The Minerva System

Death to Bankers #1

by Simon Leighton-Porter

Tom Mansell, City trader turned IT developer, has created Minerva, a world-leading electronic trading system. Its success attracts the wrong kind of attention and Mansell finds himself caught up in a battle for ownership, pitting an American Investment Bank against the sovereign wealth authority of the republic of Nashyastan, owner of the world's largest non-OPEC oil reserves and the West's new best friend in the darker side of The War Against Terror. Neither has a single scruple between them. As the bitter struggle intensifies, the stakes are raised and coercion gives way to violence. Betrayed by those he trusts to protect him, Mansell faces a race against time to save all he holds dear from destruction. In the City, no one cares if you scream...

Part one of the Death to Bankers series.

Genres: Thriller, Amazon

326 pages, Paperback

First published June 27, 2013

About the author

Simon grew up in Sussex. After graduating from Southampton University with a degree in economics, he spent sixteen years in the Royal Air Force and was the first RAF pilot to fly the Mirage 2000 on operations over Iraq while on exchange with the French Air Force. Leaving the Service with the rank of Squadron Leader, he worked in the City of London as a derivatives broker and in various technology roles before becoming a director of a financial software company. He has also provided consultancy and software development services to a small group of global financial institutions and is a regular speaker on the international conference circuit.

His passion for history, languages and archaeology have come together to create Flora Kemble, Oxford University palaeographer and heroine of his first novel, The Seven Stars, a thriller that weaves a tale of deception and murder stretching from ancient Rome to the present day. Three other titles are now in print - The Minerva System, Death to Bankers and The Manhattan Deception. A fifth book, Bomber Boys - A Ghost Story, will be published shortly.

Simon is a member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists and splits his time between work in Abu Dhabi and a far more relaxing time with his wife, Wendy - also a Mauve Square author - with their two cats at home in south-west France.

Some useful links:
The Seven Stars
The Minerva System
Death to Bankers
The Manhattan Deception

Reviews

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. The writing was good, the story moved well, there were a few places where the story jumped and lost me for a second, but all in all well written and enjoyable. A kind of spy/stock broker on the run thriller, maybe like a Grisham but no lawyers involved. The story left waiting for a sequel which I don't believe has been written yet. Disappointing since it was good enough I may have read the sequel as well.