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Silent Partner: A Novel
Summoned under mysterious circumstances to meet Jake Lawrence, one of the world’s richest entrepreneurs, Angela Day may be on the threshold of a brighter future. The reclusive multibillionaire is planning a takeover of a hot, new company—and he wants Angela to apply her considerable skills in banking to make sure it all goes smoothly . . . and secretly. In exchange, Lawrence promises to use his formidable influence to permanently reunite Angela with her son, whom she lost in a custody battle to her adulterous, connected ex-husband. It’s the one reward for which Angela would risk everything. But with enormous wealth and power comes the ultimate price tag. For enemies everywhere have marked the man for death. And anyone close to him—namely, Angela Day—is fair game.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
39 people are currently reading
280 people want to read
About the author
Stephen W. Frey
28 books280 followersFor the last 15 years I’ve been lucky enough to be a novelist. Until recently the books were set in the worlds of Wall Street and Washington. In addition to writing, I’ve also had a career in finance with specialties including merger & acquisition advisory and private equity at firms like J.P. Morgan in New York City and Winston Partners just outside D.C. in northern Virginia.
So, it seemed natural to write about those two worlds and, fortunately, the publishing industry agreed. My first book was published in 1995, The Takeover; about a secret group of men who were trying to destroy the U.S. monetary system by engineering a massive corporate takeover. I have followed The Takeover with 13 more novels all set in high-level finance and national politics.
Recently, I decided to alter the theme. The novels will still have a financial focus, but Wall Street won’t be the backdrop. We’ll get out into the world more. And there will be a man versus nature element for the hero in every novel. Hell’s Gate, available August 2009, is set in Montana and involves forest fires and why many of them start.
I live in southwest Florida with my wife, Diana, and we have since 2004 after moving down here from northern Virginia. Given the new direction of my books, it seems like a hurricane ought to make an appearance in a novel sometime soon.
So, it seemed natural to write about those two worlds and, fortunately, the publishing industry agreed. My first book was published in 1995, The Takeover; about a secret group of men who were trying to destroy the U.S. monetary system by engineering a massive corporate takeover. I have followed The Takeover with 13 more novels all set in high-level finance and national politics.
Recently, I decided to alter the theme. The novels will still have a financial focus, but Wall Street won’t be the backdrop. We’ll get out into the world more. And there will be a man versus nature element for the hero in every novel. Hell’s Gate, available August 2009, is set in Montana and involves forest fires and why many of them start.
I live in southwest Florida with my wife, Diana, and we have since 2004 after moving down here from northern Virginia. Given the new direction of my books, it seems like a hurricane ought to make an appearance in a novel sometime soon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
May 24, 2014
This book goes back to Frey’s old standby finance and takeovers. Angela Day a vice president is summoned to meet with the richest man in the world a recluse who wants her to investigate a takeover for him. She becomes embroiled in a scandal at her own bank over minority lending practices and wonders if she is being used as a scapegoat or stalking horse. When people start dropping will she survive. OK read.
January 31, 2021
I haven’t read Frey’s work for quite a while. This was a fictional work that could have been “based on a true story” given the sad reality of redlining and blockbusting tactics still in practice today. White flight will always be around, but knowing one’s rights will hold real life bigoted bankers such as Charles Scharf accountable.
February 5, 2017
I can't remember the last time I gave a book five stars and if it had not been for the final two chapters this would have recieved four stars.
Not my normal read but this story was so well written that it pulled me in the more I read it.
Angela Day is mysteriously summoned and hired by the richest man in the world to help him acquire a company and she can't turn him down because what he is ooffering is too good to pass up on-a chance to be with her son full-time.
This book touches heavily on race issues, finances and back-stabbing.
Stephen Frey gives you just enough intrigue to keep you reading and in the final two chapters he flips it on its head, giving you a jaw dropping twist that will have you wondering if there were clues that you missed along the way.
Highly recommended to others.
Not my normal read but this story was so well written that it pulled me in the more I read it.
Angela Day is mysteriously summoned and hired by the richest man in the world to help him acquire a company and she can't turn him down because what he is ooffering is too good to pass up on-a chance to be with her son full-time.
This book touches heavily on race issues, finances and back-stabbing.
Stephen Frey gives you just enough intrigue to keep you reading and in the final two chapters he flips it on its head, giving you a jaw dropping twist that will have you wondering if there were clues that you missed along the way.
