Shakedown

by Andie Ryan

Book Overview

Tom Hollister thinks he?s been bribed to whitewash a corporate financial scandal until he discovers a murder conspiracy. Estranged from his family, he falls for a highly paid call girl, unaware of her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1935365045
• ISBN13: 9781935365044
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Lenox Road Publishing LLC
• Length: 421 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 1.5" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Thrilling and an Excellent Story

I loved this book. It had good character development and a very interesting plot. It was a real page turner.

Excellent Thriller: A Must Read

Usually it takes me some time to read a book for pleasure as between work and home my pleasure reading is limited to my 1 1/2 hour commute to NY each way and more times than not I doze off after a chapter or two. Not the case with Shakedown by Andie Ryan. Shakedown is an intriguing thriller with real movie potential. It has all the aspects of a blockbuster. It has an impelling story with a lot of action, murder, sex, plot twists and makes you want to read the next chapter to know what happens next. Buy it, you will enjoy it!

"Shakedown" will strike a chord with readers

Some of the richest people in the world didn't gain their wealth through honest means. "Shakedown" is a story of corporate intrigue following a public relations executive for a financial company. When he discovers his company's corruption which dips its hands in the blood of murder, the executive is driven between maintaining his own quality of life and doing what's right. "Shakedown" will strike a chord with readers, inspired by some of the current chaos at Wall Street. Highly recommended.

Shakedown is one of the best thrillers I've read in a long, long, time!

I generally don't read a lot of fiction but I'm so glad I bought this book. I can't remember the last time I finished a novel (or any other book for that matter) in two days. "The Firm", perhaps? I just couldn't put it down. For anyone who loves the thriller genre, this book is a `must have'. Shakedown is great for a couple of reasons. The first one would be that the characters that play prominent roles in the story line are both unique and complex. Although Hollister is obviously the main character, and for all intents and purposes the guy you are rooting for; it is the entire cast of characters that collectively drive the story to its' thrilling and fascinating conclusion. Andy Ryan does a great job describing Hollister's unique relationship with each character; but more importantly she effectively unveils each character's respective strengths and weaknesses. This allows the reader to better appreciate the actions and decisions made by each as the story unfolds, even when they are surprising. Tom Hollister has issues; both personally and professionally. Each of these factors into where he is, how he got there, and the decisions he needs to make. But without an intimate understanding of those around him-of both his adversaries and enemies, I wouldn't have been so anxious to know what he would do next. It was really fun trying to predict what this guy would do under so much pressure, and with so much guilt and angst lodged inside of him. This book really has a bit of everything -murder, corporate scandal, cover-ups, family turmoil, and love; all of which kept me on the edge throughout. At the center piece of all of this is the actual clandestine operation itself, which ultimately is the driver that all the characters respond to. What I found impressive was the detail Ryan uses to describe the actual clandestine operation itself. Having worked on Wall Street for many years, and having been exposed to some wrong-doing myself, the scheme was very clever and completely realistic. Even more realistic were the actions and emotions on display by the `bad guys' when learning they have been `found out'. Really great stuff here. Shakedown is a great read! I would never have guessed that this was Andie Ryan's first novel. I am looking forward to her encore.

Finally a Corporate Thriller with Literary Quality

I love the thriller genre but too many contemporary novels sacrifice good writing for two-dimensional characters and a hurried Scooby-Doo plot line (see Dan Brown). This first novel from new author Andie Ryan proves that a riveting thrill ride can also be literary fiction with complex characters that drive a well-organized, believable story. Ryan's ability to modulate the pacing creates just the right tension while painting in details that make the book read like a watching a film. This tightly written novel never bogs down in extraneous narrative. Still, readers can feel the pain behind the main character's stoic exterior. We can almost taste the lunch menu served in the executive dining room. And we can feel our own hearts pounding as characters we have come to care about find themselves barely alluding their destruction----sometimes. The characters' flaws and desires make them real and multidimensional. Just when we predict a response or an action, human nature---as Ryan aptly portrays it---jolts us down an unforeseen path. She places her characters in a backdrop of corporate avarice, amid prostitution and failing marriages. Here, personal ethics collide with personal greed and thus the stakes for each player become invaluable. A decade ago, we might have seen this powder keg of forces as nothing more than literary hyperbole. Yet, it takes on a particular poignancy in the wake of Enron and WorldCom; and it resonates in the political demise of state Governors caught in their own sexual hubris.