Book info

• Title Paper Money
• Author Ken Follett
• Year 1977
• Genre Thriller

Several Daring Crimes. London. A politician wakes with a beautiful girl; a criminal briefs his team; a tycoon breakfasts with a Bank official. Then three stories break: an attempted suicide, a hijack and a take-over bid. One Shocking Conspiracy. They seem unrelated – until Evening Post reporters ask questions. Why is a Jamaican bank in trouble? Who drove the Rolls-Royce seen near the crime scene? Who was the man with gunshot wounds? Over the course of a single day, fortunes will be destroyed, reputations shattered and principles shredded. A Dangerous Truth. It is only when a blackmailed politician decides to take matters into his own hands and to set a pair of fearless reporters on the trail that a criminal web at the heart of the conspiracy is uncovered. Will the truth be too dangerous to print on this unforgettable day in the capital?

Thoughts

I love Ken Follett and his writing is always intriguing, whipping you along through a story until you get to a satisfying conclusion. This was a different work, an earlier one, and as the author himself alludes to, it doesn’t abide by standard thriller specifications.

There’s a huge cast of characters, a sprawling plot with no apparent heroes and lots of threads to be tied together by the end. That does happen, although I though the ending a bit abrupt. I don’t mind that it’s not really a happy ending, and all the characters seem to get resolved, but it all happens incredibly quickly.

No complaints though, it’s a really interesting piece in the size of the cast, the story without a lead, and the fact that it all seems to happen and be resolved with no major consequences.

Rating: 3 / 5