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Restitution
Peter Tyler appears to have it all—a loving wife, a powerful job on Wall Street, a sprawling house in the suburbs. But in a moment of weakness, Peter indulges in a one-night stand with a beautiful trader. A few weeks later, his house is broken into and his wife brutally murdered. When the police discover Peter's infidelity, he immediately goes from grieving husband to prime suspect. Suddenly, it's up to Peter to prove his own innocence and find his wife's killer. Written with ferocity and at a lightning pace, Restitution marks the debut of an intelligent and exciting new novelist.
432 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
August 12, 2021
A man attempts to solve the murder of his wife for which he is suspected. A lot of things don't add up - from thinking he knows his best friend, to the dealings with his former employer. A great crime read!
September 29, 2021
Suspense filled thriller that twists and turns then spins around and twists some more. Even toward the end of the book, when you think you finally have it figured out along with the main character Peter Tyler -- then the last puzzle piece falls into place and you are stunned. Well plotted, fast moving.
June 16, 2017
Unpredictable. Page turner
June 29, 2019
I finished it because I just wanted it to be over. To much stock lingo that I couldn't understand. If your a stock broker then this would be a good book for you.
September 11, 2019
Excellent book with a plot twist at the end.
June 19, 2025
Amazing. Perfectly written, intriguing, suspenseful, and had me rooting for the main character, Peter Tyler, despite his flaws and clashing ideals. Lee Vance knows how to write an amazing character.
November 4, 2025
Got it at a resale book store. Super good. History (ish) murder and drama.
July 30, 2012
I read Lee Vance's 2 nd novel "The Garden of Betrayal" in Feb. 2011. I gave it 4 stars. I have finally got around to reading this ,his debut novel and I am also going to rate it at 4 stars. Another financial thriller with more twists and turns than a pretzel pie. An intense gripping novel that doesn't reveal all of the facts until the very end.
I have since found out a little more about the author...it turns out he is a graduate of the Harvard school of business. He is also a retired general partner of the Goldman Sachs Group on Wall street which explains his detailed knowledge of the financial tools described in his books.
He wrote this, his first novel in 2007.At the end of the book I found it rather humorous that he wrote an Author's note that said. "Some readers may imagine that my description of bad behavior in the financial community is a veiled jab at my former firm, Goldman Sachs Group..Nothing could be further from the truth. In an industry renowned for its bad behavior, Goldman is notable for consistently adhering to a higher standard.I can't imagine a more ethical or meritocratic organization, and I'm very proud to be an alumnus."
WOW !! I wonder what his thoughts about GSG would have been after the financial scandals of 2008! I honestly think his portrayal of the industry in this book is much more accurate that he ever could have imagined.I would like to know what his bonus was when he retired...they are in fact renown for their generous bonuses are they not ?
I will not let any of the above change my rating of this book...4 stars it is.
I have since found out a little more about the author...it turns out he is a graduate of the Harvard school of business. He is also a retired general partner of the Goldman Sachs Group on Wall street which explains his detailed knowledge of the financial tools described in his books.
He wrote this, his first novel in 2007.At the end of the book I found it rather humorous that he wrote an Author's note that said. "Some readers may imagine that my description of bad behavior in the financial community is a veiled jab at my former firm, Goldman Sachs Group..Nothing could be further from the truth. In an industry renowned for its bad behavior, Goldman is notable for consistently adhering to a higher standard.I can't imagine a more ethical or meritocratic organization, and I'm very proud to be an alumnus."
WOW !! I wonder what his thoughts about GSG would have been after the financial scandals of 2008! I honestly think his portrayal of the industry in this book is much more accurate that he ever could have imagined.I would like to know what his bonus was when he retired...they are in fact renown for their generous bonuses are they not ?
I will not let any of the above change my rating of this book...4 stars it is.
November 17, 2008
A well-plotted thriller in the Harlen-Coben-stand-alone vein. Peter Tyler's wife is brutally murdered and he becomes a prime suspect when it is revealed that his marriage had been on the rocks and he was having an affair. Of course, the police don't care that the affair was a one-time lapse of judgment with a fellow financial trader, the sister of his best friend, Andrei.
Peter's search for the real killer leads him back to his best friend and beyond and puts him in the sights of everyone from Homeland Security to shady Russian mobsters. This is one of those books that you devour during a car ride or airplane flight--fast-moving, just enough character back story to make things interesting, and deftly plotted enough so you never really get the full picture until the end.
Not a great book but a fine way to spend a Sunday afternoon procrastinating from the real work you have to do.
Peter's search for the real killer leads him back to his best friend and beyond and puts him in the sights of everyone from Homeland Security to shady Russian mobsters. This is one of those books that you devour during a car ride or airplane flight--fast-moving, just enough character back story to make things interesting, and deftly plotted enough so you never really get the full picture until the end.
Not a great book but a fine way to spend a Sunday afternoon procrastinating from the real work you have to do.
January 15, 2008
I really did enjoy this book. Although the first 3/4 of the book were far better than the end, which is why I took away a star. At the end of this book, I felt similar to how I felt at the end of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons - it all of a sudden got very complex, very detailed and it sort of jumped the shark. That being said, this book was a great read. I was into it from Page 1, and did not put it down until I finished. Although I thought there were some unnecessary plot lines thrown in, they didn't take away too much from the overall thrill of the book. I would suggest this to a friend.
September 10, 2012
Not a miserable read but certainly not an enjoyable one either.
