A Fatal Debt : A Novel

“[An] ingenious thriller about the ruthless world of high finance.”—The Washington Post
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Ben Cowper, a New York psychiatrist, is stunned to learn the identity of his latest patient: Harry Shapiro, a once powerful investment banker, broadsided by a reversal of fortune that’s left him jobless, bitter, and possibly desperate. In Ben’s opinion, Harry is a suicide waiting to happen. But when the headstrong financier balks at a stay in the psych ward, the hospital’s chief administrator refuses to defy the generous donor’s wishes—and puts political pressure on Ben to release him.
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Days later, news breaks of a fatal shooting at Shapiro’s Hamptons mansion. And the only thing more shocking than the victim’s identity is the chain reaction that turns Ben’s life upside-down. With circumstances conspiring to incriminate him, and a conviction-hungry DA closing in, Ben has no choice: He must penetrate Harry’s inner circle and expose the truth behind a web of malice disguised as madness.
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“An enlightening and grisly tale . . . tightly plotted and fast-paced.”—The New Yorker
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“Rarely does one read a first novel so self-assured, sharp, and compelling. . . . It takes off like a rocket and doesn’t stop until its explosive conclusion.”—Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of Buried Secrets
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“A fast-paced book that should entertain finance aficionados and fans of detective fiction alike.”—CNN
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“A neatly crafted and well-written thriller . . . an audacious, assured debut.”—David Ignatius, New York Times bestselling author of Bloodmoney

John Gapper is chief business columnist and an associate editor of the Financial Times, based in New York. He also has a blog on which he comments on business news. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Exeter College, Oxford University, and won a Harkness Fellowship to study at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is author of All That Glitters, a book about the collapse of Barings Bank in 1995, and How to Be a Rogue Trader. A former New Yorker, he lives in London with his wife and two daughters.


From the Hardcover edition.