Ridpath, Michael

Average customer rating:

Two Stars for the laughable collection of clichés. One stop shopping!
Good financial based novel
A real Book Maker
Highly Recommended & addictive
Enjoyable but not realistic

The Marketmaker
Michael Ridpath
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0451197526

Customer Reviews:

Two Stars for the laughable collection of clichés. One stop shopping!.......2006-12-12

Let's use some analogies.

Michael Ridpath's "The Market Maker" is to "Global Bond Markets" as "The DaVinci Code" is to "The Catechism of the Catholic Church."

Here is a list of similarities between Ridpath's fictional world and the real world of sell-side or buy-side of fixed income trading.

1) Nothing.

Okay, they both use the word "bond" but after that, the differences drop off so precipitously five mathematicians have gone mad trying to map the decay function.

Next analogy: Michael Ridpath's "The Market Maker" is to "Thriller" as "The 120 Days of Sodom" is to "Nursery Rhyme."

This work reads like an old MadLib, or a Novel-O-Matic. Our [hero], a [poor] fellow has a stroke of [luck]. He enters [glamorous world] with a [powerful father figure] who is [rich]. He soon is [befriended] by [backslapping comic relief] and meets [beautiful girl] and finds himself [attracted to her]. Soon [mysterious] events occur that involve [money], necessitating [relocation to a glamorous location], where [sudden, unexpected violence] occurs. Our hero discovers that [beautiful girl] is [rich too], but hides it because she desires [powerful autonomy] from her own [father] figure.

Next analogy: Michael Ridpath's "The Market Maker" is to "Engaging" as "Dora The Explorer" is to "Complex, intricately crafted psycho-drama."

Future editions should place a detachable barf bag between pages 20 and 21. If you ever, in desperation, purchase this in an airport bookstore, be sure to search for same from the seat pocket in front of you before subjecting your eyeballs to this tripe stew of formulaic, cliché-ridden, pablum. As the late Truman Capote said "That's not writing. That's typing." But since Ridpath dictates his books, we'd have to say it's babbling. "Gaa gaa goo goo....bond, ......bond market go `poopy!' Big diaper poopy! Phew!"

Good financial based novel.......2002-01-23

I quite enjoyed this book. Maybe 'cause I love the intrigue of the money markets. This is a good novel about what happens when things go wrong and to the extreme when things get dangerous. Certainly worth a read.

A real Book Maker.......2001-07-30

Although it reminded me very much of Grisham's "The firm", I liked it a lot and I am looking forward to reading the other Ridpaths. I found it very interesting getting a brief survey on London's brokerage scene and Nick's feelings and sceptiscism against it. Ridpath really knows how to treat the reader and to keep him continuing until the very end. The reason why I gave the book only four stars is the simple fact, that I don't believe that a single person is able to put so much pressure on an istitution like a big brokerage firm and I also find it unlikely hiring an outsider just because of his language skills.

Highly Recommended & addictive.......2000-09-05

my first Michael Ridpath book and addicted ever since, pity he's written only four thusfar. This book grips you from the start and you are sucked into the plot straight away.

Enjoyable but not realistic.......2000-04-26

I found the Market Maker to be an enjoyable diversion but not very believable. It seems unlikely that a new hire like Nick would be assigned to travel to South America after a couple days on the job. Furthermore, the main character's ability to influence high level financiers, escape injury and escape captivity were truly remarkable. Maybe he should have also had X-ray vision. Yet, I found the book hard to put down. Free to Trade was better but the Market Maker served its purpose.

Average customer rating:

The Predator
Michael Ridpath
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140295909
Release Date: 2002-07-04

Average customer rating:

A good mystery
Needs some sharpening
Plodding style and corney characters - not much fun!
DULL DULL DULL
A disappointing book that fails to meet the crtitics aclaim

Free to Trade: A Novel of Suspense
Michael Ridpath
Manufacturer: Harpercollins (Mm)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0061093483

Book Description

When the death of an attractive colleague and the details of a suspicious investment arouse the curiosity of a young bond trader at a small London financial house, he becomes caught in a web of international chicanery that could cost him more than his career.

"It is the author's insight into the complexities of the business that gives his novel so much life. And he can write.... Yes, he has a winner here." --<cite>The New York Times Book Review</cite>

Customer Reviews:

A good mystery.......2001-08-02

Ridpath did an excellent job of weaving information about financial markets and trading into a mystery that spans the globe from London to Phoenix. He did a great job of portraying the people caught up in the bond and borrowing industry, and the ethical dilemmas they face. I would heartedly recommend the book.

I would put the book on par with Dick Francis and Grisham.

Needs some sharpening.......1999-08-25

There is a germ of a good book in here. It needs to be whittled down by 50% and the characters need more personality. It has some excitement in the trading scenes, but you have to slog through worthless stuff to get to them. For example, we go through a long, dull chapter describing a visit to the narrator's mum, hear a description of his father, his father's death, etc. and it really is all for naught. I hope his other books are better. Maybe if he read some Hammet or Hemmingway he can pick up some pointers on how to make the prose more efficient.

