There's not a lot of thriller set in the world of finance which are exciting and well plotted liked this one. It kept me on the edge and it was an exciting read.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Faye is an intern at a private bank in NYC. She really needs to get the job offered to interns to get out of the rut her life is in. But, she soon finds out that the job is not going to be hers. It is going to the mistress of the president of the bank. So, Faye develops a scheme to steal the bank of quite a bit of its funds!

Well, well, well…little miss Faye is a piece of work! This book is not exactly what I expected it to be. It is so much more! Talk about smart, intense and a bit energetic in places. And Faye! Boy! She does not let grass grow under her feet. She takes it all to the next level. Talk about a planner and an intelligent one at that!

Need a financial thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Faye Walker worked hard and has earned an internship at Green Brothers Hale, a prestigious Wall Street investment firm. The firm hires two of the interns at the end of the summer. Faye knows she has a lock on this, she is smarter than the others. She has met her true love, an Irish cab driver wanting to become a first responder she is ready to start her life. Unfortunately, the position goes to someone else. And so, Faye begins to plot her revenge.

Faye hatches a plot to steal the firm's 10 millon dollars that is kept in their vault in case of kidnapping and ransom is demanded. Faye gets a client's son, Gareth, to help her fake a kidnapping. She is sure that the plan is going to work, except Gareth turns up dead. Who knew about the plan other than those who should have? Is Faye next?

This is a fast paced story. Yes, some of the things may seem unbelievable but this is fiction. Faye is a strong character, well developed. The author has added some romance, and a side story about her boyfriend trying to get a green card. If you want a fun escapist read on a rainy afternoon, this is it - romance, a heist, and suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Harlequin Trade Publishing, for an ARC. The review is my own.

I first discovered this author when I read Beach Wedding last year, and I've been meaning to try more of his work ever since. Add the fact that I LOVE a good heist plot, and there was no way that I was going to be able to resist adding The Girl In The Vault to my wishlist straight away. And I'm happy to announce that this stand-alone thriller turned out everything I hoped it would be and more, and I loved every single minute of the ride! If you like your stories on the action-packed and thrilling side, you will be in for a treat with this one.

The Girl In The Vault is set in New York, and the many descriptions really made the city come alive for me. It was also the perfect backdrop for the plot, with the main character working in the prestigious bank and using the bustling city to plan the perfect heist and escape plan. While the heist part did take some time to appear, I personally didn't mind after that teaser first chapter. I liked how the scene was properly set, showing us the motivation behind main character Faye Walker's decision to plan what she did... And trust me, it is somehow extremely easy to agree with that motivation and root for her along the way.

The plot of The Girl In The Vault is part psychological thriller and part action thriller with a little romance thrown in on the side. The beginning might read a tad slower, but as soon as Faye starts introducing us to her plan the pace picks up enormously. Especially the second half is high octane and what you can call a real pageturner: I literally couldn't stop reading once the heist plan was put into action! Things can be said about the credibility of certain aspects of the plot, but I personally didn't mind as I was too busy having fun.

As with most mainly action-focused thrillers, the development of the characters themselves is more limited. Faye herself is probably the most developed as we see the most of her, and it was very easy to warm up to her and root for her while she works on her plan. The rest of the cast might not be as thoroughly developed, but the basics were there and it was enough to satisfy me even though there were cliches involved. There is also something about the writing style itself that is somehow strangely addictive and extremely readable, and I was able to finish this story in record time.

If you can appreciate a good heist plot and like your thrillers on the fast-paced, action-packed and exhilarating side, I can definitely recommend The Girl In The Vault. Make sure to brace yourself for a wild ride!

Faye Walker has a coveted internship on Wall Street, the love of her life, and a ridiculous work ethic. She expects to work for Greene Brothers Hale, but a betrayal shatters her plans. Faye isn’t willing to leave New York City for her small town. Instead, careful timing and nerves of steel should net her ten million dollars in Wall Street cash.

