Book Review: The Devil's Banker

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Devil's Banker     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Christopher Reich
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Terrorists
Delacorte, Sep 2003, $25.95, 448 pp.

In Paris the bomb killed the terrorist and several counter agents. The CIA fears that the dead terrorist’s host group will strike the United States next, but do not know whom, where and how. Forensic accountant Adam Chapel is assigned to follow the money trail as all terrorist groups need funding in hope that the meandering path will lead to the group before they can act.

Teamed up with espionage agent Sarah Churchill, they find the money flow from Paris takes them to divergent forks the European banking community and the back streets of Pakistan. Their efforts soon leads to Hijira and its wealthy enigmatic patron Marc Gabriel, but will Adam and Sarah make it in time to stop a strike at America’s heartland?

THE DEVIL’S BANKER is an intelligent, exciting counterterrorism tale that hooks the reader from the moment the bomb detonates in Paris (very beginning of the novel). The story line is cleverly devised to entertain readers yet show how a money trail, so much in the news since 9/11, is traced. Though the alphabet soup of organizations and agencies are difficult to follow leading to some disruption as to which side a secondary player belongs to, fans of fiscal thrillers will appreciate Christopher Reich’s deep story.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner