The Bankster - Book Review

Snapshot:

Bankers build their careers on trust, or so everyone thinks, till a series of murders threaten to destroy the reputation that the Greater Boston Global Bank (GB2) has built over the years. Who is behind these killings, and what is their motive? 

When Karan Panjabi, press reporter and ex-banker, digs deeper, he realizes that he has stumbled upon a global conspiracy with far reaching ramifications a secret that could not only destroy the bank but also cast a shadow on the entire nation. With only thirty-six hours at his disposal, he must fight the clock and trust no one if he is to stay alive and uncover the truth.

My Take:

When I initially started reading this book, honestly, it was not able to capture my attention. I just read few pages that too only at bedtime. But, after first sixty pages, the story shifts gear and changes its pace swiftly. And, then it just becomes ‘unputdownable’. A multifaceted plot woven around three parallel sub plots, the story zips through different parts of the world while keeping its readers wondering about the next set of events. A clandestine CIA agent trading ‘blood diamonds’ & illegal arms with some extremist political religious group in Angola -  A septuagenarian fighting on the behalf of common man against the government to ensure the safety measures in development of a local nuclear plant in remote town of Kerela – An international Bank HQ in Mumbai where a big money-laundering scam is sprouting embellished with manipulation, power-clashes & corporate politics, all these plots although being so different from one another gets linked at the end very impeccably by the author.

Out of these three stories, my interest got hooked instantly with the story of the MNC bank where unnatural death of few employees one after other within short span shook the top management people. I was able to identify with the typical stereotyped corporate characters and I felt I have seen similar characters around me during my brief stint with corporate world. Dubious banking practices which are crafted by twisting the rules, targets, deadlines, compliance, audits, quality, appraisals, internal movements and office parties all sounded so familiar to me. The other two stories were not in my familial backdrop so took time to register in my mind.

The language of the book is quite simple and the author has took that effort to simplify the complex banking terms and delineate them in lay-man’s lingo.

The unpredictable twists & turns keep its readers glued and I finished the 3/4^th of the book in almost one day!! The translucent persona sketch of various characters remains as mild dampener but somehow this did not affect the flow of the narration much. However, I felt the climax was too quick and bit confusing as erratic findings keeps on dropping here and there. Also, I personally felt that by the end where the main protagonist, a banker turned journalist chips in to solve the conspiracy is quite dramatic & typical detective TV series type.  

But still I found book interesting & would recommend to everyone who want to read some crisp & devoid of shallow emotion tales.

P.S.: Another thing which I really liked about the book & Blogadda that it came Author-signed :-)

• Title – The Bankster
• Author – Ravi Subramanian
• Publisher – Rupa Publications
• Pages – 358
• Price – INR 250
• ISBN – 978-81-291-2048-9
• My Rating - 4/5

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