Highly recommended to others.
October 9, 2020
Reichlich männlich-dominierte, sexualisierte Gewalt gleich zum Beginn. Abgebrochen.
April 17, 2018
Veteran financial thriller writer Stephen Frey returns with another novel of greed and intrigue set in the back corridors of finance. Angela Day, an up-from-the-trailer-park young executive on the fast track at Sumter Bank in Richmond, Va., is summoned to a Tetons hideaway, lair of the reclusive and powerful moneyman Jake Lawrence.
Lawrence wants Day to help him take over Sumter Bank and oust Day's boss, chairman Bob Dudley. There is no love lost between Day and the despicable racist Dudley, who schemes to keep blacks out of white neighborhoods by denying them loans; helping Lawrence would mean lots of money and a golden career for Day. But it also puts her life in danger, and she finds herself carelessly used as a pawn by both men. Toss in a muckraking black reporter friend of Day's, whose presence stirs her guilt over the horrific death of a black schoolmate at a college frat party, and a cowboyish bodyguard (complete with ten-gallon hat and pocket flask), and you have the makings of a television movie.
Frey is best describing the internecine workings of financial institutions and those who manipulate them, but it's hard to spin an exciting yarn out of mortgage applications, especially when a stereotyped cast of hopeful black homeowners is pitted against nasty Southern good ol' boys. Frey's unremarkable prose ("How could humans be so awful? Why couldn't they just get along?") doesn't help.
Summoned under mysterious circumstances to meet Jake Lawrence, one of the world’s richest entrepreneurs, Angela Day may be on the threshold of a brighter future. The reclusive multibillionaire is planning a takeover of a hot, new company—and he wants Angela to apply her considerable skills in banking to make sure it all goes smoothly . . . and secretly. In exchange, Lawrence promises to use his formidable influence to permanently reunite Angela with her son, whom she lost in a custody battle to her adulterous, connected ex-husband. It’s the one reward for which Angela would risk everything. But with enormous wealth and power comes the ultimate price tag. For enemies everywhere have marked the man for death. And anyone close to him—namely, Angela Day—is fair game. Pretty good read!!!
Lawrence wants Day to help him take over Sumter Bank and oust Day's boss, chairman Bob Dudley. There is no love lost between Day and the despicable racist Dudley, who schemes to keep blacks out of white neighborhoods by denying them loans; helping Lawrence would mean lots of money and a golden career for Day. But it also puts her life in danger, and she finds herself carelessly used as a pawn by both men. Toss in a muckraking black reporter friend of Day's, whose presence stirs her guilt over the horrific death of a black schoolmate at a college frat party, and a cowboyish bodyguard (complete with ten-gallon hat and pocket flask), and you have the makings of a television movie.
Frey is best describing the internecine workings of financial institutions and those who manipulate them, but it's hard to spin an exciting yarn out of mortgage applications, especially when a stereotyped cast of hopeful black homeowners is pitted against nasty Southern good ol' boys. Frey's unremarkable prose ("How could humans be so awful? Why couldn't they just get along?") doesn't help.
Summoned under mysterious circumstances to meet Jake Lawrence, one of the world’s richest entrepreneurs, Angela Day may be on the threshold of a brighter future. The reclusive multibillionaire is planning a takeover of a hot, new company—and he wants Angela to apply her considerable skills in banking to make sure it all goes smoothly . . . and secretly. In exchange, Lawrence promises to use his formidable influence to permanently reunite Angela with her son, whom she lost in a custody battle to her adulterous, connected ex-husband. It’s the one reward for which Angela would risk everything. But with enormous wealth and power comes the ultimate price tag. For enemies everywhere have marked the man for death. And anyone close to him—namely, Angela Day—is fair game. Pretty good read!!!
January 24, 2024
Generously rounded up from 3.5 stars. This was a challenge to read since I have no background in banking/ mortgages and some of the terminology and proceedings were a little challenging to understand. When looking at blatant racism as part of the themes addressed in this book, I absolutely expected to find a publication date from the late 1900s and was surprised that this was actually from the early 2000s.
October 30, 2016
I can't believe what I just read.
Seriously? This is how I see it:
An employee, a VP, finding a top-confidential memo AND handing it to a journalist who then proceeds making a big splash of an article proofed by this memo??
And both believe it's ok to behave in such an unprofessional way. And yes, these girls basically meet on the steps of the bank in plain view of every employee bothering to look.
