Having watched the Wolf of Wall Street, the high power world of Wall Street has always been fascinating to me. This book was entertaining and well written. Recommended.

Published by Thomas & Mercer on February 13, 2018

For the sake of a good story, I can accept an unlikely premise. Ultimate Power imagines a conspiracy that hopes to unseat (or worse) the president in a military coup. Unlikely, but most thriller conspiracies are unlikely and suspending disbelief is increasingly necessary in the modern world of thrillers. On the other hand, even after suspending as much disbelief as I could manage, Ultimate Power was so far over the top that I couldn’t buy into its premise. For that reason, I didn’t become lost in the story, which is my primary goal when reading a thriller.

Ultimate Power imagines that a liberal woman (much more liberal than Hillary Clinton) has been elected president, having narrowly defeated a candidate who almost won by appealing to white nationalists. Apparently Stephen Frey started writing Ultimate Power before the 2016 election. The real world doesn’t matter since this is the world of fiction, so we begin with a liberal president. The story involves a conspiracy to assassinate her (and the veep) because of her popular plan to slash the military budget by 80% — as if that would be a popular plan, even among liberals — while vastly increasing wealth taxes on the rich, as if that’s something Congress would ever consider. Politically, the premise is so divorced from the political reality of today’s America that it’s difficult to take the story seriously, but that’s only a small part of the problem.

The conspiracy also calls for instigating a race war and manipulating funds available in red state banks to make sure that the white population supports the coup. The race war scheme involves a social justice organization that is in the pocket of the schemers. Assassins are being paid a lot of money to kill cops. They need to get a lot of money because they know the cops will kill them in turn. I can almost imagine an orchestrated race war, given the current political climate, but I didn’t buy any of the characters who try to bring the scheme to fruition, or the plan they concoct to implement it. Frankly, the collective lot of the conspirators seem to lack the brainpower to fly a paper airplane, much less get a complex scheme like this one off the ground.

The protagonist and only character with a modicum of depth is Andrew Falcon, a hedge fund manager in his early 30s who makes a billion a year for the shady investment bank that employs him. The bank, of course, has a connection to the conspiracy. Falcon isn’t married and the only person he really cares about is his niece Claire. Just after the investment firm makes him a partner, he learns that Claire has been kidnapped.

Falcon is the novel’s only believable character who plays a significant role in the story. Stephen Frey is at his best when he’s in the world of finance. I like his work when he sticks to financial thrillers. When he strays into conspiracies involving military coups, he loses his footing. Unfortunately, there’s too little of Falcon and finance in this novel and too much focus on the silly military/race war conspiracy.

The rest of the characters are underdeveloped. There isn’t much substance to President Karina Hilton, but she seems well-rounded compared to the villains. General George Fiske depends on Colonel John Brady to supply him with a disposable woman every few months. Fiske also depends on Brady to help advance his vision of white supremacy. Even by standards of modern thrillers, Fiske is an over-the-top villain. I found it difficult to believe that his minions would murder six innocent people just so he would have an isolated cabin in the woods where he could rape, torture and kill his latest victim. The fact that he’s a white supremacist makes him sufficiently evil without stirring in his predilection to abuse and murder strippers.

There are enough good moments in Ultimate Power that, despite the negative tone of this review, I won’t give it a “Not Recommended.” I think Frey’s heart is in the right place, but the story didn’t grab me, and it certainly didn’t convince me. I’d like to see Frey go back to writing the financial thrillers that he does so well.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

So many characters and so many scenarios - I love it!!! Of course, I think that's what this author is known for. I've read several other of his books and they all seem to have the same thing going for them.

Sometimes it does take me a minute to remember who they are and where they fit in, but it also seems like the author always puts in little hints in there to remind you.

