The Silent Oligarch by Chris Morgan Jones (Penguin)

Behind the doors of some of the world’s richest companies lie secrets that the owners want secret. An entire industry has grown up whose only purpose is to ferret out information on the shenanigans that go on behind those doors. These companies are called business intelligence agencies; Jones worked for one 11 years before writing this book. His initial effort is a spine-tingling international thriller, as we follow Benjamin Webster on his hunt to bring down a nondescript but powerful bureaucrat named Konstantin Malin.

Webster is lucky to be alive after he is captured during an earlier investigation into the dealings of a company in one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics. His reporter companion was not as lucky. The book then jumps into the future to 2009 where Webster still concentrates on bringing down Malin.

Webster is approached by a Greek magnate who wants Malin brought down because he has lost millions to Malin’s illegal deals. Ben must use all his resources to track down Malin and his corporate front man—with one additional problem: His boss wants him to stay out of Russia and do his digging from Europe.

I was pleasantly surprised at the talent shown in this debut. For those who love international thrillers, here’s another page turner.

—Steve Bank
Cary Community Library

FTC Disclosure — This book was provided by the publisher.