The Insider

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining if you can forgive a weak plot
Review: If you are willing to completely let go of reality, you might enjoy this one. Ok, so the plot is a little thin and the characters could definitely use a little more substance. Still, like an action adventure movie where you are entertained in spite of the stupidity going on around you, this book has something to offer. It is a quick read and it won't challenge you to think a lot. A good vacation read.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: In Frey's thriller (difficult to classify, but most accurately a financial thriller), The Insider, Jay West is an unlikely hire for one of the most elite jobs at one of Wall Street's most prestigious firms, McCarthy & Lloyd. He holds an English degree from Lehigh, as opposed to the typical banker who blooms from Princeton or Yale, and comes from a blue-collar family. However, when the successful and charismatic Oliver Mason handpicks him and offers him a minimum $1 million bonus, Jake simply cannot refuse. From there, the plot unfolds, and Jake discovers that all is not well - he is being set up to take a big fall.

While I overall did enjoy the book, I was discouraged by several faults of the novel. First, the predictability of the earlier stages of the novel was blatant. Second, I did not particularly care for Frey's style of revealing the "twists". He tended to lay out the surprises in a rather random fashion and then continue on as though they were never mentioned. As a result, the third person omniscient point of view was not always omniscient. The dramatic irony was not played very well. It is almost as though Frey was having a difficult time deciding whether he would use first or third person.

While I have to knock the book a little, I did overall enjoy it, especially the ending. I would recommend it if you are interested, but if you are trying to decide between this novel and another, try the other and visit this one later. In the end, The Insider was an enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: Corporate Espionage Gets Some Press
Review: In my opinion, there are far too few mysteries and novels which are set in the corporate world. Perhaps this is because people who have little or no contact with the business world find the subject matter boring or possibly confusing. I find these stories stimulating because it deals with subjects which are so true to every day life. The world of insider trading can be very fascinating. I think Stephen Frey did an excellent job of making his readers aware of the concerns all stock buyers should have in acting on "tips". For the brokers themselves, the problem is even more fraught with danger as Frey suggests. Although short on details, the novel keeps up a steady pace. I enjoy that since I read to escape from the stress of the work day and every day life. If you want more detail, read Turow! Frey's books remind me of novels by Oksner and John Sandford (yes he did write some outside of the "Prey" series).

Rating:
Summary: Excellent financial thriller
Review: Jay West is extremely ambitious to reach the level of the Wall Street power brokers. So when Oliver Mason hires him to work for the Donavon & Lloyd firm, Jay knows he is on his way to attaining his goal.

However, as driven as Jay is, he still realizes that something is wrong with his new position and his charismatic boss. Oliver's obsession to obtain power, prestige, and wealth makes Jay's life goal seem infantile by comparison. Nothing, including illegal and amoral activities, stops Oliver from achieving his desires. Soon Jay realizes that his new boss has set him up in an elaborate scheme that leads to the conclusion that Jay committed all the atrocities.

Stephen Frey is quickly developing a following for his fiscal mysteries such as THE LEGACY, THE VULTURE FUND, and THE TAKEOVER. His latest novel, THE INSIDER, is his best story to date. The non-stop story line is filled with action. The trapping of Jay is brilliantly executed and the financial maneuverings appear intelligent, plausible, but fully understandable. The characters also seem real. Jay will remind readers of Lady MacBeth as both learn the follies of ambition at all costs. Oliver is a classic villain - suave and handsome on the outside, but deadly on the inside. Mr. Frey scores with his best novel to date.

Rating:
Summary: A good story, but a little 'borrowed'...
Review: Let me start off by saying that Stephen Frey is a very good writer, and THE INSIDER is a very suspensful and entertaining read. Unfortunately I have read some of Frey's other works prior to THE INSIDER (THE TAKEOVER, THE INNER SANCTUM, or THE VULTURE FUND for example.) The problem is that while Frey's books are very enjoyable to read, they do tend to follow the same format. That is, the hero is a recently hired investment wiz in a high rolling investment business and is tricked into either participating or covering up a scheme of some sort. One reviewer said that Frey's characters are all very attractive people that have similar personalities. That comment was well founded.