Aside from the stinger of a prologue to catch our interest, we're thrust into Faye's world where she catches mistakes for other interns, makes plans and contingency plans, expects to help her sister also leave Kentucky, and hopes to make it big. The betrayal comes early, and the full-time position she thought she earned by crunching numbers and orders like a machine, skipping meals, and covering for others, was taken by those she covered for. As she says, "It's a class ceiling. For everyone." Without the paid job, all of her plans and dreams go up in smoke, and it would be going back to the trailer park in Kentucky. The theft is meant to be her severance package and is essentially a vault heist using money for special accounts that she had handled and remembers the account numbers for.

As much as Faye tries to plan ahead or get by on her Southern charm, of course, there are things she can't predict that send it all sideways. Enough of the steps had gone through without a hitch, and once it goes bad, it goes bad. That makes it even more intense and thrilling to read, and it's a roller coaster ride until the very end. It's a great story, sure to keep you up at night.

The Girl in the Vault is a fast-paced thriller. There are plenty of twist and turns throughout the book. I have enjoyed the books that Michael Ledwidge co-wrote with James Patterson and was anxious to read this book that he wrote solo. I thoroughly enjoyed.

3.5 stars, actually.

My feelings about this book are very mixed, I'm afraid. Oh, not that it wasn't engrossing; in fact, I stayed up 45 minutes past my bedtime because I didn't want to wait till morning to see how it turned out. It's just that the plot seemed so contrived that at some points it was borderline silly - and having read other of this talented author's books, it was a bit of a disappointment overall.

Faye Walker, a dirt poor gal from the South, has "made it" to New York City as a summer intern at a Wall Street bank. She's just one of several interns - all unpaid - who are vying for a couple of full-time slots come fall. Her math-inclined brain and near eidetic memory is serving her well, and her chances of making the final cut are excellent. Needless to say, she has very little free time, but she's managed to find the love of her life - an immigrant who's anxiously awaiting his Green Card and driving a carriage around Central Park.

But as the internship nears the end, Faye makes a discovery that convinces her the deck is stacked against her; no matter how hard she's worked, she won't be picked. That, in turn, not only infuriates her, but makes her want to get even. She hatches a devious plan, finds a willing cohort who also has an axe to grind and sets out to get not only vengeance, but several million bucks.

To say her plan is complex would be an understatement; at a few points along the way, the details got lost on me and I just tried to ride it out till the goings on turned back to reasonably coherent (I mean, I've been to New York City and ridden the subway, but the concept of counting support posts and dodging third rails kind of left me scratching my head). Still other details of the plan made sense, but it was hard to believe that even a person as smart as Faye could ever have anticipated every possible glitch and pulled off a caper of this magnitude. The ending wrapped things up with a few twists, but of course I'm not about to offer any hints. All told, it was an enjoyable ride (really!!) even if it fell a little short of my expectations and defied credibility. I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publications and Michael Ledwidge for the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Girl in the Vault, to be published 7 Nov 2023. 4/5 Stars for this suspenseful novel with great detail! Faye was an intern from Kentucky, living in New York City for her summer job that she hoped would become permanent. It entailed high finance and Faye was trying to earn a living in the Big Apple one way or another. She had a Plan and when Plan A didn’t work, she moved to Plan B and ultimately Plan C. She was extremely resourceful and didn’t give up or give in. Great read. #NetGalley. #HarlequinTradePublications #MichaelLedwidge #TheGirlintheVault

Whew!

