The Bankster - Ravi Subramanian
I picked up Ravi's If God Was a Banker last month. To say I was quite
impressed with his story telling abilities would be an understatement.
When I got The Bankster as part of a book review program by Blogadda.com I was thrilled.
In this new book, Ravi weaves a plot thick with conspiracy, murders, and money laundering.
There are three stories that run parallelly: a CIA agent who smuggles blood diamonds from Africa; a resort owner who loses his son to the Chernobyl disaster is fighting against the opaque ways of the government machinery while setting up the Trikakulam Nuclear Power Plant in Devikulam, Kerala; and the senior management of G2B bank who are up till their necks in corruption and money laundering activities.
In the beginning, the three stories seem different from each other and you need to focus a bit to keep in mind the various characters involved in each story. As the story progresses, it picks up break neck speed and converges beautifully. Ravi has brought together three separate but diverse incidents together and woven a web of deceit, corruption, and homicide in a masterful manner.
Vikram is the Head of Retail Banking at G2B and his accomplice in playing power politics is the HR Head, Tanuja. They twist the employees' fates on their pinkies and show no remorse for anybody. They mercilessly cut to size employees who question their agenda and manipulate people with wanton impunity. A lot of action is centered within the bank. The bank acts as a core where the lava boils and eventually spills over to affect the other two stories.
Krishna Menon loses his son to a nuclear disaster and is hell-bent on preventing another such disaster in India. Germany and USA are in cahoots to prevent India from acquiring nuclear power. Enter Jayakumar, a flamboyant, gregarious, rich man who runs an NGO. He offers to help Menon in his fight.
Hundred thousands dollars worth diamonds are being exchanged for ammunition in Africa and the man behind all this is Joseph Braganza, a CIA agent, who is a master of disguise and stealth. He pulls the right strings to get smooth entries to powerful offices and makes deals worth millions.
G2B hires a bunch of new Relationship Managers (RMs) who go for the kill and create benami accounts for the powers-to-be. A new RM, Zinaida becomes the best employee in a short period by showing her booty and fluttering her eyelashes at the right people at the right time. A hard working RM, Harshita, a compliance officer Raymond, and a cashier get killed, giving rise to many uncomfortable questions.
Enter Karan Punjabi, ex-G2B, now a TOI reporter; Karan promises Indrani, CEO G2B, that he will solve the mystery behind the triple murders. But he has a personal agenda: Raymond was a dear friend. In all, the book is a taut piece with thrilling and chilling turns.
I took a day and a half to read the book. I enjoyed the thrill of racing to the end. Now that I have read 2 books, I am going to pick up a few more of Ravi’s books. Keep writing!
I give it four stars.
When I got The Bankster as part of a book review program by Blogadda.com I was thrilled.
In this new book, Ravi weaves a plot thick with conspiracy, murders, and money laundering.
There are three stories that run parallelly: a CIA agent who smuggles blood diamonds from Africa; a resort owner who loses his son to the Chernobyl disaster is fighting against the opaque ways of the government machinery while setting up the Trikakulam Nuclear Power Plant in Devikulam, Kerala; and the senior management of G2B bank who are up till their necks in corruption and money laundering activities.
In the beginning, the three stories seem different from each other and you need to focus a bit to keep in mind the various characters involved in each story. As the story progresses, it picks up break neck speed and converges beautifully. Ravi has brought together three separate but diverse incidents together and woven a web of deceit, corruption, and homicide in a masterful manner.
Vikram is the Head of Retail Banking at G2B and his accomplice in playing power politics is the HR Head, Tanuja. They twist the employees' fates on their pinkies and show no remorse for anybody. They mercilessly cut to size employees who question their agenda and manipulate people with wanton impunity. A lot of action is centered within the bank. The bank acts as a core where the lava boils and eventually spills over to affect the other two stories.
Krishna Menon loses his son to a nuclear disaster and is hell-bent on preventing another such disaster in India. Germany and USA are in cahoots to prevent India from acquiring nuclear power. Enter Jayakumar, a flamboyant, gregarious, rich man who runs an NGO. He offers to help Menon in his fight.
Hundred thousands dollars worth diamonds are being exchanged for ammunition in Africa and the man behind all this is Joseph Braganza, a CIA agent, who is a master of disguise and stealth. He pulls the right strings to get smooth entries to powerful offices and makes deals worth millions.
G2B hires a bunch of new Relationship Managers (RMs) who go for the kill and create benami accounts for the powers-to-be. A new RM, Zinaida becomes the best employee in a short period by showing her booty and fluttering her eyelashes at the right people at the right time. A hard working RM, Harshita, a compliance officer Raymond, and a cashier get killed, giving rise to many uncomfortable questions.
Enter Karan Punjabi, ex-G2B, now a TOI reporter; Karan promises Indrani, CEO G2B, that he will solve the mystery behind the triple murders. But he has a personal agenda: Raymond was a dear friend. In all, the book is a taut piece with thrilling and chilling turns.
I took a day and a half to read the book. I enjoyed the thrill of racing to the end. Now that I have read 2 books, I am going to pick up a few more of Ravi’s books. Keep writing!
I give it four stars.
Here is an official trailer from YouTube:
This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com . Participate now to get free books!
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