Now don't get me wrong, I loved THE INSIDER, Jay West was quite a character. But Frey uses the same character mold in his other books (THE TAKEOVER), and after reading some of his other books the theme gets played out. I gave it 4 stars because if it is the first Frey book you have read, then it is very good. However, if you have, like me, read his other material, then you will quickly find THE INSIDER to be a little anti-climatic.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad for fast food, but beware of the IBS
Review: Like so many modern authors of pop literature, Stephen Frey tries to be everything to everyone. He wants to be Robert Ludlum (terrorism), John Grisham (corporate espionage) and Raymond Chandler (noir heros and heroines) and fails on all counts. He's the got the set-up down pat, but after the first 100 pages, when plot development is needed, the book falls apart, clinging to a series of ridiculously convenient and contrived scenarios. There are some potentially interesting characters here like Oliver Mason and Sally Lane, but we never learn enough about what's going on inside of them to care what happens. This is in part due to Frey's frenetic point of view jumping, placing us inside the heads of every character but never delving below what we can find on the surface. This style of voice (3rd person omnicient)can work, but here it just comes off as sloppy.

All this might be forgivable, but then Frey grinds the story to a halt in the last third of the book by explaining every bit of back story (we've already gleaned 90% at this point) through one of his main characters while he's walking through the park! How many people review events chronologically and in this much detail?

Proof yet again that yarn spinning and writing are very different crafts indeed.

Rating:
Summary: You know it's bad when you...
Review: return the book to the library without ever finishing it. This book doesn't even deserve one star. The concept is sophomoric and the writing is stilted. Admirers of Grisham and Balducci will wonder how this author gets published.

Rating:
Summary: Someone please stop Stephen Frey
Review: Someone please stop Stephen Frey from writing anymore novels. This is the absolute worst book I have ever read. There aren't enough adjectives or expletives to describe this book.

Rating:
Summary: Quick read with a resourceful main character
Review: Stephen Frey is a talented writer who provides his readers with main characters who have the uncanny ability to get themselves into trouble without even trying. In his latest outing, THE INSIDER, that poor unfortunate person is Jay West, an unlikely candidate for a seat on an arbitrage desk at a boutique investment house on Wall Street.

Jay is everything that he shouldn't be in investment banking. He is not an IVY grad and lacks a prestigious MBA. He holds an English degree from Lehigh University and comes from a working class family in the steel region of eastern Pennsylvania. Despite his apparent shortcomings, he is selected, recruited and hired for a position with McCarthy and Lloyd and his future looks bright.

Immediately immersed in the day-to-day activities of the arbitrage desk, Jay proves to be so insightful that he shortly realizes all is not as it should be. Once he catches on, he still tries to succeed because after all, he has a powerful incentive. At the end of one year, he stands to reap a cool million dollars as his bonus.

But that reality is never meant to be and Jay is set up to take a serious fall. Before the book is 2/3 of the way through, Jay is being pursued by the US Government and some really nasty characters from an extremist Irish liberation organization.

Another reviewer here at Amazon has stated that Frey borrows his newer characters from books he has previously written. I won't diagree completely. Some of them are starting to sound very much alike. But there is still enough of a difference to keep the reader wanting to know how Jay West will get out of his precarious position. That's what makes Frey's books such entertaining page turners. He doesn't use a lot of detail where it isn't necessary and he keeps the plot moving in a forward direction. This is not Tolstoy or Faulkner. What this book is is a quick, entertaining read with a likeable character who the reader comes to care for. A beach book or a book for when you're snowed in is what comes to mind.

I've read his other books, also sold here at Amazon and liked them enough to seek this one out. Give it a try, I think you'll like it.

Rating:
Summary: Stephen Frey at his best!
Review: Stephen Frey is at his best in this book! An exciting book that is hard to put down, and has you guessing all the way to the end. After reading this book it is no wonder why they compare him to Grisham.