Plodding style and corney characters - not much fun!.......1998-11-24

Thrillers set in real worlds are often the best escapism, I find. But not this time. Why? Because Ridpath's leaden writing deprives his setting of any real blood or believability. The result is rather tedious, because you'll find it very hard to care what happens to any of the hollow characters involved. A very over-hyped thriller...

DULL DULL DULL.......1998-09-28

I've read some overhyped novels in my time, but this one takes the biscuit. This man CANNOT WRITE, and in fact, from the evidence of this book cannot even punctuate.

Suspence? None. Particularly since the blurb on the back jacket of my copy says "his crusade for an explanation results in his being framed for murder, accused of insider trading and left to find twenty million by lunchtime." which 1, is in fact the entire plot, and 2, doesn't actually *happen* until page 330 (of 420)! (If you're interested, pages 1 to 330 are taken up by deadly explicatory bond meetings where people keep saying things like, "Okay. So, how exactly do you sell a junk bond?" and the characters say "okay, it's like this, blah blah blah- oh no! I've told you too much!")

Avoid. There are some brilliant stock market books out there, but this is not one of them. Oh, and note to the author: denoting one of your characters as Scottish by having them say 'Laddie' at the end of each sentence is not just completely inaccurate but shallow and demeaning, too. Okay, old chap?

A disappointing book that fails to meet the crtitics aclaim.......1998-08-23

I was seduced by the hyperboles on the cover "... the thriller everyone has been waiting for", "Britain's most exciting new thriller writer", but I don't think the story lives up to these comments. Paul Murray is a junior bond trader in the City of London with ambition and drive to succeed. When his colleague is found dead in the River Thames, Paul becomes the police's chief suspect. As he investigates the circumstances to her death he uncovers a large-scale fraud, and is also accused on insider dealing. It soon becomes apparent that to solve the murder he will have to solve the fraud and clear his name.

Average customer rating:

A very good read
Better than Frey but that's not saying much...
Less foreseeable than "Free to Trade" by Ridpath
Not as Good as Free To Trade
Excellent Review

Trading Reality
Michael Ridpath
Manufacturer: HarperTorch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0061096369

Customer Reviews:

A very good read.......2000-08-16

I found Trading Reality to be very exciting and entertaining - from beginning to end. The plot is great and it's difficult to guess what's going to happen next. You constantly think you've worked it out only to realise that you've been had once again. I found the detailed descriptions of life in The City combined with the interesting world of high technology to be an excellent cocktail. Well written and definitely worth a try...

Better than Frey but that's not saying much..........1999-06-22

This is my third try at reading a financial thriller, and so far I'm not impressed. Something about the blandness of the financial world goes badly with conventional, creaky thriller plots maybe. This is less financial than FREE TO TRADE and a lot better than the dreadful efforts of Mr Frey, but it still badly lacks an edge, or a sense of attack. It laps up the world of high finance with breathless enthusiasm (all those HUGE sums of money being moved around - how thrilling! Or is it?). The result is pretty flat and dull.

Less foreseeable than "Free to Trade" by Ridpath.......1999-06-18

The book really keeps you up all night. It has less brokering stuff then "Free to Trade" what makes it even more interesting. Ridpath manages to combine the two areas of brokering and virtual reality but keeps it near real life. The classic ending of an english criminal story of gathering all suspects in one room to make the murderer reveale himself, is varied in a fascinating way.

Not as Good as Free To Trade.......1999-06-09

I like his writing very much, easy to read, and keeps you wanting to turn the pages, However, I did find this book a bit predictable. All the leads are laid into the book in a far to obvious way.

Excellent Review.......1998-07-05

A true thriller. Micheal Ridpath's excellent thriller "Trading Reality" keeps you on the edge of your reading chair, the bookmark will be permanentley out, if you like commercial fiction, you'll love Trading Reality

Average customer rating:

Great Surprise
Michael looks like losing his touch
Quite good, yet not his best work yet
A mystery thriller that pleases...
Ridpath's best yet

Final Venture
Michael Ridpath
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140271783

Amazon.com

Michael Ridpath knows how to follow the money, something he did quite successfully in his previous financial thriller, The Market Maker. In Final Venture, his protagonist is Simon Ayot, a likable young British associate at Revere, a venture capital company whose senior managing partner, Frank Cook, is also Simon's father-in-law. Simon has just pulled off a major coup for the firm, so when Frank abruptly denies a life-or-death round of further investment in NetCo, Simon's most promising high-tech client, he's completely surprised. Could it be that Frank believes the rumors floating around that Simon's been having more than business meetings with a woman in the firm? Vowing to dispel the rumors and change Frank's mind about dumping NetCo, Simon goes to the Marshes, Frank's country house, only to find him murdered. The police don't believe Simon's alibi, and soon even Lisa, his wife, is suspicious.

