this was a great mystery novel, the characters were great and I enjoyed the plot of the book. I enjoyed the mystery and getting to know the characters.

Set against the glamorous yet sultry backdrop of Hong Kong, Alexander “Dusty” Street is tasked with shoring up a failing acquisition worth billions. The pressure to conclude the deal is coming from all sides, including from Jacqueline, a childhood love whom he has never forgotten from the years he spent going to school in Kowloon. Now she is in his life again, alluring and available, complicating both the acquisition and his distant, troubled marriage. As the walls close in and the plummeting world financial market hangs in the balance, Dusty must calculate the true cost of career, love, and family.

Having worked for decades in many countries as an investment banker, debut novelist Coffman certainly has the experience to write a financial thriller of this magnitude. Coffman delivers with the writing chops, too: the narrative is skilled, confident, the voice engaging. Dusty is a likable and believable character. His occasional, surprising insights into his motivations and past are refreshing, welcome, and border on the profound. Readers will gladly follow Dusty into the dizzying heights of the Hong Kong skyscrapers as well as into the seedy back alley dumpling shops where deals are made, secrets are revealed, and lives are either enriched or destroyed. Crisis Deluxe can hold its own with the best of them, and Coffman is definitely an author to watch.

This is different to many thrillers in that it is set in the world of high finance. Who knew that is a context which could be so exciting? Weave into that a complicated love story, and this is a book which is just begging to be translated onto the big screen. I was not that interested in the financial details of the book but it certainly didn’t detract from my enjoyment.

<i>Crisis Deluxe</i> is the debut novel of a former investment banker. Honestly, the work sounds as though it would kill with anxiety anyone who suffers from imposter syndrome. A rougher bunch of the over-compensated would be hard to find.

Super-charged self-satisfaction is not hard to find these days in lots of professions; it may even be a prerequisite for some positions. I am quite sure it has something to do with compensation: “I mean, if I’m paid this much, I must be good! Right?”

What works in this novel is the complicated story of the buy-out of an investment bank headquartered in Hong Kong by a bigger investment bank based in New York. Money, as ordinary folks know it, is a different beast in this world; our interest lies in learning its new definition, realizing the dimensions of its reach and the emptiness of its pleasures.

Things we would ordinarily treasure—out-of-reach gustatory delights, trips around the world, rides in Rolls Royce and expensive clothing—are paired with the scent of sweat, exhaustion and even blood.

Mostly we recognize money is not worth what we give up to get it, something minimum wage and gig workers have discovered post-pandemic in America. But I cannot be completely sure if that lesson is one I learned in this book or if it was merely confirmed to me there.

The investment banker at the heart of this fiction introduces himself like James Bond: “Street. Alexander Street.” Great name. Street is sent to Hong Kong from South America where is he finishing one deal so he can save another going very bad as Asian financial markets teeter and crater. Why the market is unstable is never discussed which prompts my usual skepticism over Wall Street and SEHK shenanigans.

Financial markets are built on trust, and bankers showed us their empty shirts in the last 20 years. IMHO, they simply know there are ways to make money in shaky markets but don’t have the brains, heart or knowledge to tell us why.

Street works out of NYC but his parentage is European. With that he has the best of both worlds: credibility and deniability. He can deny being a hated Yank while having the backing of a big, fat American investment bank. The story involves us in the details of the Hong Kong company’s balance sheet and its status as the continent’s first successful purveyor of corporate bonds. As the market falters, holders of commercial debt begin to limit their exposure by calling in loan payments just when companies are least likely to be able to pay.

Powerful interests around Hong Kong’s city-state begin to move as the investment bank buyout is reimagined. When a wealthy but uninvolved friend of Street’s is murdered before his eyes at dinner one night, we never really get full satisfaction. Murder, and its cousin poisoning, usually require more explanation both to and by the police than we received in this novel. Like in any country, when a rich person dies, there are ripples.

There is a romantic interest in this novel but it is odd. In the manner of all things masculine, Alexander Street does not excessively, or even adequately, question when his gorgeous high-school sweetheart of thirty years before suddenly shows up, willing and able to involve herself in a romantic liaison with him, despite the fact both are long-and-happily married. That she is the older sister of a difficult young bond salesman involved in the bank buyout raises warning flags for women readers but barely touch the consciousness of Street. Alexander Street.

Alexander Street, an investment banker is sent to Hong Kong to handle the acquisition of Transpac at a crucial time when the financial market is constantly declining. Everybody involved with this is trying everything in their hands to get maximum benefit. But with declining markets, nothing can be said about the acquisition just yet.

Alexander who is already facing a troubled marriage meets his ex-girlfriend after 25 years and we see an interwoven love story that adds a bit of romantic touch to the story. And with people willing to go to any extent for their profits and diverse characters the story keeps getting interesting.

The author has put down the thoughts through his experience as an investment banker and the story dealt a lot with financial markets which were a bit off for me. But if you are interested in finance then you can definitely grasp the gist of it. Apart from this it was a good story.

An engaging thriller set against the world of international finance, corporate and individual ambition. Anyone who has any exposure to the heady combination of big money, power and greed will relate to the clashes between expedience, truth and integrity that underpin the story. Those who have not will enjoy a window into this stratosphere through a rollicking story well told. Perhaps the best recommendation for any thriller is that the reader is quickly hooked and wants to read on to see how the story unfolds. Coffman achieves this in spades with plenty of very human realities and frailties to paint out his characters. A good read.