Rating: 
Summary: Excessive Abuse of Power
Review: The book starts off with a bang with the tragic, unexplained death of a callgirl, Melissa, in the first chapter. Then there's no mention of this death (murder?) for many chapters to come. But you're hooked right away trying to decipher the intrigue and manipulations of the powerful, wealthy Hancock family. Bo Hancock is the youngest son and the financial wizard behind the vastly successful Warfield investment firm that has made billions for the family trust fund.Only something's not right in this family. Bo drinks excessively and is a potential embarrassment to the family, since the eldest son, Paul is being groomed for a shot at the presidency. The youngest daughter took off for Europe as a teenage and never returned. The older daughter is trapped in an unhappy marriage that was arranged for the benefit of the family fortune. The patriarch, Jimmy Lee, controls and manipulates the family in a ruthless, relentless manner. It is clear that he (or someone) is using bribery, blackmail and threats to weaken Paul's opposition. Bo is exiled to the back woods of Montana, supposedly to diminish the chances of embarrassing the family during one of his drunken episodes. However, Bo has kept contacts within the Warfield firm, and knows that the funds are being badly managed. He returns suddenly to New York to attend his father at his death bed following a stroke, and is even more alarmed when he visits the Warfield offices and starts to uncover the bad transactions that have left the trust fund in a risky, precarious situation. Then Bo's brother Teddy and his brother-in-law are killed in a suspicious incident, Paul tries to kill himself, and Bo's wife Meg is attacked and threatened. The plot accelerates to a frantic pace as Bo tries to uncover the people or organization that is causing all this mayhem. Bo is caught in the middle of a vast, sinister conspiracy that threatens far more than just the family billions. A fast-paced, gripping, financial thriller that will keep you engrossed right up until the last page.
Rating: 
Summary: This family has a few problems
Review: The Hancock family are all powerful. One son is headed for the White House, one son runs the family owned business and the other son is a perceived problem. When the father dies, the story entertwines into a whodunit and we are not sure who the good guys are anymore. I love Frey's work. I am always intrigued by his high finance setting and his quick pace. However, this book left me cold and is definitely NOT his best work. I found myself not really liking any of the characters. The relationships in this book were ALL disfunctional and once again, the women play very, very minor roles (this is a problem I have with Frey's work in general). The pace was stop and go and frankly, the plot was a little ridiculous. Not his best one.
Rating: 
Summary: SUSPENSEFUL NOVEL OF FAMILY SECRETS
Review: The Hancock family is the most influential family in Connecticut, they also happen to be behind Warfield Capital, a multi-billion dollar investment firm. Bo Hancock is the youngest son of the family, always living in the shadow of his two brothers, Paul, and Teddy. After covering up a crime involving his brother Paul and a call girl, he is banished to Montana, where he is to live and not make trouble for his family. The rest of the Hancock family live each day as if nothing ever happened, until poppa Hancock is struck ill, and his last wish is for Bo to take control of the family business. Of course this decision will not sit well with Teddy and Paul, as well as Frank Ramsey, the man currently in charge. A chain of events will erupt, culminating into a series of killings that have will have Bo wondering if he really new his family at all. "Trust Fund" is lightning-fast entertainment, that should be finished in one sitting. From page one, the reader is pulled into a complex and twisted thriller, with one shock after another. Stephen Frey, bestselling author of several novels, has outdone himself with his new book; he keeps his story of family secrets, and greed moving along, while throwing in his trademark investment banking thrills. Mark this novel a winner, and Frey's best novel to date. A MUST read!!! Nick Gonnella
Rating: 
Summary: Not Your All-American Family