This book was definitely fast paced, and the plot was full of twists and turns. Unfortunately, for me the story was so convoluted that it was unbelievable and that really took away from my enjoyment. The author has great knowledge of New York City, the train system and the roadways, but in the current climate I find it difficult to believe that someone could have gotten around the area undetected. I can’t give specifics because it would ruin the experience for others. To believe that an intern from Kentucky with no training was able to formulate the plan and execute was just beyond belief for me.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

Faye Walker is a summer intern at Greene Brothers Hale, a private investment bank for the very wealthy where new hires are usually only Ivy League graduates and other waspy types. But Faye is different. She’s come a long way from Gramma and her boyfriends and the single wide in Kentucky. She’s a math genius, able to make complicated sums in her head and remember long strings of numbers. She should be a shoo-in for a permanent position and the much needed salary and bonuses that will follow. So when she discovers that she’s not getting a job offer (hint: it has nothing to do with skills in the workplace), she invents the perfect revenge plot. If it works…Greene Brothers Hale will know what they missed when they didn’t hire Faye Walker.

The Girl in the Vault is a fast-paced read that will leave you breathless. Michael Ledwidge is a talented writer who knows how to build suspense. The plot is realistic but deliciously complicated. Don’t miss this one! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Michael Ledwidge for this ARC.

I discovered Michael Ledwidge through his work on the Michael Bennett series books that he wrote for Patterson. Yes, that’s right, I am one of those who knows that Patterson’s many co-authors are the true authors of his co-authored books. I am also a fan of Ledwidge’s Micheal Gannon series too. Ledwidge is a good writer and storyteller.

Anyway, the book summary lays out the primary storyline, but what the book summary doesn’t reveal is that the “treacherous betrayal” that is inflicted on Faye is by a colleague, Priscilla, whose job Faye saved when she caught a HUGE mistake Priscilla made. Faye corrected Priscilla’s mistake before Priscilla got caught for it and fired. Priscilla proceeds to sleep with the boss in order to get the last coveted spot that the bank offers to the best intern, which was Faye, not Priscella. Priscella was just a rich, stupid, debutante who decided to sleep her way into the spot. The other spot was a total nepo selection, a rich kid and star athlete from the founder’s alma mater, Duke. Faye learns some hard lessons that day. In the world of high finance and international banking, on Wall Street, merit meant jack$#*!. Ledwidge said it perfectly when he wrote:

<i><b>“People talked about a glass ceiling for women, but that wasn’t it. It wasn’t a glass ceiling for women I saw now. It was a class ceiling. For everyone. There was a class that you had to be born into.”</b></i>

There is also a secondary storyline about Faye’s boyfriend, Cavan, who is trying to get a green card (he’s from Ireland) before his work visa expires and he has to go back to Ireland. Cavan is cabbie for a horse drawn carriage company while he tries to find a first responder trainee job. There is also another secondary storyline where Faye is trying to get her younger sister out of the hollers of KY and up to NY with her. Faye and her sister were raised by their grandmother after their mother died of cancer and their father went to prison for drug trafficking. None of that is a spoiler since it transpires really early in the story.

However, Faye is an extremely gifted and intelligent woman with just enough of a scrappy attitude to devise a way to walk away with her hard-earned “severance package” as well as take care of her sister and set her and Cavan up. She enlists the help of a junkie, the estranged son of a wealthy client, to assist her in her plan and what a plan it was! Faye’s plan reminded me of something one would see in a Mission Impossible movie with Faye playing the lead role.

Most of the story revolves around putting the plan into place and setting up all the parts of the plan to go off perfectly on the big day – and it does go off perfectly! Almost. It's well into the second half of the story that the plan goes completely off the tracks (literally) in a shocking scene. The end comes pretty fast after that in a handful of scary and intense scenes. However, it was the very end that had me whooping for Faye! Yeah!!! YOU GO GIRL!!! Very satisfying.

If I could give it 4.5stars, I would because of that ending. I stayed up last night way past a resonable bedtime on a work night because I could not go to sleep until I knew how it ended. However, I’m feeling compelled today to round up. I want to thank NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Hanover Square Press for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #HarlequinTradePublishing #HanoverSquarePress #TheGirlintheVault

The Girl in the Vault is a cleverly plotted fast paced thriller that had me turning the pages quickly.,

Faye Walker is an intern at a prestigious company vying for one of the top jobs.

