Rating: 
Summary: Grisham, pleeeaase! Forget Grisham!
Review: I was very excited to see that one of my favorite authors had a new book released. My only problem is that I devoured this book in 1 day and now I have to wait at least a year until his next one. BOO HOO!Meltzer's latest has 2 brothers trying to steal 3 million dollars from the highly exclusive bank they work in. It seems like a fool proof plan. Play a dead guy and collect $3 million. The only problem is that someone else set it up and wants in on it when he discovers that the brothers took his con. My favorite part has to be when the 3 of them are trying to figure out where to wire the money to. The Caymans? Nah, everyone sends it there ever since Grisham popularized it in 'The Firm'. All in all, a great romp, yes romp, of a book! It's a quick and easy read. Meltzer really sucks you in with his characters. I hope he brings back one of the minor ones, Joey, a private investigator, in another book. His use of location is fantastic. You really get a great sense of being in Disney and when you do go there, I know I'll be watching Snow White to see where she goes :) Buy this book, you won't regret it! Thanks for reading!
~Pandora
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I listened to the unabridged audio version of this book which was read by Scott Brick. While the book is fast-paced and keeps your interest up, the plot is extremely unrealistic and unlikely. In particular, as someone who has worked in finance, I found the banking scam extremely unbelievable. The details of the scam are glossed over in smoke-and-mirrors fashion. I found plenty to take the edge off my enjoyment (I can't say I totally hated it.) The violence was graphic and gratuitious. Other readers have noted the unlikely telepathy between the brothers. Why was the lady private eye constantly on the line reporting to her secretary, even in the middle of a risky break-in?? And the ending was most unsatisfying. To top it all off, I found the reader in the audio version irritating in the extreme with his overly dramatic style. If this was a first novel, I'd say it was a good start. Meltzer tells a story well but needs help with the dialogue. And he should do more research before coming up with something so thin on which to hang the entire plot. I have not read any other books by Meltzer but nonetheless am willing to give him another try.
Rating:
Summary: 4 Stars a decent read
Review: This was my fisrt Metzger book and it was an enjoyable read. The book grabs you from the get go but tends to drag towards the end. I found myself wondering when is this book going to end. The story was good and I enjoyed oliver and Charlie very much, brothers always come first. I found the Duckworth secret a bit confusing but it all worked out in the end. This book could of been a little shorter but I enjoyed it none the less. The Secret Service tie in and Joey make this book very interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A TELLING SPIN ON BOARDROOM CRIME
Review: "The Millionaires," Meltzer's fourth thriller takes us into the rarefied world of million dollar banking, cyber pyrotechnics, and then to of all places Disney World. It's a fast paced romp that will please this imaginative writer's fans. Oliver Caruso is in the employ of one of Manhattan's most upscale banks, Greene & Greene. The institution is so select that two million is needed just to achieve the status of client. Oliver's been toiling for Henry Lapidus, an exec at this financial palace. Regrettably, Lapidus doesn't appreciate Oliver's ministrations and is attempting to scuttle his minion's career plans. What's the poor guy to do? He enlists the aid of his younger brother, Charlie, who has problems staying gainfully employed. The pair decide to take three million dollars sitting in an abandoned account. They'll soon be living the life of Riley - if Riley had a seven figure deposit in an offshore bank, that is. What a piece of a cake - with a very rich icing. They've found the perfect crime. Problem is, make that plural, problems are that somehow the original three million has undergone a cyberspace evolution and become $300 million. Not only that but some others at Greene & Greene had their own plans for the funds in this abandoned account, and someone is found dead. Now the bros are really in hot water. The local authorities are after them as is the Secret Service. However, they do manage to get to Florida, attempting to follow the money to the daughter of the account's late owner. Said owner was a techno wiz for Disney, a mind boggling inventor. As amazing as the wiz's invention is, it's really nothing compared to what Oliver and Charlie eventually discover in this page-turner of a tale. Those with an interest in high and low finance will find enjoyment aplenty in "The Millionaires." Meltzer fans will revel in their author's latest spin on boardroom crime.
Rating:
Summary: Wild financial crime tale
Review: Brothers Oliver and Charlie Caruso work at the exclusive banking firm of Greene and Greene where client entry begins at two million dollars. However, the siblings soon learn that a boss Henry Lapidus is destroying Oliver's career. Already in major debt, The Caruso brothers decide to embezzle a three million-dollar inactive account owned by a dead client that no one in the firm or the deceased's family seems to realize exists.
