The Protégé

October 31, 2005
The mob and a disgruntled competitor are trying to kill Christian Gillette, the charismatic, good-looking and wildly successful chairman of Everest Capital, a multibillion-dollar private equity firm. He's got government spooks trying to use one of his companies as a front for a top-secret nanotechnology program. And on top of all this, he still has to run his firm and figure out the truth about his father's death. Narrator Graham does the book justice, voicing the high-powered businessmen with all the right intonations, using slight alterations to distinguish between characters, including a spot-on British accent (although his mob hit man accent does seem a bit trite). His facility for dialogue makes Graham an ideal choice for this audiobook, as the novel's characters are its primary strength. Graham is also adept at reading the narrative sections, using deliberate pacing that makes the action compelling and easy to follow\x97and this is essential, as the novel features a complex web of plot threads that, at times, strains credibility. Fortunately Graham provides a stabilizing influence, keeping the story more firmly grounded in reality even as the author has it veer off into thriller fantasyland.Simultaneous release with the Ballantine hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 3).

December 15, 2005
In Frey's " The Chairman" (2005)," "Christian Gillette took over Everest, a multibillion--dollar private equity firm and brought it to new heights of fame and fortune. Here, Gillette continues his quest for financial domination but, at the same time, begins to consider life outside Everest--especially his love for his pop-star girlfriend--and contemplates the process of choosing an heir-apparent. But just who should his protege be? He settles on David Wright, a young gun with proven talent who always aims to please. What Gillette doesn't know, however, is that Wright has another agenda, one not of his own making but rather a fait accompli set in motion when one night of wild sex goes terribly wrong. Frey tells a fine story, but he dresses it up a bit too much with over-the-top plot twists. Still, when it comes to high-finance intrigue, this series continues to look good on the bottom line.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)