Book info

• Title Free to Trade
• Author Michael Ridpath
• Year 1995
• Genre Thriller

It was a deal to die for. And somebody will. Paul Murray is an ex-Olympic runner, so his training is perfect for the rigours of multi-million dollar bond trading in the City of London. The pace is breakneck, the smell of success intoxicating. Then the body of his colleague Debbie is fished out of the Thames and Paul’s world is turned upside down. He begins a dangerous, chaotic tumble into the darker side of trading. From the glass towers of London to the frenzied deals of Wall Street and the murky back rooms of Las Vegas glitz, Paul has got to find answers fast before someone else makes a killing.

Thoughts

A really fascinating book this one. It’s appeal is probably limited to those that understand finance and/or shares and trading, particularly as it opens with some quite in depth details about a day in the life of the protagonist - a portfolio manager.

But if you get on with the financial jargon, then there’s also a really good crime/murder/mystery story underneath it all. People are doing bad things, our hero is getting the blame for it all, and needs to work hard to clear his name.

I enjoyed the book, but my only complaint would be that no one took any action against Rob. Considering how we frowned upon the domestic abuse scene, it seemed like no one was bothered about this creepy, stalking, threatening, and clearly quite disturbed man. I’m not sure he deserved the happy ending that he got. But otherwise, it was an interesting story, with a lot of moving parts to keep track of, and an intricate but well conceived plot.

Rating: 3 / 5