller fantasyland. Simultaneous release with the Ballantine hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 3). (Jan.)
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
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