Bottom Line

by Marc Davis, Joe Barrett (Narrator)

As the US and global economies in the twenty-first century head toward a major recession and companies worldwide struggle to survive, one businessman is tempted to turn to crime. Two strong businessmen who run a colossal international management consulting and accounting firm find themselves battling one another to save it, each proposing a different way of preventing its collapse. One is the CEO and founder, an amoral, ruthless megalomaniac; the other is the senior-most executive who expects to succeed the CEO as head of the company and a principled but flawed idealist. They were once as close as father and son, the older man mentor to the younger. Now their relationship collapses along with the economy, as their firm loses one blue-chip corporate client after another. A series of financial crimes ensue, instigated by the CEO, who uses fraudulent accounting to appear to help clients make their estimated profits while using insider trading to reap millions in personal profits. With the end in sight, he absconds with millions of dollars that had been held in trust in a partners' bonus pool, forcing the younger man to hire a private eye to hunt him down.

7 pages, Audio CD

First published June 1, 2013

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part corporate drama, part action adventure and private eye investigation, Marc Davis’ Bottom Line is set in the economic downturn of the nineties as businesses collapse and those employed to protect them spend more time determining who should be fired than asking for new hirings. Big boss Adrian has no qualms about sending eight men to do four men’s work, and charging the customer more, but the younger narrator still has some principals, or still thinks he has. Whether those principals will serve to keep Nick in his job or get him fired remains to be seen as the story begins, but soon Nick’s star is rising even as the business splutters and begins its fall. Then everything changes.

Halfway through the book the story changes gear and an ex-high-flyer wants what’s right. Nick’s lost his girl, his friends, his substitute father, and rather a lot of money. But he’s plenty to spare and when he sets out, almost alone, in search of the thief, it’s clear he can finance his own investigation. Of course, the FBI and SEC are investigating too. And former colleagues have hired a big-league agency to follow the clues. They’re just not quite so good at it.

Meanwhile, after causing so many business owners to see their own bottom lines, Nick finds himself looking for a measure of his life. Does he want revenge on the one who betrayed him? Is he still searching for a father figure? Is he in the business of making ends meet, of making the flawed meet their ends, or of bringing a meet and just ending to a broken situation? Is money or fame his “bottom line” or is he driven by something else?

By the end of this novel I’ve realized that, just maybe, some people really are in business for something real, not just fortune or fame. The story’s practical depiction of life in the corporate world has flowed into a fast-action drama of humanity too. The mystery’s intriguing. The road to its solution is clever. The surprises stick in the memory. And a falling character in a falling world finds his anchor after all.

Disclosure: I was given a free bound galley of this novel by the publisher.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: Nick Blake, senior executive
SETTING: Chicago
RATING: 4.25
WHY: Adrian Martell is the founder and CEO of a huge management consulting firm, and Nick Blake is the second in command. Everything falls apart when corporate fraud is uncovered. Although Blake is not an innocent, he didn't know about the accounting shenanigans. Martell is an egomaniac and when he absconds with the partners' funds to the tune of $100 million, Blake goes on a mission to apprehend him. The book was surprisingly suspenseful. It ran true to the label on its cover, "business noir".

[Gloria Feit · Rating 3 out of 5]

In wake of the Bernie Madoff massive fraud upon the world, a novel (or novels) on questionable business practices could be expected. “Bottom Line” tells a slightly different story of a similar large-scale fraud on a different level: Fraudulent accounting, a violation of securities laws. It is the story of Martell & Co., a top consulting/auditing firm based in Chicago with some of the country’s top companies as clients. With the downturn in the economy, with lower earnings in prospect, the numbers are “massaged” so the stocks of the public companies wouldn’t suffer.

The plot involves the study of the principal behind the firm, Adrian Martell, and his son, who perpetrate the shenanigans, and Nick Blake, the number two behind them, who plays a vital role in uncovering the scheme. It is an interesting idea, and, for the most part, well executed, except for some minor points about which the author or editor should have known better. Several times, SEC forms are misnamed (K-8 instead of 8K, or K-10 for 10K), and a statement that corporate information would not be released for several months, despite the legal requirement for immediate disclosure of significant news, raising the question as to how expert the author is on the subject. All in all, it is an interesting and fairly good read, despite these misgivings.

[Lucia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover reminds me of the opening for "Mad Men"...coincidence?

I really liked this book...in the beginning. It has an interesting premise and is tightly written, thoroughly believable and engrossing; however, midway through it loses steam.

This observation/theme of character Adrian Martell's runs through the entire book: "You've got to be interested in what interests your friends, or at least fake it, and you've got to put up with their irritating quirks. Better to have lots of useful acquaintances." Unfortunately, the protagonist Nick Blake isn't much more 'friendly'. I didn't find him to be a character I could root for, much less like. Nick has a huge sense of entitlement and comes across as vastly hypocritical. Not all that much separates him from Adrian.

The romance element feels forced.

SPOILER:
In the beginning, the book is utterly believable, but after Adrian runs it just isn't. Being tracked down with "former" photographs makes no sense. Nick as super-sleuth is a bit much--he's already smug. Finally, the fact that he doesn't get hung out to dry at the same time as his former partners makes made me angry.

Great start, disappointing conclusion.

[Kasey Cocoa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book very difficult to enjoy because there was very little provided to encourage the reader to bond, like, pull for, or even care about the main character, instead he just comes across like an immature brat. The story arc started out quite good but about a third of the way in things felt unpolished. There were a few variances and parts that just didn't make sense. The closing of the story didn't have any flow and instead felt like it was just an attempt to bring together all the floaters and mistakes with a well known tragedy.


Free copy provided through goodreads First Reads. Thank you for the free book in exchange for an honest review.

[John Johnstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Corporate story line, title gives a strong clue, Nick Blake is working for a business consulting firm, led by a self made successful business man with an ego to match his wealth. The relentless pursuit of riches, it's consequences and how it can affect the lives of others is the main theme. Nick ends up playing detective in pursuit of his mentor. It sets off at a good pace, however the steam is running out by the time the book concludes, but still holds my attention to the end. More could have been done by adding some twists and turns making an excellent story rather than just a good one.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story here was decent—certainly good enough to pull me along. The writing, however, wasn’t the best. The dialogue was pretty bad—even laughable at times. And the author uses simile like an author trying too hard to use simile.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the flow of this book and the way the author developed each character with great imagery. It is a real page turner because once started, I didn't stop. A great read.