However, the smooth felony fails as hidden strings attached to the loot ring alarms to various players. To the sibling's fear and bewilderment, the cash abruptly multiplies one hundred times. The Secret Service, the Disney Corporation, and a thug or two chase after the lads. Desperate Oliver and Caruso flee to Florida in an attempt to get out of this mess by following up on the only lead available, the dead client's daughter.
THE MILLIONAIRES is a wild financial thriller that takes the audience on a strange but interesting trip into the world of not so real but somehow spending money. The story line is fast-paced though marred from the seesawing between past and present tense that at times jars the reader out of the plot. The Caruso brothers gain fan empathy as their one attempt at crime ends up as a Mad Hatter ride leading to the audience singing Brad Meltzer's praise for an enlightening, exciting, and entertaining story. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Fun read, nothing earth-shattering
Review: As a financial thriller, this is an okay book, but nothing outstanding. I mostly enjoyed reading it because it moved fairly quickly. The positives: Quick and painless; Different subject; Exploration of the "gray" areas of crime (when you think no one can get hurt, does that make it right?). The negatives: Dialogue is a bit too cliche at times; Meltzer still has some work to do to perfect his craft as a writer; Unbelievable plot (but that's okay for a quick and painless read); Flat characterization (the villains) or over characterization (the main characters) a bit annoying at times. Overall, neither bad nor good. Just okay.
Rating: 
Summary: No Millionaires today
Review: This is my first Metzer novel. I listened to the unabridged version. The narrator was great. The first section of the book caught my attention. The initial setup and reasoning was first rate. The first serious flaw came when the brothers instead of getting out of the country and enjoy the immense wealth are determined to find out more about the account they stole from. WHY!!!! The book became very bogged down about a third of the way through it. The storyline became totally unbelievable.
The Secret Service is made to look like rank amateurs. The love interest in the story was telegraphed so far in advance a first grader could figure out that she was part of the initial group stealing the money. Two timid brothers have as much chance of pulling off this caper as someone winning the lottery on the first ticket purchased. Metzer continues the hyper writing to the end. In the process, he rips off at least three movies that had Disney as the scene of the climax. The ending of the story is very unsatisfactory. Don't waste your time with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Would You Take 3 Million Dollars if Nobody Owned it?
Review: Oliver and Charlie Caruso are two brothers under pressure because they have huge hospital bills to pay because of their mother's illness. They work for a private investment bank so exclusive it only takes clients with at least two million dollars in their accounts. So one day when a three million dollar account belonging to a client who has passed away falls into their laps, they take it. After all, the money will go to the government otherwise. The brothers hide the money in an offshore account. However, the next day they discover they have much more in that account than they stole. It's ballooned into a colossal three hundred and thirteen million dollars. It slowly dawns on the brothers that they have been patsies to someone else's much bigger game. Then a colleague of theirs at the bank gets shot before their eyes by the Secret Service because of the missing money. Terrified, Oliver and Charlie go on the run, all the while trying to figure out what is going on, and who is really chasing them. It turns out that supposedly dormant account holding three million was actually a trap to the tune of the three hundred and thirteen million the boys now have. With the feds hot on their heels, Oliver and Charlie begin an investigation of their own to find out who really owned that account and why there was a need for a dummy balance. And they wonder if they they will make it out of the mess they're in alive? The Millionaires's is a fast-paced thriller that will keep you turning the pages to see just who Oliver and Charlie can trust, if anyone. It's not only an exciting, adventure story of double cross and trechery, but it's a doggone good read as well.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Storyline with Weak Characters and Confusion
Review: Unlike Meltzer's other books, The Millionaires is choppy reading. The story line is basically good - young up and comer at a private bank rationalizes stealing a million and gets sucked into a far greater theft by others in the firm. It reads like a first draft and borders on sloppy. The characters are not well drawn. An ok beach book but it wouldn't be at the top of my list. Disappointing compared to Meltzer's other books.
Rating:
Summary: Fast paced, but not perfect
Review: Meltzer delivers a solid thriller. The last half of the book was very entertaining and kept you turning the pages. I recommend reading it yourself! The only knock I have against the book is all the non-verbal communication between the brothers. Sure you sometimes know what someone is thinking, but the Caruso brothers communicate without words far too often (like a pair of friggin' aliens). I highly recommend The Partner by John Grisham. Stephen Frey delivers more action in The Vulture Fund and The Inner Sanctum. My favorite author, however, remains Jeffrey Deaver...author of The Bone Collector, The Coffin Dancer, and The Devil's Teardrop...all great reads.
| 