Review: The Hancock family of Connecticut might be modeled somewhat after the Kennedy's of Massachusetts. There is the irascible old man who rules the family and its fortunes with an iron fist; the bright, politically-oriented son who is being groomed for President; a younger son who is bright, but spends far too much time looking into a bottle; and various others. In Trust Fund, Stephen Frey sets this family into a Ludlumesque plot where a cabal of current and former politicos are working to create a surveillance system that makes "Big Brother" a piker. Bo Hancock, the hard-working, hard-drinking youngest son, is a financial genius who manages the family fortune, which is mostly wrapped up in the Warfield Fund. The oldest brother is the titular head of the business, with their father in the background but still calling most of the important shots. The middle son is a candidate for President in a close race. The family (father) decides Bo might be a detriment to the campaign, separates him from the business, and exiles him to Montana. The "facts" which are presented to justify this action are not true, according to Bo, but his protests are ignored. He dutifully takes his family to Montana, but after a year he is ready to return. Not only does he miss the action, but the information pipeline he maintained indicates that his successor is endangering both the family's and their associated investor's capital. Skulduggery directed against Bo proceeds, but then his father dies and he returns both to mourn and to reclaim his place. What follows is something of a mishmash. There is a lot of murder and conspiracy, and the story is interesting, but somewhat confusing. Behind all of the shennanigans is a cabal financed in part by Hancock pere to help assure his son's election. Others are involved because they are dedicated to maintaining national security, and feel that civil rights violations are not important if the people don't know about them; but using computers to dig up the dirt (or manufacture some) on people who need to be influenced is good practice. The story gets resolved, with a happy ending, but the conclusion is an unsatisfying epilogue. Trust Fund is an interesting read, but this reader wonders what someone like Ludlum could have done with it.
Rating:
Summary: A so so book from mr. frey
Review: The hancocks are a very wealthy family established in connecticut who run a multibillion hedge fund.All of the workings over looked by the father jimmy lee hancock.There are 5 children of jimmy lees , bo hancock who is the ceo of the massive fund he has a reputation for heavy drinking and womanizing. Paul hancock who with political clout from jimmy lee's friends is making a run for the presidency.Even though bo is very successful at managing the fund and making 10's to 100's of millions of dollars his reputation appears to having an affect to pauls campaign so jimmy sends him off to montana for a year but is that the real reason for sending him or is there something greater to hide especially as executives and ceo's start ending up dead. I do not think this was one of frey's better books but it does have some fast action
Rating:
Summary: Not Bad.
Review: The last time I read a novel by Mr Frey, I was so disappointed I decided to leave him alone. After reading some of the reviews for "Trust Fund" I decided to give him another try. I'm glad I did. This novel was pretty good. I read it in one day. I simply could not put it down. If you love a good conspiracy novel dealing with money, greed and power, you will enjoy. I recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: This book was a great read. It is the type of book that after you read one chapter you must read the next one.
Rating:
Summary: First Time Reader
Review: This is my first read by this author. I actually enjoyed it very much. There could have been a little more substance with the main character and his wife. I will try a couple of more books by Frey and see what happens. All in all it was a decent story.
Rating:
Summary: Promising plot, but unbelievable details spoil it
Review: Too bad that a promising plot (old-money dynasty wants to move one of their sons into the White House, need to temporarily get rid of another brother with a drinking and perceived womanizing problem) is offset by details that are just unbelievable, even laughable. The youngest sister gets three day's notice of the father's death, but cannot attend the funeral, only to show up unexpectedly at a meeting with her siblings a couple of hours later? A Wall Street whiz with a tough reputation backing down when the former COO who's not even with the company any longer wants his old office back, yet the CEO doesn't want the former COO back? I'd have security thrown the guy out of the building rather than given him back his office. Pity that so many of the key scenes are written poorly -- the plot had the potential for a very good book.
Rating:
Summary: Frey delivers another hit
Review: While I didn't feel that this was Freys best book (The Takeover and The Insider in my opinion), it was still pretty good. The main character is good because he is flawed and is not the "perfect" character you often see. The secondary characters are all pretty one-dimensional however. The plot is lightning paced, with a steadily rising body count, and plenty of twists, making for an interesting, quick read. The only complaint about the plot is that it comes off as somewhat "trashy", soap operaish at times. And the ending is definitely a bit overblown. Still, it is an enjoyable novel that is easy to read and can be quickly polished off in one sitting. Frey is still the master of the financial thriller genre.
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