Nonfiction is one of my favorite genres (has a more broad or sweeping statement every been made?) I think because the straightforwardness of the writing style of a good investigative piece is an excellent chaser to my other favorite genres, those of the New Weird and hard science-fiction, two places where straightforward writing is very often hard to come by.

But... you ever read something that's a little... too? straightforward?

This book really failed to pull me in. I mean, I got through it, sure, and I'm glad I did, but the whole time I didn't feel like I was reading a story. I felt like I was reading a report, something quickly compiled to outline a situation. Moreover, I felt like I was reading an internal report where I was supposed to have some kind of background knowledge on the intricacies of international private equity, and as a person with just over $1,000 in my savings account, I profoundly do not have that knowledge. I would read whole paragraphs, whole chapters, and I could tell what I was reading was supposed to be an articulation of a major financial crime, but I would get to the end of the sentence or paragraph or page and just blink a little and think, "huh," and keep on reading. Nothing really hit me. Nothing really had an impact. Nothing financial, anyway, which is the crux of the narrative. The human rights violations and egregious spending I could wrap my head around, but that didn't end up being the point of the story.

It seems like the authors were kind of aware of this, because early on they used a technique where they would say something like "x thousands of dollars were moved from fund abc to fund xyz, which the average Pakistani/Kenyan/Nigerian would take xxxx years to earn," and the first time that little device was employed, I really, really appreciated it. And the second. And the third.

And then I was 75% into the book and that was still the only device used to reinforce the egregious nature of the financial crimes being committed and I literally made a note in my Kindle that read "YES WE GET IT THESE PEOPLE ARE RICH AND THE PEOPLE THAT ARE BEING STOLEN FROM ARE VERY POOR." It's literally the only emotional hook in the whole book boy is it exhausting.

There were also extremely jarring shifts in tone where I would say a good 90% of the book is told from a dispassionate third person, and then all of a sudden the authors will say, "...and then we..." or take some other hard right turn into first person plural and I would literally have to page back a good few percent to make sure I wasn't missing some other introduction or acknowledgement of involvement, but no, I never was. I get that Clark and Louch did a lot of the investigating and reporting themselves, but the majority of this book is told completely from an outside perspective and then all of a sudden it's trying to be <i>Bad Blood</i>. And let me tell you, reader, <i>Bad Blood</i> it is not.

I hate capitalism. I hate capitalism as much as - okay, probably a lot more than the next guy. And while Clark and Louch have a hell of a story on their hands, the way they tell it could use some work, because by the end, except for the brief stint of courtroom drama in the last ten or so percent, I just... didn't care. I hesitate to give less than three stars because I do feel like this is worth a read, but this is worth a read in the way that checking your credit score is worth doing: you'll come away with a lot of valuable financial information that you'll have no real idea how to use in your everyday life, or even how to know exactly what it means.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Business and authors Simon Clark and Will Louch for providing me with an ARC of The Key Man. In exchange I offer my unbiased review.

As someone who reads true crime and nonfiction regularly, this book lands perfectly in my wheelhouse. I was riveted by the story of Arif Naqvi , a charismatic businessman who charmed and duped hundreds of executives, government agencies, entrepreneurs, politicians, moguls, and world class institutions using his private equity fund as a way to swindle hundreds of millions of dollars. By professing a business model of global growth, wealth & economic empowerment through philanthropy/capitalism, Arif was able to raise billions of dollars meant to aid companies in mostly third world countries where he could better the lives of the people who lived there but instead he used the money to support his lavish and extravagant lifestyle.

Wall Street Journal reporters Simon Clark and Will Louch provide a vivid and detailed account of Arif’s humble rise to power, his ambitious plans and the slippery slope he constructed that eventually collapsed under the weight of his greed and ego.

This book was fascinating and a true page turner.

I just reviewed The Key Man by Simon Clark; Will Louch. #TheKeyMan #NetGalley
https://www.netgalley.com/member/book/216192/review

It seems to be in fashion to write about evil empires and financial frauds. This is the story of a middle eastern Bernie Madoff kind of fraud, not quite as big but still having an impact on the world - not a good one. The book seems to have been thoroughly researched and is overall an enjoyable true white collar crime story from a section of the world you otherwise do not hear much about. If your inventory runs low this book category, I would consider adding it to your bag - or kindle.

This was a page turner about a modern day Bernie Madoff, Arif Naqvi, who founded a large private equity firm in Dubai. Naqvi gained the trust of some modern day giants with the likes of Bill Gates, Obama Admin Officials based on improving the lives of poor nations. However, the billionaire lifestyle got the best of Naqvi as he ended up defrauding millions from investors and is looking at a long prison sentence. If you enjoy books like Bad Blood, about Theranos & Elizabeth Holmes, you probably will enjoy this as well.