KGB Banker

I do not typically read political thrillers, however, the author reached out to me and asked if I would read it and I agreed. The story sounded intriguing and I was not disappointed. 

The story centers around Robert Vanags, a Chicago banker is offered a job in Latvia working at a huge conglomerate bank called Turaida Bank. His parents were Latvian born and he has long thought about going there to work or live. Latvia is set between Lithuania and Estonia on the Baltic Sea. Robert is still dealing with the recent loss of his wife, Maria, and when he is offered the opportunity to take a job in Latvia he decided it might be the right time to make a change. He flies off to the capitol of Riga and meets Tereze Abele the banks senior vice president. The interview is extensive and she quickly hires him as vice president of international relationships. 

All seems great at first. A nice office, a nice apartment, he's even able to bring his son, David, over to live with him. Yet, too quickly, he discovers that all is not as great as he's been led to believe. He is assured that the banks first rule is transparency, however he soon determines that the bank is rampant with loans that over extend and threaten to collapse the countries economy. The oligarchs aren't repaying their loans. 

As the story progresses, Robert works hard to do the job hes been hired to do. He starts to realize that this goes much deeper than he initially realized. What he discovers is that the bank is basically one giant pyramid scheme. He makes the critical mistake of becoming a whistle blower and as soon as he does, all hell breaks loose. First, during a meeting hes punched in the face by a co-worker, then he's kidnapped by a local gangster and told he must stop. They offer him a payoff but he's not having it. Then he's framed for several murders, his credibility is destroyed by a revered politician and he has to go on the run. 

All in all it was an interesting story and often while reading it, I questioned just how true this story could be. We all know that only about 13 or so people rule our world. Its all a farce. Robert is not what I would consider to be a James Bond type character, but throughout the story he tries his best to out the bank and the country itself as corrupt and to end the pyramid scheme. Even going so far as to put his life and the life of his son in danger. Thankfully, with the help of a local journalist, Santa Ezerina and the American embassy, he is able to clear his name and move on with his life. 

The only issues I had were with the names of places and people as I know nothing about Latvia or how to pronounce things. I wasn't too sure about the ending. It was kind of sad if I'm honest. Again, I think it is probably more true than any of us would want to admit. Thank you to Bill McCormick for allowing me to read this story and I look forward to more from him.