Repo Madness is part exposé, part memoir, and all outrage. In it, M.E. Tuthill leads readers through the obscure and often unnerving world of repurchase agreements, shadow banking, and the financial infrastructure most folks never hear about. The book is split into two parts: the first half unpacks the mechanics and history of the repo market with examples like the Drysdale Affair and Lombard Wall, while the second half takes aim at the ethical and societal consequences of these systems. Tuthill writes as a layperson who’s spent years diving deep into the madness of modern finance, and her message is clear: it’s all dangerously overcomplicated, opaque, and rigged against ordinary people.

What really grabbed me wasn’t just the information, it was the tone. Tuthill manages to be funny, furious, and informative all at once. She doesn’t hide her disbelief or her disdain for a system that routinely favors insiders while leaving the rest of us in the dark. Her writing has a chatty, almost conspiratorial vibe, like she’s sitting next to you at a bar with a stack of documents and a stiff drink. Sometimes she wanders a bit, or gets caught up in the details, but there’s a sincerity behind every page that kept me hooked. She’s not here to pretend she’s an expert, she’s here to show you that maybe the experts are the problem.

I occasionally wished she would slow down and help me process what I’d just read before jumping to the next scandal or systemic failure. Still, that might be the point. The financial system she’s describing is overwhelming by design. And honestly, that left me feeling a little sick to my stomach. Not because of her writing, but because of the content. The idea that a small group of financial institutions can essentially gamble with the global economy, with no meaningful oversight or public understanding, is terrifying.

Repo Madness is a wild ride through the back alleys of global finance, written by someone who genuinely wants the rest of us to understand just how broken the system is. This book is for people who’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that something isn’t right, and want to finally put a name to it. It’s best for the curious, the skeptical, the pissed off, and anyone who thinks the phrase “shadow banking” should probably raise more alarms than it does. The audiobook is now available on Audible.

Pages: 177 | ASIN: B0C2SRMXZP