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Summary and Reviews of The Millionaires by Brad Meltzer

The Millionaires by Brad Meltzer

The Millionaires

by Brad Meltzer
  • Critics' Consensus (3):
  • First Published:
  • Jan 1, 2002, 496 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Oct 2002, 544 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

Another edge-of-your-seat thriller---a tale of two brothers trying to hide in a world where every step you take can be traced.

Brad Meltzer, the author of the runaway bestseller The First Counsel, is back with another edge-of-your-seat thriller---a tale of two brothers trying to hide in a world where every step you take can be traced.

It started as the perfect crime. Then it took a turn for the worse. Charlie and Oliver Caruso are brothers who work at Greene & Greene, a private bank so exclusive you need two million dollars just to be a client. But when the door of success slams in their faces, they're faced with an offer they can't refuse: three million dollars in an abandoned account. No one knows it exists, and even better, it doesn't belong to anyone. It's a foolproof crime. More important, for Charlie and Oliver, it's a way out of debt and the key to a new life. All they have to do is take the money.

But when they do, they quickly discover they've got a lot more on their hands than the prize. Before they can blink, a friend is dead---and the bank, the Secret Service, and a female private investigator are suddenly closing in. What invisible strings were attached to that account? How are the brothers going to prove they're innocent? And why is the Secret Service trying to kill them? Trapped in a breakneck race to stay alive, Charlie and Oliver are about to discover a secret that will test their trust and forever change their lives.

This is Brad Meltzer at his most electrifying---a breathtaking, suspenseful story about two brothers chasing a dream that may cost them everything they hold dear.

Chapter 1

I know where I'm going. And I know who I want to be. That's why I took this job in the first place...and why, four years later, I still put up with the clients. And their demands. And their wads of money. Most of the time, they just want to keep a low profile, which is actually the bank's specialty. Other times, they want a little...personal touch. My phone rings and I tee up the charm. "This is Oliver," I answer. "How can I help you?"

"Where the hell's your boss!?" a Southern chainsaw of a voice explodes in my ear.

"E-Excuse me?"

"Don't piss on this, Caruso! I want my money!"

It's not until he says the word "money," that I recognize the accent. Tanner Drew, the largest developer of luxury skyscrapers in New York City and chief patriarch of the Drew Family Office. In the world of high-net-worth individuals, a family office is as high as you get. Rockefeller. Rothschild. Gates and Soros. Once hired, the family office supervises all the advisors, lawyers, and ...

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Reviews

Media Reviews

Booklist
Sometimes it's fun to root for the bad guys, especially if they're not all that bad. Meltzer gives us two brothers playing Robin Hood, taking from the rich (a bank) and giving to the poor (their mother). Meltzer, often called the Grisham of financial thrillers, has a knack for keeping a story moving while still throwing in plenty of insider information....

Kirkus Reviews
What begins as a tidy scheme to steal a measly $3 million from a closely held private bank quickly spins out of control-in the biggest and wildest of Meltzer's paranoid action fantasies.

Publishers Weekly
This giddy fourth thriller by Meltzer (The First Counsel) mixes up banking, cyber-theft and Disney World in a fast-paced, fresh-scrubbed tale of financial adventure. ...but two flaws detract from the action. First, the narrative POV jumps too often from one character to the next and from present tense to past, making for a choppy read. Second, the novel's juvenile flavor ....

Reader Reviews

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Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked The Millionaires, try these:

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    The Prophet

    by Michael Koryta

    Published 2013

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    Michael Koryta, long hailed as one of the best young thriller writers at work today, has written his greatest novel ever - an emotionally harrowing, unstoppably suspenseful novel that proves why Michael Connelly has named him "one of the best of the best."

  • The Summons jacket

    The Summons

    by John Grisham

    Published 2002

    About this book

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    Ray heads south, to his hometown to meet with his dying father but 'The Judge' dies too soon leaving behind a shocking secret known only to Ray and perhaps someone else.

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