Numbered Account, by Christopher Reich

Christopher Reich, bibliography

  • Numbered Account (1998) NYT Bestseller
  • The Runner (2000)
  • The First Billion (2002)
  • The Devil's Banker (2003)
  • The Patriots' Club (2004) - winner, 2006 International Thriller Writers Award
  • Rules of Deception (2008)
  • Rules of Vengeance (2009)
Numbered Account is very good; especially considering it is a debut book. But, as we now know, Christopher Reich is an author with lots of Numbered Account, Christopher Reich talent, and he has since produced a number of great bestsellers. So, in hindsight, the quality of this book is not at all as surprising as it must have been when it was published.

The plot is interesting, rich and with more than sufficient drive to create excitement. It requires a little bit of a leap of faith to jump into it, but once you do, it is a smooth and fast ride. The beginning is a bit slow, but Reich is great when he describes the Swiss bank system, and is very intriguing to enter the world of the private banking in Switzerland.

The main character, Nick Neumann, has it all. He has a Harvard degree, a beautiful fiancée, and a star-making Wall Street career. But behind all of that is a man haunted by the brutal killing of his father seventeen years before.

Nick wants the truth and is willing to sacrifice his career, love, and future for a crack at untangling the mystery surrounding his father's death. To do this, he takes a job at the prestigious United Swiss Bank, the venerable financial cornerstone of Geneva and his father's former employer. Before he can begin his investigation, however, disturbing events come into play: One portfolio manager is dead, another had a "nervous breakdown," and his training manager is jumping ship to cast accounts with their staunch enemy.

Nick is soon caught in a ruthless conspiracy that stretches around the world and far into his personal life. There is murder, revenge, and first-rate espionage as well as plenty of action, but even so Numbered Account is a thinking person's thriller, a refreshing break from the old standbys.

Rules of Vengeance, by Christopher Reich

Rules of Vengeance features the same protagonists as Reich’s earlier book, Rules of Deception. We meet again Emma Ransom and her husband Dr. Jonathan Ransom. These are characters Rules of Vengeance, by Christopher Reichwe thought we knew by now, having read the previous book and learned who they are and why they do what they do. However, Reich has managed to create a thriller that adds an intriguing and very exciting twist to the tale. Emma is not at all the person we thought!

Jonathan Ransom, physician, is an idealist working for Doctors without Borders in Africa. His wife Emma is a spy. And Jonathan only recently learned this. What he still doesn’t know is who she works for. He thought he knew, and I thought I knew, but we didn’t. The story begins with Jonathan’s arrival in London to deliver an address at a prestigious international medical conference. It takes off from there at high speed, into a tale with more twists than The Crookedest Street in San Francisco.

Once again Jonathan is trying to get in touch with his wife. He still loves her dearly. And he manages to do this. But by getting in touch with her, he gets involved in a chain of events far out of his control. Jonathan must soon face up to the fact that Emma may not be Emma at all, and that she most certainly is not working for the American intelligence organization he thought she was working for. And seeking the truth about his wife, his own freedom, indeed his life, is increasingly threatened.

Ransom is forced to a gauntlet in order to figure out just what he’s been pulled into. The plot is fascinating and the story is full of suspense, with MI5, the new KGB, and the police in the chase and with a major disaster just waiting to happen. Who is staging the game, and who are the pawns? A very interesting thriller!

While it is not at all necessary to have read the earlier book in order to enjoy Rules of Vengeance, I recommend it. The fundamental twist in the plot that this book represents would simply make it difficult to read them in reversed order.

Links to books by Christopher Reich at amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.
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