The Oligarch’s Daughter

by Jeff Ayers

Joseph Finder combines various themes from his previous novels and creates his best book to date. Six years ago, Paul Brightman worked on Wall Street and met a Russian American woman named Tatyana, who quickly became an infatuation. After they court and fall in love, she introduces him to her father, a Russian oligarch who soon sweeps Paul into his financial world. Tatyana and Paul marry, and everything seems to be going smoothly until it all blows up. At present, Paul lives in a small town in New Hampshire under the name Grant Anderson. He spends his days working on boat repair and helping with a boat charter that takes clients fishing. One morning, as he takes the boat out with a tourist, the man turns to Grant and says, “I know who you are, Paul.” Finder perfectly blends Grant’s storyline with that of a terrified Paul trying to survive. Nothing is predictable here, and the payoff is glorious. The Oligarch’s Daughter will be remembered as a classic years from now and should be used as a textbook to teach writers how to craft a perfect thriller. Is it too early to say this is not only the best book of the year but the best book of the decade?

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