Meanwhile, the firm is still reeling from Frank's death. Its biggest investment in BioOne, a biomedical research firm, is in trouble, and Simon's attempts to get to the bottom of it reveal a corrupt link between Revere, BioOne, and the pharmaceutical company where Lisa is employed, which suddenly becomes a takeover target. Ridpath does a good job of explaining the arcane details of venture capital financing, but makes little of his setting (Boston) and even less of character motivation. In the absence of enough evidence to arrest Simon, it's difficult to believe that Lisa would suddenly turn on her brand-new husband, and her lack of insight concerning her own father's private life seems strange in light of their supposed closeness. The writing is sometimes clumsy, but readers interested in the intricacies of high finance in the venture capital market will find this a good primer on the subject. --Jane Adams

Book Description

After young venture capitalist Simon Ayot finds his father-in-law lying dead from a gunshot wound, and all the damning evidence points to Simon. With the police determined to prove his guilt, and even his grief-stricken wife beginning to suspect him, he races to clear his name and save his marriage-all too aware that the next murder may very well be his own....

Praise for bestselling author Michael Ridpath:

"Move over, John Grisham. A new star has entered the world of popular action fiction." -Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan

"Michael Ridpath plots his story tightly and smoothly and roams all his worlds, virtual and otherwise, with authority."-New York Times

"[Ridpath] makes you feel... the thrill of playing a hunch and getting it right."-Los Angeles Times

"Entertaining....Succeeds at becoming more than a thriller without breaking the mounting tensions of the story." -Newsday

Customer Reviews:

Great Surprise.......2001-03-02

It's my first Ridpath's book and it was a worderful surprise. His narrative is easy and very well organized, keeping the reader's attention on the focus of the thriller: Simon's innocence and the mass arround his life after his father in law's murder. The determination on keeping his marriage with his loved, but mistrustfull wife, is an important ingredient in the story. The end is unpredictable but is reasonable. I reccomend this book for those who like a good thriller and for venture capitalists, who will find a intersting reading.

Michael looks like losing his touch.......2000-11-06

Michael's Final Venture is not as exciting as I expected it to be. First, it lacks the thrill of a financial market background. While the whole story is built around the venture capital firm, but seriously, anyone can write such a story. I expect more on financial market story from Michael.

And how Simon solve the murder case seems to be too easy, with help just around the corner when he needs it. He seems to be able to rope in the person he needs to help him solved the murder case, which I think it is unlikely in real life (but this is a fiction anyway).

I hope that Michael will do better in his next book.

Quite good, yet not his best work yet.......2000-10-18

Having read all Mr. Ridpath's previous books I was quite happy to find a new book of his being published. It was a very good read, I finished it in 3 nights and a short train ride. Once you start it's really hard to put down. The only negative part is that in the end I felt there was no way you could have found the guilty party by yourself. That's the reason I'm giving it 4 instead of 5 stars.

A mystery thriller that pleases..........2000-09-21

I sometimes rate a novel by its skip factor, meaning how many sentences, paragraphs, or even pages I skip over because the text is not worth reading (does not contribute to the story, rambles, badly written, etc.).

I'm happy to say this book had a very low skip factor as almost every word contributed to plot development and to a much lesser extent character development. A good who-done-it that keeps you involved in determining plot twists and culprits.

This is a very strong foundation for the author who hopefully will strengthen other aspects of his chosen craft. Overall, a quick and breezey read.

Ridpath's best yet.......2000-09-14

This is an excellent book. Well written, easy to read, and a good plot. Ridpath writes a compelling story, and his character portrayal is first rate.

Average customer rating:

How to Write a Million
Orson Scott Card , Lewis Turco , and Ansen Dibell
Manufacturer: Constable and Robinson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Rhetoric | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

Characters and Viewpoint (Elements of Fiction Writing)

ASIN: 1854873679

READERS DIGEST CONDENSED BOOKS: THE SHADOW IN THE SANDS., THE COBRA EVENT., NO REGRETS., AND THE MARKET MAKER.

Average customer rating:

READERS DIGEST CONDENSED BOOKS: THE SHADOW IN THE SANDS., THE COBRA EVENT., NO REGRETS., AND THE MARKET MAKER.
Sam., Richard Preston., Elizabeth Adler., and Michael Ridpath. Llewellyn
Manufacturer: Reader's Digest Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HJIEN4

Average customer rating:

On the Edge (Unabridged)
Michael Ridpath
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download

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ASIN: B000QJMAHQ

Average customer rating:

Der Spekulant.
Michael Ridpath
Manufacturer: Goldmann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 3442430305

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See No Evil
Michael Ridpath
Manufacturer: Michael Joseph Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0718146778

Authors:

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