A modern tableau about money and power set in New York and London. Two powerful men, a bank chief executive and a New York tabloid publisher, are at odds over a loan that would keep the publisher afloat. Enter a ruthless Russian oligarch with an offer of a financial life raft to the publisher – a gambit uncovered by a dogged financial reporter who senses a big story. In Squeeze Plays, Jeffrey Marshall whisks us into the paneled boardrooms and lavish penthouses of the New York elite and shows us their lifestyle, their desires and their foibles. Using his background as a financial journalist, he carefully details the reporter’s story, which ties the central characters together in what becomes a stunning front-page expose. Along the way, the reader visits New York, London, Nantucket and the English countryside and sees not just financial skullduggery but sexual blackmail, strong and principled female characters, and a brisk and often satirical take on the corrupting influences of wealth and power.
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Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
“Marshall’s jocular prose is a perfect match for the blazer-clad, sharp-elbowed world… delightfully barbed sendups of the New York business milieu.”
Reviewed by Joshua Olokodana
“In Squeeze Plays by Jeffrey Marshall, business is the name of the game, money is the dice, and New York is the game board. Just when Whitehall Bank pulls the plug on Star Enterprises’ bad loan, Maxim Ripovsky rides to the rescue with a suspiciously undemanding deal. Then the gloves come off as the Russian hatches a plan to force his way onto Whitehall’s board of directors. When they refuse to budge, Max resorts to his time-honored blackmail tactics, and one man is caught in the crossfire: Corbin Van Sloot, CEO of Whitehall Banking Group. Corbin is a competent gentleman of impeccable reputation, but this could change as Max collects evidence of Corbin’s supposed affair, intending to use him to influence the board. Max is new to the Big Apple and might be able to squeeze Corbin unfairly, but will he be able to stand the pressure when the forces of New York squeeze him in return?
Who said business is boring? Let them read Squeeze Plays by Jeffrey Marshall, an intriguing story that depicts the idiosyncrasies of the corporate scene in an entertaining and attention-grabbing manner. Here, the corporate battles take center stage while the power plays and plot twists add fuel to a raging fire. Squeeze Plays rates highly for its multi-layered characters who never seem to stop evolving. With the amount of attention paid to each character, it has to be the best character-driven novel I’ve read in a year. Although the story was not fast paced, the quality of writing and exceptional use of similes and metaphors had me gripped as the plot thickened and spiraled toward its climax. The editing was top-notch, and the narration flowed freely. Without a doubt, Squeeze Plays has all the hallmarks of a piece written by a talented storyteller. Read Squeeze Plays if you want to be thoroughly entertained.”
Midwest Book Review
“Jeffrey Marshall presents a fine consideration of high society, the seats and roots of power, and the motivations and special interests that drive them… As his story swirls through the upper echelons of New York, London, and the lives of men and women who would grasp and hold financial and political power, he leads readers on a romp through different worlds that become connected by power plays and personal gain…. Business and political satire are introduced to give the story a wry sense of comic relief… It’s an involving story that takes many unpredictable twists and turns as it winds through business and political influences on poor and good decisions alike.”
—D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
Reviewed by David Keenan
“The lifestyles of Russian oligarchs are front-page news as sanctions levied against them by the Unites States and the European Union expose their financial reach. Jeffery Marshall, a retired New York City financial journalist, pulls directly from those headlines and leverages knowledge gained from his career to deliver Squeeze Plays, an intriguing and action-packed tale of financial shenanigans, Russian oligarchs, sexual blackmail, and covert violence in the financial capitals of London and New York City.
Corbin Van Sloot lives the good life as the CEO of Whitehall banking. Married to his college sweetheart, he enjoys all the perks that come with his perch on top of the world: private driver, international travel, and a mansion in a fancy suburb. However, a snake enters the garden and Van Sloot finds himself in desperate circumstances as a result of crossing paths with Winston Crumm, publisher of the failing New York Star, and Maxim Ripovsky, a Russian oligarch. Ripovsky, as the name implies, is a seedy Russian hood who has invested in enterprises in England and is striving to make his mark in New York City.
Ripovsky secretly invests in the New York Star, demanding only that Crumm’s wife, who is a clothes designer and connected to New York City’s black tie charity circuit, provide him with entrée into the rarefied circles of the city’s cultural elites. He also buys a major piece of Whitehall stock, only to be denied a coveted seat on the board of directors. Chaos ensues as the three men’s lives are forever changed by Ripovksy’s actions. Corbin worries about exposure because of his interactions with one of Ripovksy’s “consultants” and Crumm’s world is rocked when Bob Mandell, a New York Star investigative financial reporter, enters the fray and exposes the secret Ripovsky investment.
Squeeze Plays examines how arrogance and greed often cause missteps that result in a loss of prestige and fortune. It is a cautionary tale of how fleeting success is in a world populated by vultures for whom the law has little reach. Sex, financial intrigue, and blackmail all combine in the narrative to create a volatile and dangerous world. The characters are well drawn and come to life as the story develops. Marshall’s use of language is economical and pushes the taut narrative and plotlines forward as they intertwine to make the novel’s denouement. At the end of the day, the novel demonstrates that not much has changed in the world of New York City finance and culture since Tom Wolfe examined it in Bonfire of the Vanities, which this novel resembles. It remains populated by those driven by greed, ego, and avarice.”
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