The Banker's Wife

 

By Cristina Alger

Review

A 2023 Top Rated Read

Matthew Werner takes a private flight to Geneva where he works at offshore bank Swiss United. The plane hits a storm and fails to reach its destination. Radar contact is lost and it's assumed the plane has crashed. Later, wreckage is discovered in the Alps and it's clear Matthew could not have survived.

Matthew's widow Annabel is left to deal with secrets he left behind — his encrypted laptop and a client list of some very questionable people. What had Matthew become involved in and was his death really an accident? Desperate for answers, Annabel's life is now in danger too.

Back in America, society journalist Marina Tourneau is about to marry into one of the country's most powerful families. The suspicious death of her mentor and close friend prompts her to look into the story he was working on. What she uncovers will rock the offshore banking industry to its core and bring about the downfall of some very dangerous people. Those same people will stop at nothing to permanently silence her to ensure the story is never published.

I was immensely impressed with The Banker's Wife. I was expecting a light read about a wife's search for answers but what I got was an incredibly well plotted, compelling thriller. At the beginning I wasn't convinced offshore banking was a topic I'd be interested in, but partway through I realised I was gripped and couldn't wait to discover how it ended. I particularly liked journalist Marina Tourneau — her strength and determination was exceptional. She knew the truth had to be told despite the danger it would put her in. I thought it was a fantastic read with an intricate plot that succeeded on every level.          

★★★★★

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Mulholland Books
• Publication Year: 2018
• Author: Cristina Alger
• Genre: Thriller

Synopsis

On an early morning in November, a couple boards a private plane bound for Geneva, flying into a storm. Soon after, it simply drops off the radar, and its wreckage is later uncovered in the Alps. Among the disappeared is Matthew Werner, a banking insider at Swiss United, a powerful offshore bank. His young widow, Annabel, is left grappling with the secrets he left behind, including an encrypted laptop and a shady client list. As she begins a desperate search for answers, she determines that Matthew's death was no accident, and that she is now in the crosshairs of his powerful enemies.

Meanwhile, ambitious society journalist Marina Tourneau has finally landed at the top. Now that she's engaged to Grant Ellis, she will stop writing about powerful families and finally be a part of one. Her entry into the upper echelons of New York's social scene is more appealing than any article could ever be, but, after the death of her mentor, she agrees to dig into one more story. While looking into Swiss United, Marina uncovers information that implicates some of the most powerful men in the financial world, including a few who are too close to home. The story could also be the answer to Annabel's heart-breaking search — if Marina chooses to publish it.