Rating: 
Summary: one of the best political/business thrillers
Review: A great book written by a great professional storyteller. You can feel the authors background of the world of business. I've had a great time with this book and for Germans it's a great view into the American way of politics and business. Thank You for this wonderfull thriller and I'll read also the other books of Mr. Frey.
Rating: 
Summary: Quick-paced good read but implausible political setting
Review: As usual, Frey gives the layman good insight to the inner world of Wall Street but the political setting was preposterous; an evil Republican Senator from Georgia who has been a Committee Chairman for 15 years??? Impossible, Republicans have only controlled the Senate for 6 years!!! A faceless career bureaucrat or "military-industrial" corporate type would have been more realistic; also, the heroic liberal African-American Democrat Senator is just as unlikely; unfortunately because of the racial (and racist) demographics of statewide politics it is almost impossible for an African-American to get elected to the Senate (I believe there have been only two this century); a more realistic position would have been a Congressman; however aside from the implausible politcal setting, the book is a good read; although it may be difficult for some to accept an IRS agent as a protaganist, Frey keeps the reader guessing right to the last page; unfortunately the reader has to accept a political fantasy world to enjoy the book
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT NON-STOP THRILLER
Review: From the moment I picked up this book and read the brief description on the back, I simply could not put it down. Frey had my undivided attention from page to page. The drama and suspense had me biting my nails! A real thumbs up. I just can't wait to read The Legacy. This book will not disappoint thriller lovers.
Rating:
Summary: excellent business thriller!
Review: From what I see of the reviews shown, that people either liked the book or didn't. Well, I really liked it. I have been reading a lot of political books lately, and this is indeed a book based on reality in many ways. A reality that many of us don't want to believe because we all hope that integrity and honesty is the basis that our businesses and the people in our government hold to, but, alas, money and the power that it can produce is far too hard for many to resist.It is a political story about how an investment group, a crooked senator, military people and others manipulate to get defense contracts so that certain people can make a lot of money. We have seen a lot of this lately ourselves. I am sure there are a few details that someone who is more familiar with the procedures involved in acquiring defense contracts could disagree with, but as a novice myself, and as this is just a book of fiction, I found it to be fascinating. David Mitchell, a young man who came up from a poor background, has been working at a job that he hopes will fulfill his dreams of becoming rich, even if he has to do a few things that aren't exactly kosher in the legal department. As he isn't a crook by nature, he is having doubts about his job. He has been manipulated by the people he is working for into using poor judgement in his actions and now it may be too late to get out. Jessie Hayes' boss, in the IRS, dies suddenly of a mysterious heart attack, and she receives a delayed memo from him about a case he was working on-very secretive. She finds the file where he said he had hidden it and is almost killed in the process. There is murder, mystery and thrills to the end of the book. I wasn't disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: excellent business thriller!
Review: From what I see of the reviews shown, that people either liked the book or didn't. Well, I really liked it. I have been reading a lot of political books lately, and this is indeed a book based on reality in many ways. A reality that many of us don't want to believe because we all hope that integrity and honesty is the basis that our businesses and the people in our government hold to, but, alas, money and the power that it can produce is far too hard for many to resist. It is a political story about how an investment group, a crooked senator, military people and others manipulate to get defense contracts so that certain people can make a lot of money. We have seen a lot of this lately ourselves. I am sure there are a few details that someone who is more familiar with the procedures involved in acquiring defense contracts could disagree with, but as a novice myself, and as this is just a book of fiction, I found it to be fascinating. David Mitchell, a young man who came up from a poor background, has been working at a job that he hopes will fulfill his dreams of becoming rich, even if he has to do a few things that aren't exactly kosher in the legal department. As he isn't a crook by nature, he is having doubts about his job. He has been manipulated by the people he is working for into using poor judgement in his actions and now it may be too late to get out. Jessie Hayes' boss, in the IRS, dies suddenly of a mysterious heart attack, and she receives a delayed memo from him about a case he was working on-very secretive. She finds the file where he said he had hidden it and is almost killed in the process. There is murder, mystery and thrills to the end of the book. I wasn't disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing and getting predictable
Review: I eagerly looked forward to reading this novel after having read two other works by Stephen Frey. This one was definitely a disappointment. Frey has also stepped partially away from the financial world with this one and seems to be on somewhat unfamiliar ground. Once again the main characters come from impoverished backgrounds that they prefer to hide - where have we heard that before? David Mitchell is almost a cookie cutter copy of Andrew Falcon and Mace McClain, although a bit more suspicious. At least the ending was a bit different from the Frey formula of the previous two books. I would have given this book 1 star except the last 100 pages or so were pretty gripping.
