Author: Ravi Subramanian
Publisher: Rupa Publications
ISBN: 978-81-291-2048-9
Number of Pages: 358
Price [INR] : 250
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis : Three different plots intertwined with the strange happenings in the life of a set of Retail Bankers in Greater Boston Global Bank (GB2) bring up the initial part of the story. The uneasy calm in GB2 is shattered when a series of murders rock the facade of the compliant and conforming bank that GB2 has built up over the years. Who is to blame? Who is driving these intriguing and bone chilling murders? What is the motive behind these gruesome killings? No one has a clue.
In the racy build up to unravelling of the ‘who-done-it’ plot, stranger than fiction characters emerge, faith get shattered and ivory towers come crashing down. Bankers build their careers on trust, or so everyone thought.. till the day the truth within GB2 gets revealed. Is the banker at GB2 fast turning into a Bankster? Or was he always one?
Review : The author, Ravi Subramanian has two decades of work experience in financial services industry. He is the author of If God was a Banker, Devil in Pinstripes, The Incredible Banker, The Bankster is his fourth fiction.
While, I have heard a lot about If God was a Banker, The Bankster is the first book that I have read of the author. The cover page has a quote from The Wall Street Journal which says, “Meet the John Grisham of banking’. Now, I am a huge fan of John Grisham who is a lawyer and is known for his legal thrillers. When Ravi is called the John Grisham of banking, the expectations are immense.
So with expectations in place, I started reading this book. There are 3 stories running in parallel. They are set in Kerala, Mumbai and Angola to start with. I liked reading the Mumbai story which is about GB2. The Kerala and Angola stories, though are an integral part of the story are smaller stories and appear at irregular intervals in the book. The best is that all the 3 are so different that is impossible to believe that they have a common link. And this unpredictability, which is one of the key ingredients of a thriller, is what keeps you glued to The Bankster.
The Bankster is an absolute page turner with a wonderfully engaging characters and an impeccable narration. The climax is so gripping and has nail-biting twists and turns that despite an emergency, it was tough for me to separate myself from the book.
The language is simple and the banking systems and processes are easy to comprehend for even a non-banking person.
Mild Dampeners: The Kerala story starts with a case of smuggling of an elephant’s tusks, but the next part of this story starts with Nuclear Power Plant issues, which confused a bit and had to refer the back pages again to understand the characters.
The press reporter who is assigned to dig deeper into the scam is assisted by a lady. The duo have 36 hours to find out all about the global conspiracy. They are looking hard at pictures, searching mails, scanning the banking data, looking for clues and suddenly the two are shown to have some frivolous exchange, which sounds very artificial and is totally unnecessary in an otherwise gripping saga.
Overall, The Bankster is simply an entertaining, enlightening and an unputdownable thriller. Go for it!
Rating : 4.5/5
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45 Responses
Ohh u received it already and read it….I am awaiting for mu copy though.
Sounds interesting 🙂
Got it a day before and started reading it immediately, finished it last night. 358 pages, but absolute page turner! You will enjoy it!
Have heard good things about all his books….i think i need to try them 🙂
Yeah, even I will check out the other 3! 🙂
Hmm john grisham of banking huh! My only worry is is too full of finacial mumbo-jumbo which will definetly go above my head
No technical jargon is there in this book… whatever banking things are mentioned are simple and easy to understand. Try it!
I don’t know why, but I don’t trust banks. If I get a lot of money, I will never put it in a single bank. I will distribute it over a number of banks. Given this kind of attitude (towards banks), I don’t think I can read through this book. I will only make things worser 😛
Destination Infinity
Oh why is that?? Some bad banking experience??
No, just a gut feeling 🙂
Destination Infinity
Shilpa,
Seems interesting. I will try to see if our club library has it, if not will suggest to get it.
Take care
It sure is, interesting! Do check it out!
Wow, it sure feels like a John Grisham story, only it is centred around banking… Your review has definitely kindled my interest all the more:)
You will like it! In fact, I am keen to read Ravi’s other 3 books which are also on banking.
Wow! So high rating!
Must grab it somehow. 🙂
Have a great weekend Shilpa!
Yes, You must!!
You too have a great weekend, Indrani! 🙂
You given a high rating to this one 🙂
Bikram’s
It’s a good one!! 🙂
John Grisham of Banking .. hmm, must try to get my hands on this. I just finished Casual Vacancy (JK Rowling) and it was alright.
Yeah, check this one! Have read 2 reviews for Casual Vacancy and their feedback is also not it’s not all that great and nothing as compared to HP series.
I love John Grisham novels…So this one should be interesting!
Yes, it sure is! Check it out!
I love thrillers, so this is going to be the next book I read 🙂 Thanks for the review Shilpa 🙂
Cool 🙂
Good review.. Sounds like a gripping thriller… Will give a try.. If its a book published in Britain or US, by this time it’d ve been made into movie..
Yes, unputdownable is the word for The Bankster. Hmm… a movie is possible for this one… but this book was released just around a fortnight back!
oh..! actually, foreign producers used to buy rights of a novel even before its published.. In India, novel adaptions are very less. lets see if someone makes this…
Yeah, let’s see… it sure is good one for a who-dun-it movie!
Wow, that is really highly rated. Need to pick this one up. Yaar, time hai nahin aur itne saare achche reviews deeti ja rahi ho ;-P.
Yeah do that, and I am keen to read his other 3 books too! 🙂
Thanks to ur review, I applied for it on BlogAdda too 🙂
Wow! That’s cool! Happy reading and look forward to your review! 🙂
Wow, sounds like a great book.
http://www.anucreations.blogspot.in
It sure is! 🙂
Good review…
Thanks! 🙂
nice review. mine should have been the 3rd or 4th comment here. i came in that time but did’nt read the review fully because it would influence my review. i have also posted the review now.
I can understand! That was my thought exactly. Since this book was to be reviewed by 220 bloggers, I thought best was to read and review first so that I am not influenced by anybody’s thoughts and views! Have read your wonderful review! 🙂
It was nice to read your review..I too found it a little complex in the end pages..But overall m impressed and m looking forward to catching up the other books of the author.. Have put up my detailed account too..
I am keen to read Ravi’s other books too! Will check your review soon! 🙂
Thanks for an awesome review … am really overwhelmed by your comments. Thanks Shilpa. I look forward to your reviews on the other three books too 🙂
Thanks to you, Ravi, we got a fabulous reading pleasure!! Yes, am keen to read your other books too! 🙂
Hi Shilpa…. did you manage to read the other three books… cheers
Hi Ravi! I am afraid, I have not been able to read your earlier works 😛