"Prever really knows how to grip and hold you from the very first line. Fabulously vivid storytelling." Peter James "An impressive debut novel, it's the gripping pace and action sequences that keep you reading. A difficult book to put down." James Becker - international best selling author of 'The First Apostle' Former #1 in Political Fiction, #4 in Political thrillers #5 in all books - Thrillers, and #3 in the Kindle Thrillers Chart. Featured title on The body of a French banker lies under a train on the London the first of three of three ‘banking suicides.’ A tragic result of the economic downturn. Former tabloid reporter, turned blogger, Danny Lightfoot needs a story. And something about the tube death doesn’t add up… When a second banker takes his life, then a third, he’s certain of wrongdoing. In a race to reveal the truth, Lightfoot uncovers a laundered money trail that leads, via Hong Kong and the world’s largest online criminal cartel, to the heart of British Number Ten Downing Street – and a man who will stop at nothing to achieve the power he craves. But with a hired killer watching his every move, can Lightfoot banish his demons and face down the evil that threatens his life?
David Prever is a multi-award winning British broadcaster and a freelance journalist. He lives in Hertfordshire, England, with his wife and two children. The Blood Banker is his debut novel.
Mr. Prever’s debut novel was offered as a free download which I stumbled upon some time back and decided why not give it a try. The synopsis promised to provide a gripping story with action sequences so engaging it would be difficult to put it down. From time to time I do give my attention to first time writer and I am rarely disappointed, this one joins those who managed to have kept me glued to every word and engaged by the suspense from start to finish.
I admit having enjoyed the moments spent with this thriller, one set in the world of high finance where bankers take their own lives…The first chapters pulled me in and I wanted more and I got more. As the story moved along and picked up pace it became a nail biting experience and when all the pieces of the puzzle came together it was most satisfying.
This lean and well- written novel is a smooth blend of police and journalistic skills mixed with financial jargon. The characterization is believable and well- drawn and the plot takes us into the murky water of power. All went well till the conclusion where we are left hanging on loose ends and with so unanswered questions...or is this some twisted ending to pique our interest in a sequel….Some minor hicks are noticed in spelling and mixed words although this did not distracted me it was nevertheless an annoyance. A little tweak here and there is all that was needed….
Product description:
The body of a French banker lies under a train on the London Underground: the first of three of three “banking suicides”' A tragic result of the economic downturn. Former tabloid reporter, turned blogger, Danny Lightfoot needs a story. And something about the tube death doesn't add up... In a race to reveal the truth, Lightfoot uncovers a laundered money trail that leads, via Hong Kong and the world's largest online criminal cartel, to the heart of British government...
All the way through I thought this story could have been improved by better writing. There could have been a lot more intrigue, more tension. Instead for me it mostly just plodded through the story until it lurched forward with inexplicable breakthroughs that just happened, they had no build up. I particularly thought the ending was poor. It was no surprise at all but also had no context to it, no obvious background.
Having listened and even spoken to David on Radio Oxford, I thought I need to give is book ago, has a brilliant broadcaster and interviewer I was interested to see how is book would be. I loved it, from the very first few pages I was I was involved in the story & sinister would of corporate banking. Very well researched, great story line and certainly and opening for more adventures of the Blogger
A good storyline, though the ending was a bit abrupt. I’m not quite sure why the writer thanked his editor - towards the end, the book was increasingly littered with typos and missing words, as though there was a rush on to get it ‘out there’ and no time to finish checking it thoroughly. Am I the only person who gets annoyed with the ubiquitous use of ‘disinterested’ in place of ‘uninterested’?
A string of suicides, the police think are just that. An inquisitive journalist and a web of lies and deceit in politics. The combination makes for a real turn the page thriller. Thoroughly enjoyed this.
Interesting premise for a novel - a French banker apparently commits suicide by jumping in front of a tube train, leaving his family with huge debts. Shortly afterwards another notable figure, a proponent of internet censorship, hangs himself while on holiday. However, we the reader know these aren't suicides but murders carried out by a shady figure known only as The Cleaner.
Investigative journalist Danny Lightfoot stumbles upon the story and decides to investigate, using his blog to update his findings. The villain of the piece becomes known very early on, with the novel's purpose being to unravel the reasons for the murders.
The first few chapters really pulled me in; they were fast paced and exciting and left me wanting to know more. However, the book then slowed to snail's pace following Danny's arrest on charges of breaching the Official Secrets Act, and I found the middle section a bit of a plod. Fortunately the pace picks up again towards the end.
Overall this was a good story BUT the book is full of typos and grammatical errors. In the acknowledgments the author thanks his editor but I think I'd be asking for a refund! There are entire random words, presumably left behind from earlier edits, that are really distracting, and near the end there's a line where Danny uses his phone as a torch and "shined the phone on the wall" ...... aaargh how on EARTH did that get through the editing process??!!
Hmm, while I thought the story was pretty good, I had lots of problems following what was going on at the end, when all the events were being tidied up. There were also some pretty big things that happened towared the end that were glossed over and not really mentioned again (one involving a car, the other Danny's father). The ebook version I read also had a lot of mistakes -- questions without a question mark, quotations without quotation marks, end punctuation missing altogether in some sentences, etc. which made reading a bit of a challenge. Still, I did enjoy most of the action and would be glad to read any other books by the author.
Very much loved reading this book and found myself missing stops on my commutes and picking longer commutes to allow myself more time to read this. While the book could have benefited from a proofreader/editor (flaws in spelling, continuity etc, like lunch at 9.30am and a fingerprint expert getting mixed up with a handwriting expert), the story itself is so strong and so gripping, the book is 'unputdownabe'. Highly recommended read.