The Domino Effect by Davis Bunn

Bunn is a master story teller and this is one of his best. The plot is timely and the characters engaging. The book is very informative and a bit scary. I highly recommend it.

Esther is a risk analyst at a major U.S. bank, concentrating on investments and trades. She has been doing her own private analysis on the actions of major banks over the last several years. What she has found is unsettling. Many banks are skirting the law and returning to activities that precipitated the 2008 financial disaster.

There is a ton of information in this book about how banks do business. I did not see an Afterward in the galley I read identifying which parts of the book are based on fact. I trust Bunn has done his homework and what he writes is based on actual events.

Ester looks at the risk structure of the global economy. The global markets are linked so what happens in Asia affects financial markets world wide. Banks concentrate on making profits and will take huge risks. Much of this is done by electronic trading that by pass government controls. Huge trades are done by programs set up and can be completed in a fraction of a second, much faster than humans can evaluate and control.

I liked the structure of the book, combining a page turning plot with a great deal of information. Esther is a gutsy woman, willing to risk her own life to prevent a disaster to the U.S. economy. I liked her character development, becoming a softer person and caring for others.

I highly recommend this book. It has a timely message about the current global financial situation, in addition to a good plot with great characters and plenty of suspense.

My rating: 5/5.

Davis Bunn is an award-winning best-selling author who is writer-in-residence at Regent's Park College, at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Bethany House, 336 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.