Black Fridays
"..I did thoroughly enjoy this book, despite its flaws due to Sears’ great writing talent..."
Synopsis:
Jason Stafford is a former Wall Street hotshot who made some bad moves, paid the price with two years in prison, and is now trying to put his life back together. He's unemployable, until an investment firm asks him to look into possible problems left by a junior trader who died recently in an accident. What he discovers is big – there are problems, all right, the kind that get you killed.
But it's not his only concern. Stafford has another quest as well: to reclaim his five-year-old son, “the Kid,” from his unstable ex-wife, and then learn just what it means to make a life with him. The things Stafford discovers about himself in the process are every bit as gripping as his investigation, and when the two threads of his life come together – the results are unforgettable.
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Review:
The synopsis was promising me a thriller beginning when Jason Stafford starts investigating his former friends and colleagues. I was unable to understand Stafford's loyalty towards his wife as the author did not paint her as a particularly pleasant person and I failed to see why he was so desperate to get back with her. It wasn't until he met another woman and then suddenly, within one meeting, all of his ex-wife's flaws became apparent. I found the financial scam a little too complex and esoteric for me to understand. However, the author does write with such enthusiasm that I still enjoyed the plot, despite not being able to work out how the scam was carried out. Stafford is also trying to build a relationship with his son who has been diagnosed with autism. Armed with text book knowledge, he tries to make his son's life better. Again, I found the relationship not totally believable as within two weeks, apart from a couple of blips, Stafford is able to work out triggers and routines for his autistic son. I was also expecting a plot that had more suspense and intrigue. The person behind the scam was revealed at the end, but I found by then I had little interest in even knowing who it was. Despite my comments I did thoroughly enjoy this book, despite its flaws due to Sears' great writing talent, which made this a much easier read than it could have been.