Faye is the best at what she does and knows she deserves the position but she can see the writing on the wall.

She plans very cleverly to get her revenge by stealing money but not getting caught.

How could things go wrong with that.

I could not help but cheer for Faye while at the same time cringing and yelling don't do that.

Michael Ledwidge has written another thriller that keeps you guessing as the suspense mounts with every page.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harelquin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press for a great read.

The twist and turns that you get through out this book made it an enjoyable read, as well as kept me guessing

My experience with The Girl In The Vault was an intriguing rollercoaster ride that had me hooked from the very beginning. The author masterfully crafted a narrative that maintained its freshness and allure throughout. However, my inclination toward a somewhat lower rating is rooted in a particular scene that unfolded around the 75% mark. This pivotal moment felt somewhat contrived and forced, slightly disrupting the otherwise seamless flow of the story.

Furthermore, while the central mystery driving the plot was resolved, I couldn't shake the feeling of slight disappointment at the revelation. The anticipation had been building steadily, and when the answers finally came, they felt somewhat underwhelming in comparison to the suspense that had been skillfully built up.

Despite these minor reservations, I still wholeheartedly recommend this book. The strengths of its character development, intricate storytelling, and the overall sense of engagement it evokes far outweigh these fleeting moments of critique. It's a compelling read that will undoubtedly captivate those who appreciate a well-crafted mystery, even with its occasional hiccups.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press for this advanced copy.

The book centers around Faye who has gotten a highly prestigious internship on Wall Street. Faye is counting on getting a job with the firm at the end of the internship, but things don’t quite go her way. Faye’s comes up with a plan to remedy the situation. It requires a lot of planning and some luck, but Faye is all in. There are a lot of twists and turns in this book, you have to pay attention. It kept me reading to find out how it would end. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

This book was the first for me by this author, I've read some of his when he has collaborated with James patterson and enjoyed them. This book had me drawn in within the first few pages. What would cause someone to risk everything for money? Not as simple as it seems. Starts out as typical intern job for what she hopes to be a future career. When all of a sudden an accidental knowledge of knowing she won't be getting the job plants the seed for revenge. But the one thing Faye doesn't count on is how far others will go to protect their secrets and to make sure she knows they are in control. The only reason I didn't give the book 5 stars is the ending felt a little rushed for some reason. Everything was written so amazing leading up and definitely did not see the twist at the end but felt it could have been explained a little bit more. Otherwise a definite great read and I definitely was not disappointed by the author!

Having first read the author in collaboration with James Patterson, i was excited to see he is writing on his own. This novel was a little hard to follow at the beginning but got better as things became clearer. I enjoyed the characters and plot of the novel.

It’s summer in New York City and Faye Walker has it all. She’s not only scored one of the most highly coveted internships on all of Wall Street, she’s also just met the head-over-heels love of her life. Then, just as she awaits her offer and her signing bonus, a treacherous betrayal arrives to shatter Faye’s plans and her young life. That’s why Faye now has a new plan. One that involves Swiss watch timing, nerves of steel and ten million dollars in cold hard Wall Street cash.
This was horribly slow paced, awfully written and just plain stupid. I was barely able to stay awake while everything that happened made me want to scream.
I had such high hopes for this author but this book was insultingly horrible.

THE GIRL IN THE VAULT started out with a bang, super fast-paced with an interesting plot. I found myself rooting for Faye the entire time as she used her wits to out-navigate everyone else.

The last quarter of the book felt a bit outlandish though, and even in a state of suspended belief, like it was trying too hard to deliver surprises.

I enjoyed the book, but not sure if I’ll read any more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read and review THE GIRL IN THE VAULT.

The Girl in the Vault
Michael Ledwidge
Nov, 7
Hanover Square
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thriller by long time James Patterson coauthor
I was immersed in a fast paced, edge of your seat thriller about high finance, deception, and a daring heist. I was hooked from the first page. This is a must read for readers of high octane suspense.
4 stars