Rating:
Summary: Boring and utterly predictable
Review: I have to agree with most of the other folks whose reviews appear here...the book read like a made-for-tv movie, and not a very good one at that. Boring and predictable, I found myself rolling my eyes as I progressed from one absurd scene to the next. Not a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: One Star Seems Too High
Review: I read about 30 to 40 novels a year. Through the first five months of 2001, this is far and away the worst book I've read this year. Since it's also one of the worst books I've ever read, it is definitely in the running for my trash novel of the year award. In "The Inner Sanctum", every character is incredibly stupid, as in of questionable intelligence. Also, with the exception of one guy who is killed at the very beginning of the book, every character is driven in part or in whole by greed; not just the desire to be wealthy, but out and out greed. Even the "hero" of the book, an IRS Agent (can you believe it) named Jesse Hayes, is a bit slow on the uptake and looking to make it big. She's also supposed to be about the best the IRS has to offer. Ah, if it were only the case, I would start claiming my dog as a dependent tomorrow. Actually, this is one of those books that depend on the stupidity of the characters. If anyone were capable of an original idea, like taking evidence of political and financial malfeasance to the FBI, SEC, or the New York Times, the book would have ended in the second chapter. Instead, it plods along with one of the most contrived and poorly planned plots I've ever encountered. Most of the time I found myself pages ahead of the author in knowing what was going to happen next. Also, Frey has a problem with "action" sequences. He can't write them in any manner that either makes sense or can be followed. So, he depends on that old standby of hack writers everywhere, a professional killer who either keeps killing the wrong people or who loses his ability to shoot straight when he encounters his true target. (I did like the part where Jesse hides behind a tree while the killer is running all around her. That raised stupidity to an almost Homeric level.) Actually, this book holds out some hope for one segment of the population, wannabe writers. Anyone out there with a really bad novel in the bottom drawer of their desk or on their hard drive should immediately send a copy to Signet books. If they'll publish this drivel, they're likely to publish anything.
Rating:
Summary: Not Frey at his best
Review: I really enjoyed both The Takeover and The Vulture Fund but this book was really a disappointment. The best part was the few pages of The Legacy included at the back of the book. Hope Frey returns to his previous form soon.
Rating:
Summary: The plot saves it...just barely.
Review: I'm a Stephen Frey fan, so bear with me. This was a stinker...a financial thriller version of 'The Firm.' Not nearly as good as The Takeover or Vulture Fund. Why? Unrealistic and grossly cliched dialogue and description primarily. For instance: Pierce, a military guy, is described as "steely-eyed" and with "ramrod" bearing. Characters are always "interjecting" or "replying" or "shooting back" or "interrupting" or "uttering" as opposed to just "he said." And the redundancies: "...he murmured quietly" (how else?) and "it was a Manichaean struggle between good and evil" (is there any other kind?). And the cliches: She was "like a cat on a hot tin roof trying to get off." Actually, I fault Frey's Dutton editor on this (you can see who she is in the acknowledgments section), because this book has a complex plot and fast-paced story, and Frey pulls it off, albeit just barely. I'm a fan. I'll give him another shot.
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