The main character, our first person narrator, is an ass. He was a full asshole in the flashbacks but just an ass in present. This mystery had several layers but those layers just felt hallow and some were unnecessary or abrupt. It was truly as if the more unanswered questions solved, the more mystery revealed, the more annoyed I was.
Hard to describe I guess. This is my first tour with this author and I am not thrilled about it.
Not for me, I'm just meh about this novel.
The main character, our first person narrator, is an ass. He was a full asshole in the flashbacks but just an ass in present. This mystery had several layers but those layers just felt hallow and some were unnecessary or abrupt. It was truly as if the more unanswered questions solved, the more mystery revealed, the more annoyed I was.
Hard to describe I guess. This is my first tour with this author and I am not thrilled about it.
Not for me, I'm just meh about this novel.
June 10, 2008
Some of these murder - mystery novels have so many twists and turns, and unbelievable elements in them, that it's hard to buy into the story line. This book ended up with some of that, but it all snuck up on me and I didn't realize it until the it was over and I thought back on it all. I liked it all the way through, it kept my interest, all the while trying to figure out who the real killer(s) may have been.
May 23, 2010
A fun thriller with lots of twists and turns.
Lee Vance, a former General Partner with Goldman Sachs, has as a main character a manager with an investment bank. It is interesting to speculate how the story would have been different if written from the perspective of a number of the other characters.
This book was published in 2007. Vance has a little Author's Note at the end of the book proclaiming Goldman Sachs as an "ethical...organization".
RIGHT!
Lee Vance, a former General Partner with Goldman Sachs, has as a main character a manager with an investment bank. It is interesting to speculate how the story would have been different if written from the perspective of a number of the other characters.
This book was published in 2007. Vance has a little Author's Note at the end of the book proclaiming Goldman Sachs as an "ethical...organization".
RIGHT!
October 9, 2012
Interestingly enough, even having read the cover page prior to writing this review three years after reading the book, I can't remember it. When I saw the book on my list and the Author 'Lee Vance' it struck a chord so that I thought a quick review of other reviews would restore it to memory, but alas, it was not to be so. As a result I would have to disparage it for it's lack of something that would have made it memorable.
September 1, 2008
A friend at school recommended that I read this. Wow, talk about a roller coaster ride for a murder mystery. The "perfect man" has many secrets and the reader is amazed at all that is learned about Peter each time the page is turned! I'm good at guessing the endings of books, but I was surprised by the murderer in this one! This would make a great movie.
August 19, 2009
An intricate plot takes you places you never expected. The first-person style is annoying at first but one quickly realizes that it works. Fast-paced, gripping, the ending is especially satisfying, and all the clues are there, buried early. I'm reading it again, slowly this time, to fully appreciate it. One heck of a debut novel.
December 21, 2010
New Author for me, I liked the book.
Peter Tyler is a wall street shaker. His wife has just been murdered and he is a suspect. When police discover nothing of value is stolen from Peters house, they assume this is not just a random robbery gone bad, but a personal hit. Peter is forced to run, so he can unravel the truth to his wife's murder.
Peter Tyler is a wall street shaker. His wife has just been murdered and he is a suspect. When police discover nothing of value is stolen from Peters house, they assume this is not just a random robbery gone bad, but a personal hit. Peter is forced to run, so he can unravel the truth to his wife's murder.
September 6, 2012
I picked this book out of the discount bin at Chapters thinking ok well I will give it a try. I really didn't expect much. I was surprised how much I liked the suspense of it all. The story was a bit difficult to follow at time with all the stock and lawyer mumbo jumbo but I really enjoyed the thrill of the search for the truth! Every page was something to keep you wanting to read more.
December 10, 2012
Every once in a while I will pick up a genre book that surprises me with more than I expected. This was one of those books. Intriguing plot, nice writing and good characterization. Best of all, the main character learned about himself, grew, and became a better person by the end. I like a multi-leveled story and will look for another of Vance's books.
October 19, 2007
Maybe I read this book over too long of a time span, but by the end of RESTITUTION, I had no idea what was going on or how the tangled plot lines (art forgeries! a virulent strain of tuberculosis! surly Russians!) came together.
March 26, 2009
Vance used to work for Goldman Sachs. This is a fast-pace book. I know I didn't understand some of the stock transactions, but I got the idea of what was happening. I enjoyed the twists. Excellent first novel.
December 22, 2009
I liked this book more for its mastery of English - the author was unafraid of using complex words, something that is mostly avoided today. So for that I'm giving the book 4 stars... the mystery was ok, unique idea with the missing Nazi art, but nothing phenomenal.
June 24, 2010
A Wall Street power broker's wife is murdered in their home and, of course, he is the primary suspect. He is fired and then concentrates on finding the real perp. It's a long, tough, winding road. This is Vance's debut. I will look for his next one.
April 3, 2015
Super fast-moving. I actually felt myself becoming impatient at times to know how everything fit together and I was resentful of the fact that I needed sleep because it kept me from finishing this book in one day.
July 31, 2012
Language!!! International high powered getting vengence on people who have been hurtful. And it catches some innocent people up and gets them killed and suspicion thrown where it doesn't belong. A little too complex for my simple mind.
September 7, 2007
Full of unexpected twists right until the very end.
November 10, 2007
Read my thoughts at: Thoughts of Joy...
March 10, 2008
Good, exhausting at times. Wife killed, best friend dies of AIDS.
June 19, 2008
A great new author to watch for. Thriller..
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews