Just Business by Geraint Anderson
| Just Business by Geraint Anderson | |
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| Category: General Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Louise Laurie
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| Summary: Steve Jones, whiz-kid in the square mile is getting very tired of life in the fast lane. A chance glance at a colleague's emails sets the wheels in motion for Steve and his girlfriend to have very little choice but to go on the run. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 336 | Date: June 2011 |
| Publisher: Headline | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-0755381722 | |
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The inside cover blurb tells us that the author himself has worked in the square mile in London, so presumably he'll have first-hand experience in the world of finance. The book is bang up-to-date, as it mentions the first whiff of the sub-prime disaster which seemed to start the whole collapse of the (up till then) safe and often extremely well-paid banking sector.
The language used here - especially in the various and varied conversations between the characters is modern too. Very modern. Lots of slang, in-house terminology, swearing and smutty put-down phrases keep the story rippling along nicely. For example, we first meet Steve Jones aka Cityboy in a smart, London club with a couple of his colleagues. The banter is robust, to say the least as each tries to out-smart the other Fuck me, deck out the buns on that slapper hits the reader right between the eyes. And there's plenty of that throughout. Basically, young or youngish men with loads of money and not quite able to spend it all fast enough open their mouths before their brains are engaged.
But bad language and equally bad behaviour is really tame compared to how the story continues. We get a sneaky look at the world of finance and bankers in particular - before their bubble burst. The long hours, the early starts, the stress of handling vast amounts of someone else's money, oh, and the exorbitant financial rewards. But Steve's had enough; he wants out before he's burnt out. And Steve appears to have a little more intelligence than some of his dubious colleagues. Before he leaves he wants to make sure that he'll get his big, fat bonus as well. He also is able to vent his anger in an anonymous fashion by writing a column in a local newspaper. He uses the code name Cityboy. No one will know it's him, will they? Don't bank (no pun intended) on it Steve.
It's obvious from the word go that Steve's personal life is a bit of a shambles. Works hard (when he feels like it) and plays hard. Some days he surprises himself how he manages to give a professional front when all he wants is to crash and sleep for about 12 hours. He also like a drink and a bit of something else to keep him in high spirits, if you see what I mean. And he manages to keep his high-profile job even with all these vices. As if all that were not enough to be going on with, he's trying his level best to get back into his girlfriend's good books. Lots and lots of references to pubs, clubs, restaurants and street names, giving the book a nice, urban feel.
But before Steve can pack his briefcase for the last time, he just has to sneak a peek at his boss's emails - and that's when the trouble starts. Real, serious trouble. Before he's had time to draw breath and think about it, he's caught up in a dangerous situation. There appears to be no way out. And then someone is murdered locally with all the fingers pointing to Steve Jones. He coaxes his girlfriend to go on the run with him and they eat up countries as is they were going out of fashion. The pace is fast and furious and the dialogue just ripples along beautifully.
While I could say that the plot is a little far-fetched here and there, it doesn't matter a jot. The terrific and often funny dialogue saves the day every time. Anderson has the lovely gift of giving his characters spot-on fluent dialogue. An entertaining read with a bit of a bashing for all those bankers out there.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
If this appeals then try Get Me Out Of Here by Henry Sutton.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Just Business by Geraint Anderson at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Just Business by Geraint Anderson at Amazon.com.
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