Switchback

by Matthew Klein

How far will one man go for a second chance?Timothy Van Bender lives a magical his business is doing well; he has a beautiful and charming wife, Katherine; and his young sexy secretary, Tricia, greets him each morning with a flirtatious smile.Then, one Tuesday, everything changes. Timothy wakes to learn that his hedge fund has lost $24 million on a bad bet against the Japanese Yen. Timothy decides to double down and bet again. But the Yen keeps climbing, and his business investors start asking questions. With his company on the brink of collapse, he gets a call from his wife, who phones to say goodbye, moments before jumping off a cliff to her death. Timothy can't believe it - and nor, for that matter, can the local police.And that's when his troubles start. As the police investigate Timothy, he investigates his dead wife's secrets. But when Tricia shows up on the doorstep, claiming to be his dead wife, and knowing secrets that only Katherine could know, Timothy's not sure what to believe. Has he been given a second chance at happiness or is he being played for a fool in an elaborate scam that may cost him his life?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Suspense

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Matthew Klein is a software programmer, entrepreneur, and novelist.

Reviews

[Kevin Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say, I'm not getting the 2-3 star reviews. There was nothing predictable about this book. It was a great plot with a lot of twists and turns. The story line was not like anything else I can think of and the characters were believable. The fact that none were squeaky clean just makes it more like life. Why does a story need a morally superior character when there are so few people like that walking around. I for one can't wait to start the next Mathew Klein book.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is in keeping with the trend of great novels I've read this year and thank God. All the shitty, half written, frustrating mysteries of years past are becoming blessedly distant memories. Like No Way Back, Klein paints a vivid portrait of upper class tension in an unforced, fun breezy style. Unlike No Way Back, he sticks a tricky landing beautifully that's totally satisfying. This is the realization of the promise of that last book and I'm glad I stuck with him. There are a lot of things to compare this story to (Birth, Rebecca, Crichton and yes fucking Gone Girl) but it still amazingly feels like a story I haven't read before, which is the highest honor ANY book can achieve. If books like these are the new normal then praise the lord and again, it's about time.

[Dick Frizzell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm only halfway into this...but so far equally satisfying as 'No Way Back'. I love this guy...he knows how to write!!

[chekhov’s cock]

Switchback walked so Gone Girl could run.

[Silvie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of the book was captivating, but then when Doctor Ho comes in, everything gets muddy and weird. The finale is actually again on the sa!e wavelength as the beginning. I think the author tried too hard to think outside of the box.

[Tony Rampling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lee Child recommended author. Full of twist and turns, suspense - a real thriller!!

[mat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this one a lot. Loads of fun.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book on a charity bookstall and thought I'd give it a go. Having never heard of either the title or the author before I really didn't know what to expect which in hindsight is probably the best way to approach this book. It was a very good read and also very smooth, it only took me three days to work my way through it. The author managed a master stroke in this book regarding the main character Timothy Van Bender. He really is not a very nice person and gives the impression that he only cares about himself. However it is also clear that he is capable of feelings of empathy towards others but is unable to express it. Therefore he comes across as not a very nice person but also strangely likable, which is such a refreshing change to the cliched one dimensional cardboard cutout characters that you find in other stories. The story line was original and not knowing what to expect I wasn't sure to start off with if I was reading a very good sci-fi novel that could be compared to the works of Michael Crichton or a very clever crime thriller akin to the work by Harlan Coben and Andrew Gross. However there are a number of twists in this book that from about halfway through are blindingly obvious by the way the text was written which then left me in no doubt what type of book I was reading. Not that it took anything away from the enjoyable read that this was. Also the ending whilst being very suspenseful and superbly written had one major flaw in it that I could see. The main character went to great lengths throughout the book to express that he was a man who could overcome any obstacle before him and liked to win no-matter what the costs and was often prepared to take a pretty big gamble to achive this. However when the truth of the predicament that the charater has found himself in is finally revealed there is one very obvious method to atleast undo some of the damage that has been done. However this option never even occurs to the character and is never even mentioned in the text as an optiondespite it being such an obvious choice which seems to undermine the character profile that has brilliantly been setup in the rest of the book a little and I have to wonder if a mistake was made by the author when writting the last few chapters. Never the less this was still a very enjoyable and quck read.

[LJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

SWITCHBACK (Suspense-CA-Cont) – NR
Klein, Matthew – Standalone
Orion, 2006- UK Hardcover- ISBN: 075287408X
*** Hedge fund manager, Timothy Van Bender, is successful, married for 20 years and has a lovely secretary. But things are now going bad. He has lost $24 million of his clients’ money and his wife calls saying goodbye before she apparently commits suicide.
*** Good things I can say about this book: It is set in the area where I live and work so that was fun; It does have a decent twist at the end although I predicted it early on; It is fairly short and quick to get through so I didn’t waste too much time on it.. But it also doesn’t have a single sympathetic character about whom I could care and has one of the most “you have got to be kidding” plots I’ve ever read. I strongly recommend you give this one a pass.

[woody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Timothy Van Bender is losing his shirt in his hedge fund business and his investors are calling for their money. His wife of 20 years commits suicide and he finds out that she had incurable cancer which she didn't tell him about. What if he could bring his wife back in the body of someone else, wouldn't that be grand. His wife had secretly been seeing a doctor that had downloaded a copy of her brain and is keeping it to put into another 'vessel' and restore the lost wife. Seems a bit Twilight Zone or Heaven Can Wait, but not quite. I think the book had promise, but none of the characters were likable and the book just lacked something that would have made it a better read. 2 stars on a good day

[Luís · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really don't know what to say about this book. Till the midle pages was a really good surprise cause i had low expectations and it's actually a good book that leaves that tension in all the pages. The problem it's that after there gets a litle lost with a mix of computer tecnology, cloning, future inovation, etc that just sounds silly althought i have to give it to him for such a idea.

In general, was a good reading if i ignore the plot of the last pages!

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a half-decent idea buried in here, but none of the parts are sufficiently well-done to make it worth reading. In the hands of a more accomplished storyteller this might have worked, but it just plain doesn't in Klein's.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

not too shabby - wasn't sure if it was going into a scify realm or remain a mystery - so that was good. but since it stayed as a mystery I have to say that the main character was a blooming idiot.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Timothy is an arrogant man and I'm glad he's not handling my finances
this is a quasi sci fi mystery

[Manuel Figueiredo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Colecção Sombra de Dúvida - nº 1

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

very unusual story line with a brilliant twist at the end

[Kay Graves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly an enjoyable read a little ridiculous in parts! The characters were unlikable but I found it hard to put down and didn't see the twist coming at the end.

[Don · Rating 1 out of 5]

added 9/23/2012
I'm sure i've read this