From Publishers Weekly
The pseudonymous Diamond alternates laughs with chills in this tale of marriage, kidnapping and high finance in the Susan Isaacs/Olivia Goldsmith school of social satire. With his wife, Emily, safely tucked away in a New Jersey mansion, InterBank senior vice-president and CEO hopeful Walter Childs is mentoring a young, beautiful and ambitious colleague, Angela Hilliard--whom he plans to make his trophy wife as soon as he summons the nerve to tell Emily he's leaving her. But before he can, Emily is kidnapped, the ransom demand a cool $100 million. Bank security director Andrew Hogan and private detective Helen Restivo get on the case, deducing right away that someone familiar with InterBank had to have planned the abduction. Suspects include Walter, Angela, Emily's lover Bill Leary and even Emily herself. A second ransom threat confuses the situation further, and, in some very funny scenes, Emily's thuggish captors outsmart Helen's arrogant but bumbling operatives. Switching back and forth between Emily's ordeal and the secret attempts to free her, Diamond throws out a few clues, but they're well camouflaged by her hectic pacing and sharply drawn characters. A strong climax and satisfying epilogue conclude a smart, suspense-packed novel that raises some pertinent questions about the roles of honesty, sacrifice, ambition and self-awareness in the modern corporate world. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Nearly at the top of the corporate ladder as an international banker, Walter Childs is finally ready to dump Emily, his wife of 25 years, for Angela, his bright young colleague and mistress. His dreams of a civilized divorce go awry, however, when Emily is kidnapped and the ransom would force Walter to rob his own bank. As he tries desperately to find a way to save his wife and his career, new players keep entering the scene, and things spiral more and more out of control. The suspense mounts as the story alternates between Walter's frantic efforts and Emily's increasingly precarious captivity. Tinged with revenge and intrigue, this thriller twists and turns to an unexpected end. Appropriate for popular fiction collections. [Diamond is the pseudonym of a well-known mystery and thriller writer.--Ed.]--Barbara E. Kemp, SUNY at Albany Libs.
---Barbara E. Kemp, SUNY at Albany Libs.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Diamond is certainly a fitting moniker for the pseudonymous author of this flawless gem. Sharp, brilliant, and strong, the novel is sure to be a girl's best friend--and maybe even a boy's. Smug and powerful Walter Childs, a senior banking executive in Manhattan, is getting ready to dump his wife of 25 years, Emily, for the gorgeous, much younger Angela Hilliard. Before he can break the news, however, Emily is kidnapped for a ransom of $100 million of the bank's money. Walter calls up Andrew Hogan, former top cop and head of bank security, to help him get Emily back--without the bank finding out. Diamond rapidly and skillfully shifts perspectives from worried Walter to captive Emily to inscrutable Angela to frustrated Andrew, making the story that much richer. Her convincing action scenes are real enough to leave readers breathless, and her expert character development will have them hating Walter one minute and pitying him the next. A clever and genuinely surprising ending tops off a superb thriller. Jenny McLarin
Review
"It moves, it's imaginative, and it's satisfying. Diana Diamond has spun a tale that grips the reader and doesn't let go." - Mary Jane Clark, author of Do You Promise Not To Tell?
About the Author
Diana Diamond is the pseudonym of a critically acclaimed mystery and thriller writer.
