The Capitalist
A Thriller
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2.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Peter Steiner has thoroughly impressed sophisticated thriller mavens everywhere with his critically acclaimed novels featuring ex-CIA operative Louis Morgon.
St. John Larrimer was a well known Wall Street investment banker who had earned returns for his wealthy clients that exceeded even their fondest hopes. But it turns out that the returns existed only in St. John's imagination. By the time his staff and associates were detained and questioned, St. John had disappeared.
Louis Morgon, a long retired CIA operative now living in France, had a little money invested with a money manager who was also taken in by Larrimer. Louis thinks that he can figure out a way to bring Larrimer to account. Of course, some of Larrimer's victims were themselves villains, for instance the Russian mobsters whose wealth constituted the main holdings of the Swiss Eisener Bank.
So Louis, with a motley band of helpers and the Russian mob on his tail, sets out to find Larrimer and bring him to justice.
Compelling, arresting, and complex, The Capitalist is a thriller that will appeal to fans of John le Carre and Graham Greene.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Steiner's disappointing fifth Louis Morgon thriller (after 2012's The Resistance) finds the 70-plus ex-CIA operative living in a small town in France's Loire Valley with his lover and companion, Pauline. When Pauline's money manager brother, Jean-Baptiste, who works in New York City, commits suicide after realizing that he lost all of his clients' money after being duped by St. John Larrimer, an unethical investment banker described as "Madoff on a slightly smaller scale," Morgon attempts to locate Larrimer and the $3 billion that the crook stole. Morgon realizes that some of Larrimer's victims are relentlessly tracking him, including a Russian mobster who will stop at nothing to get his money back. Though previous installments have been subdued, this entry offers little action, minimal tension, and none of the narrative richness that readers have come to expect in this series. Hopefully, Steiner will return to form next time.
Customer Reviews
This One Lost Me Early, and I Stayed Lost
I’ve enjoyed this series by Peter Steiner, but the Capitalist was a terrible disappoinment. It stumbled and rambled along and could quite decide which story it wanted to tell, so it just bounced back and forth with no real cohesion. In short, Steiner pretty much mailed this one in. A shame.
Beyond that, I have two main gripes with this book. First is the miraculous transformation of Louis Morgan (of previous novels) from a novice artist, painting for his own enjoyment at an amateur level, into a world-class artist capable of producing immaculate forgeries of the great masters, including Picasso and Cezanne. He’s gone from your grandfather painting his water colors into an American Gabrial Allon overnight. The book lost all credibility right there.
Second is the constant editorializing about the evils of capitalism. Steiner make clear, ad nauseum, his personal view that everything associated with capitalism and the banking system is a crooked racket run by theives and scoundrels. OK, even if partially true, it was tiresome and boring to have it beaten into me over and over while trying to enjoy a light read. This is especially ironic from a man who makes his living selling his intellectual capital in the free market. Recommendation: Mr. Steiner, please leave the editorializing to the op ed page.