And the banking empoyee doesn't see the absense of promotion coming her way and even feels betrayed when she discovers that in fact she was viewed by the bank's senior management as the source of the info leak?
I can't believe people can be that stupid. Many careers have gone poof over slighter offences. As a matter of fact the VP girl should have been fired and sued.
There usually are different levels of confidentiality assigned to various documents for a reason. It's not only Ms. Clinton who would do well to learn the difference between various confidentiality types but also people from various walks of life as well.
Basically such behaviour qualifies as corporate espionnage. And running corpesp schemes against the very bank you are trying to climb careeer ladder at isn't the best recommended course of action for an aspiring banker.
I also feel rather baddish about the author's attempts to make the said jackass top manager as villaneous as possible. While the premise was definitely needed for the book, it still didn't make the untrsustworthy VP's actions look any saner.
Yes, the memo in question was in fact extremely unsensitive, full of racist shit etc. But the fact remains standing that this was confidential information not meant for sharing with friends outside of the bank. Most definitely not with an investigative journalist with a pronounced hard on for the said banks jackass top manager.
I get a vibe the author worked in journalism and didn't work in finance or at least wasn't particularly successful at it. Otherwise it would have been plain clear that there would be a lot more difficult ramifications for the VP than the ones portrayed here.
Seriously? This is how I see it:
An employee, a VP, finding a top-confidential memo AND handing it to a journalist who then proceeds making a big splash of an article proofed by this memo??
And both believe it's ok to behave in such an unprofessional way. And yes, these girls basically meet on the steps of the bank in plain view of every employee bothering to look.
And the banking empoyee doesn't see the absense of promotion coming her way and even feels betrayed when she discovers that in fact she was viewed by the bank's senior management as the source of the info leak?
I can't believe people can be that stupid. Many careers have gone poof over slighter offences. As a matter of fact the VP girl should have been fired and sued.
There usually are different levels of confidentiality assigned to various documents for a reason. It's not only Ms. Clinton who would do well to learn the difference between various confidentiality types but also people from various walks of life as well.
Basically such behaviour qualifies as corporate espionnage. And running corpesp schemes against the very bank you are trying to climb careeer ladder at isn't the best recommended course of action for an aspiring banker.
I also feel rather baddish about the author's attempts to make the said jackass top manager as villaneous as possible. While the premise was definitely needed for the book, it still didn't make the untrsustworthy VP's actions look any saner.
Yes, the memo in question was in fact extremely unsensitive, full of racist shit etc. But the fact remains standing that this was confidential information not meant for sharing with friends outside of the bank. Most definitely not with an investigative journalist with a pronounced hard on for the said banks jackass top manager.
I get a vibe the author worked in journalism and didn't work in finance or at least wasn't particularly successful at it. Otherwise it would have been plain clear that there would be a lot more difficult ramifications for the VP than the ones portrayed here.
February 18, 2014
A good yarn, but not the best from Frey. But tons of twists and turns which makes it a four star. The catch for the reader is that you really have to suspend your sense of disbelief, particularly because some things happen in this book that aren't explained. People follow lots of other people, and somehow it's never explained how they can track them so well. There's tons of those little unexplained details. Because of the fun twists and runs, a four star. But I prefer the Gillette series a lot more.
August 7, 2012
An unimaginative and obsolete plot layered with lazy writing made this one of the books I wish I simply stopped reading after the first 10 pages.
November 5, 2012
Listening to this in my car while running errands.
March 24, 2024
Financial thriller. Suspenseful and entertaining.
January 11, 2019
Heroine is a razor smart single mom bank Vice President with the looks of a model, a jerk of a billionaire ex-father in law and the instincts of a social justice warrior. So naturally another billionaire figures she is just the woman to negotiate some big honking deal with some company or other. This attracts the attention of her billionaire CEO (and business rival of the ex-father-in-law). Result? A fast moving page turner with an epically stupid plot, that still manages to fascinate.
Behind every fortune is a great crime, Orson Welles once claimed. Frey gives the theory a test here, but decides it’s ok to be really rich and really hot. Don’t read if you demand logic from your bestsellers. But it is noteworthy that Frey does a good job of pulling surprises all the through this.