A great read that had me totally engrossed. From the White House to Wall Street, this story had it all.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

A.J. Falcon has just become the youngest partner of the Sutton Group. How could he want anything more on Wall Street? It comes with a price that may turn out to be too high for the privilege. His 16 year old niece is kidnapped and everything he does from now on is to get her back. In the process he finds that someone on Wall Street is supporting racial riots all over the US. The president has decided to cut the military and increase taxes for the rich. That will bring private & government on the same side faster than anything. What are their plans? Can they pull them off? Can AJ trust anyone around him? Many questions need answering but the most important thing is saving Claire.

Whatever Stephen Frey writes is guaranteed to hold your attention, teach you about the financial world and the military while making you think. That formula works in this novel as A.J. Falcon, a Wall Street prodigy, discovers that his company may not be just the most powerful firm, but also involved in political intrigue. Meanwhile the President of the United States is making enemies of important, powerful groups - Falcon’s own money men and the US military, with plans to tax the one and slash the other. All of this happens in an environment of racial divide being orchestrated by power mongers determined to pit groups against each other. Sounds like a lot to put into one story, but Frey ties it all together in great novel.

Andrew Falcon Jr. is a powerful hedge-fund manager and the youngest to make partner in his private investment firm on Wall Street. Unfortunately, his niece Claire is kidnapped and it's not money they want. The abductors are discovered tied to a conspiracy much larger than he could have imagined and possibly beyond his ability to quell. The question is: Can he deliver what they demand in exchange for his niece and also save his country?

Okay, I must admit to having an awful time getting into this book. Financial world aside, some fascinating glimmers of information, I thought the book would get into a financial conspiracy tied to big bucks and the manipulation of stocks or hedge funds. Nope. The abduction of his niece drives Falcon to find her. But then the plot widens to include some truly heinous characters at Falcon's own financial office, ex-members of a crime family, bad-ass military generals, and persons whose sole job is to incite race wars. Ugly.

The Red Cell Seven is a classified intelligence agency created by executive order for protection from catastrophic terrorist attacks. They answer only to the president and it is the threat to the executive office that gets them involved as the conspiracy touches into the highest levels of the government and is wide-reaching. The despots were despicable and Fiske in particular made to be over-the-top disgusting. Other characters were not wholly fleshed and I'm still scratching my head over Billie.

Not a pretty picture of those who would control the funds on Wall Street, but then few of us wear rose-colored glasses in that regard. Difficult to find someone to invest in, unless possibly the kidnap victim. The plot moves at a dizzying pace and has you going back to fact check. So Falcon isn't another 007; he isn't supposed to be. Not meant to be a feel-good ending and it wasn't.

I received this download from Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley and appreciated the opportunity to read and review. Recommended for those who enjoy financial thrillers, mystery, crime, kidnapping, military involvement, techy stuff, and dialogue bordering more on the realistic side than one of my generation generally appreciate.

For fans of conspiracy novels. This one blends evil Wall Street with evil government and while it's good that Andrew is out to save the US, it was just too much for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

In this latest entry in Frey' s popular Red Cell series , a young financial whiz is made partner in the most powerful financial firm on Wall Street; the same night his favorite niece is kidnapped. When A.J. Falcon learns what he must do to get the girl back, he's drawn into a conspiracy to destabilize the government, incite race wars and help the military mount an attack on the President. It's the threat to the Chief Executive that activates Red Cell 7, a small squad of very special agents whose job it is to protect their principal from every threat - even those that come from the President' s own inner circle. Well-paced, what seems initially to be a far-fetched plot soon reads as if ripped from the headlines.

This book is a financial thriller that involves Wall Street and plots at the top levels of US Government. I have to say it wasn’t my favorite book by this author. There were a lot of characters and sub plots to keep track of and I was a bit confused sometimes, especially at the beginning of the book. It was hard to see how they all connected. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy of this book.

Regrettably, I was able to make it through 28% of this novel before giving up. I found the story to be uninteresting and the writing simple. There were too many characters and subplots going on. Perhaps if I found the story better I would have had the patience to sort all of those things, but as it was, I didn't.
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I believe it is recognized that not all books will appeal to everyone.

It was a timely financial thriller that dealt with issues of class and race relations in America. It's part of series but you won't have to read the other books in order to enjoy this book.