Need You Now Lp: A Novel [Large Print] [Paperback]

This is a thriller based upon a Ponzi scheme of the Madoff variety. A letter came with the pre-publication version from the author. He is of counsel to the law firm that filed the first class action suit against Madoff. There was some thinking that for such a scheme to go unnoticed there must have been some government involvement. This is the novelization of that conspiracy theory. Although the novel has some fairly over-the-top characters, the theory is not that unbelievable.

The plot is somewhat labyrithine as one might expect. A young investment banker hooks up with the FBI to do some inside sleuthing. Two billion dollars has gone missing from the Ponzi scheme money and everyone is looking for it including the bank, the good guys and the bad guys.

In addition to the somewhat over-the-top bad guys, there are a few tough top believe connections among the characters that are necessary to make the plot work. The good side of this, though, is that Mr. Grippando uses these connections to give the reader background so he can keep up with what is going on and what went on in the Ponzi scheme.

This was a page turner with the interesting background of knowing that the author was always thinking of Madoff's scheme. There were things that - one would think - could only happen in a novel and for that, it is down to a four star.

The Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme has influenced this novel. In this case, Abe Cushman, a former chairman of the NASCAQ stock market, committed suicide when his Ponzi scheme was brought to light.

Patrick Lloyd is a young Wall Street advisor to the BOS (Bank of Switzerland). He's called to the corporate office and ordered to find Lilly Scanlon and the money she manipulated while an executive with the bank. This was in connection with the Cushman Ponzi scheme.

Lilly is Partick's girlfriend. She informs him that she's being set up and was fired unjustly. She tells Patrick that the money in question is from some of Cushman's investors who are criminals and will stop at nothing to get their money back.

Patrick and Lilly decide to work together. Soon after, each is threatened by criminals and then something about Patrick's past comes to light.

The maze of possibilities that these characters must negotiate makes the novel an interesting adventure to observe. There seem to be competing forces looking for the money and the two protagonists must go about their search for the missing money while not knowing who to trust and even if they can trust each other.

The setting is mostly in New York and is nicely described. At one point, a character tells of experiencing "...the old St. Paul' Churchyard...bathed in silence wile hearing the buzz of construction at the World's Trade Center across the street."

This is not only a financial thriller but deals with other important issues. There is a powerful message of a father's love for his children while also being a social commentary on the greed existing today and the desire to gain riches at any expense. It is also morality story of misplaced trust and the failures in the witness protection program.

The author has caputed the naivete of his two young protagonists and shows how innocence can be destroyed in a world of governmental ignorance and corruption at the highest levels.

I did feel the story was more complicated than it needed to be but did a nice job in showing Patrick and Lilly's struggles and made the reader want to see them succeed against seemingly impossible odds.

The usually dependable Grippando goes off course with this one and tries to cram too many ideas into one story (Maddoff, witness protection, government plots, corporate intrigue, computer hackers, terrorists, mercenaries, et al.). On top of that the title of the book refers to a Lady Antebellum song and really has no bearing on the meat of the plot.

Patrick Lloyd was sent to Singapore by a government agent to spy on Lily Scanlon who may have knowledge of two billion dollars that was being funneled through the Bank of Switzerland to off-shore accounts. These funds may be the only money that was not actually part of a Ponzi scheme enacted by Cushman who lost 60 Billion (same amount as Maddoff?).

This later leads to Patrick and Lily being hunted by everybody from a mercenary from South America, an ex government agent called Mongoose, and the Treasury Department for which BOS new boss came from. The story gets so convoluted and later brings in a computer nerd (called a quant) named Evan who has a wall chart that looks like it was taken out the the television series "Flashfoward." This quant is able to break encyrption and even to partial decode a memo that has the highest level of encryption.

As I said it seems like the author tried to take every type of idea and try to bring them together to make a story. The story is actually difficult to follow and sometimes you need to re-read prior sections to remember who some of the characters are.