Behind every fortune is a great crime, Orson Welles once claimed. Frey gives the theory a test here, but decides it’s ok to be really rich and really hot. Don’t read if you demand logic from your bestsellers. But it is noteworthy that Frey does a good job of pulling surprises all the through this.
September 29, 2024
The financial details were mostly understandable. This could have been great, but Angela was such a wuss! She’s gorgeous, divorced, and 31, yet lets a man put his hand on her knee, then move it up, and doesn’t call him on it until she’s fighting him off?! Ridiculous. She kept letting men manipulate her, yet she was suddenly so ruthless when negotiating a deal. Frey should have had a mature woman edit it for him, because Angela’s character did not make sense.
August 8, 2017
I do enjoy a Stephen Frey book. There is always a good, thrilling and twisting plot with plenty of insight into how the world of high finance operates. The main character always seems to be a low level, hard-working financial individual who then rises to beat the bad guys, David & Goliathesque. Never a wasted word. Just good, well scripted fiction that certainly keeps me intrigued right up to the thrilling end.
October 13, 2017
if you're looking for some action in your reading life this book can be a great choice.
even for someone who can't care less about finance and banking systems like me; the very well designed back story and some very attractive characters made up a great reading experience.
even for someone who can't care less about finance and banking systems like me; the very well designed back story and some very attractive characters made up a great reading experience.
October 13, 2021
Silent Partner
Enjoyed the deception which enhanced the plot which pumped up the plot, which heightened the tension of the reader, which was the reason the author wrote the story. Yes I really enjoyed the book.
Enjoyed the deception which enhanced the plot which pumped up the plot, which heightened the tension of the reader, which was the reason the author wrote the story. Yes I really enjoyed the book.
September 20, 2017
I loved this book. Characters were well developed. Suspense right up to the end made this book a page turner. I couldn't put it down.
May 23, 2018
Excellent! Fast moving, very entertaining.
June 29, 2018
Lots of twists and turns. Suspenseful
August 12, 2019
I liked that it included scenes from Jackson, WY
September 22, 2021
could not put it down! Mystery, suspense and twist and turns didn't see coming.
May 8, 2022
Never read this author. This book turned me off at the beginning and did not continue.
December 3, 2023
Good read and story. Kept me guessing until the end.
October 14, 2024
Suspenseful and entertaining read with a plot twist. Entertaining financial story.
November 15, 2025
This was a good read. It has lots of interesting financial stuff and some amazing twists. I have not read Stephen Frey for several years, but I may look for more of his books.
August 7, 2013
I hesitated between three and four stars for this book. Frey certainly knows how to write and produced an entertaining read with this thriller. But there was so much detail about banking that I could have used it as study material for a degree in finance. Take out the minutiae about the heady world of corporate bankers and the book becomes a novelette. Yes, it was a New York Times best seller (aren't they all?), and I'm sure fans of Frey will tell me that the detail was essential. There were elements in the book which I believe I can identify as a 'way out' for thriller writers who need to wash over tricky parts that find the characters in unlikely situations. But I can forgive all that because I appreciate what it takes to produce stories of this calibre. I recommend it but I will think hard before I settle down with another Stephen Frey novel.
April 24, 2012
A woman with an MBA and a banking career, once married to a very wealthy man, is summoned by another wealthy man, to take a leave from her current job and assist him in a take over of an up and coming company. She comes with some very serious baggage, including a divorce and a forced loss of her young son. She has very serious enemies and so does the mysterious wealthy man employing her.
This could have been a really good thriller unfortunately the author lost me in the prologue and what happened there played havoc with me enjoying the rest of the story. I don't think I'll be reading Stephen Frey again any time soon.
This could have been a really good thriller unfortunately the author lost me in the prologue and what happened there played havoc with me enjoying the rest of the story. I don't think I'll be reading Stephen Frey again any time soon.
June 24, 2013
A very rich mysterious man requests a meeting with a very mid-level executive of a bank. The question is why, is it on the up and up? Is the rich guy telling you the truth and why you? There are other more qualified people to do the job. Plus she is giving out information about racial discrimination with in the bank and could lose her job.
It is a good story with a couple of twists that were not expected.
It is a good story with a couple of twists that were not expected.
October 19, 2009
When I started to read this I was sure it was going to be one of those books that I could not get into. I was so wrong! After the first few pages, I could not put the book down. The story twists and turns and you are not sure where you are going to end up! All I knew was that I was rooting for the main character in the book. Such a great read!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews