Blog Archives
MERRY-GO-ROUND BROKE DOWN: A NOVEL OF GREED, GUILT, AND GLOBALIZATION
Merry-Go-Round Broke Down, by authors David Woo and Margalit Shinar, is a multi-voice social thriller that uses one high-stakes frame, a hostage crisis in a Manhattan hotel bar in September 2008, to pull you through nine character stories that span continents and years. Each chapter drops into a different life, from a Chinese factory-town power broker facing the “sell or shut down” pressures of reform to an immigrant caught in the machinery of subprime mortgages, to a Wall Street salesman selling risky bonds with a straight face. The stories braid back toward that locked door in New York, where the gunmen fight to be seen and heard, even as the world looks away.
What struck me first is how the authors keep the book readable without sanding off the sharp edges. They don’t hide the ugliness. People say cruel things. They rationalize. They grab what they can. And yet the prose often stays concrete and physical, like the polished bull-and-bear centerpiece glinting under a chandelier right before everything goes sideways. I also liked the structure: each chapter feels like a self-contained novella with its own weather, its own pace, its own moral pressure. That gives the book momentum, and it also makes the argument feel earned.
The authorial choice that worked best for me is the refusal to make globalization an abstract villain. It shows up as a chain of handoffs. A mortgage gets “sold onward to some other idiot,” and a person’s life gets dragged with it. A town council in Norway weighs shiny civic dreams against risk, while a salesman performs confidence like it’s oxygen. Even the more cinematic moments land because they come with character texture, like Tomoko snapping from fear into action on a bus, doing something messy and brave and human. The didactic impulse sometimes peeks through, especially when a character’s inner monologue turns into a tidy thesis. But most of the time, the book earns its big ideas by putting them inside real choices, with real consequences.
Merry-Go-Round Broke Down is a contemporary fiction novel with the propulsion of a financial thriller. It’s fiction, but it wants to explain the world while it entertains you. I’d recommend it most to readers who like big-canvas, idea-driven novels and don’t mind sitting with moral discomfort, especially people interested in how the 2000s boom-and-bust era rippled across borders and into ordinary lives. If you want a story that makes you look up from the page and think, “Wait, is this how it really works?,” then it delivers.
Pages: 323 | ASIN : B0GFQ83FLL
For Cause
For Cause follows Josephina Jillian Jones, “3J,” a bankruptcy lawyer in Kansas City, after a hearing goes off the rails when the banks drop a video that appears to show her client’s CEO bragging about cooked books. The banks push to yank control of the company and put in a trustee, so 3J scrambles to prove the video is a deepfake and to find who set the trap. The trail leads into bank politics, a dirty land play, and a tech expert who says, flat out, the video is fake.
I liked the writing more than I expected. It moves fast. It stays clear. The courtroom scenes feel lived-in, not staged. I could hear the voices. I could picture the tension in the room. The book also has a steady sense of place. Kansas, Kansas City, and the plains energy world feel specific and real. That detail gave me trust in the author’s hand. A few passages lean into long explanations. I felt the weight there. Still, I never felt lost.
The ideas hit me harder than the twists. A video drops, and truth starts to wobble. That felt too close to real life. The book treats deepfakes like a loaded weapon. It also shows how easy it is to aim that weapon at a business and call it justice. The banker scheme angle lands as plain old greed with a slick suit on top. And the moral mess keeps growing, especially once 3J feels forced to deal with Robbie McFadden for help and cash, and she realizes it comes with strings. The ending left me uneasy in a good way. It frames this whole thing as the new normal, and it feels like a cold splash of water.
Reading For Cause reminded me of a John Grisham courtroom ride like The Firm or The Pelican Brief, since it has that same pressure-cooker feeling where money and power lean on the law until it creaks. But it also feels more current than the older classics, because the deepfake hook gives it a modern, tech-anxiety buzz that I associate more with faster, sharper thrillers than with old-school legal drama. In vibe, it sits somewhere between the procedural snap of Michael Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer and the corporate paranoia of a big, plotty bestseller, but with a more niche bankruptcy world angle that makes it feel a bit fresh and less paint-by-numbers.
I’d recommend For Cause to readers who like legal thrillers with courtroom heat, modern tech trouble, and a strong lead who keeps pushing even when the ground shifts. It also fits anyone who worries about fake media and wants a story that makes that fear concrete.
Pages: 323 | ASIN : B0GNWNW1JC
Better Off Dead
Better Off Dead drops us straight into the foggy, moneyed world of Marin County and follows Trisha Carson, an amateur sleuth with sharp instincts and a stubborn streak, as she tries to untangle the suspicious death of Andrew Barlow. What looks like a tragic open water swimming accident begins to feel like something darker, especially once Andrew’s son Harrison insists his uncle murdered his father. From there the book expands into a layered mystery involving family secrets, financial ruin, and a Shakespeare-inspired sense of emotional chaos. It’s a contemporary mystery, but it leans into the psychological side of the genre, especially as parallels to Hamlet surface in clever ways.
What struck me first was the tone of the book. Trisha’s voice feels grounded and natural. She’s observant in a way that made me feel like I was riding shotgun with her, listening to her mutter under her breath about everything from funeral etiquette to suspicious boat owners. The writing is clean and steady. When it settles into a moment, it stays just long enough to let me feel the tension before moving on. Carroll lets the humor breathe, too. Trisha gets itchy rashes at funerals, complains about open water temperatures, and has a talent for stumbling into awkward situations. Those small quirks soften the edges of a story built around death and betrayal, and they made the darker turns hit harder.
I liked how the mystery is shaped by relationships instead of just clues. Harrison’s shifting behavior, the uneasy dynamic between the Barlow brothers, and Justine’s brittle elegance give the story texture. I found myself leaning in whenever Trisha pushed past her own nerves to ask the uncomfortable questions. Some scenes felt almost cinematic to me, like peeking through the Barlow family’s glass walls at night and catching the flicker of something you’re not meant to see. The Shakespeare thread could have felt gimmicky, but instead it adds a quiet echo beneath the plot. Not overwhelming. Just a subtle reminder that families have been falling apart in dramatic fashion for centuries.
If you enjoy contemporary mysteries with an approachable narrator, tangled family dynamics, and a backdrop of Northern California that feels lived in rather than postcard pretty, this one will hit the mark. Fans of character-driven mysteries or anyone who likes their crime fiction with emotional undercurrents will especially appreciate Better Off Dead.
Pages: 317 | ASIN : B0DVZQW36T
Patterns of Finance and War
Prophets Of War follows a young financial advisor who stumbles onto a horrifying truth: his own father has created a shadowy business empire that bankrolls Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I didn’t sit down one day and decide, ‘I’m going to write a novel.’ Prophets of War came to me gradually, one breadcrumb at a time. For about a year, I carried around the seed of an idea for a compelling story, but it wasn’t until I was working on my Master’s thesis about the origins of national debt that I had my ‘aha’ moment. A thousand years ago, European monarchs borrowed from banks to wage profitable wars — and in many ways, that was the birth of public debt. I began connecting those historical dots to more recent examples and realized I wanted to explore the idea of war as a business model. The Russian invasion of Ukraine became a natural setting, especially since so many of the mechanics — shell companies, offshore secrecy, private military contractors — are real-world systems.
From there, tone became just as important as plot. When I finally read The Wolf of Wall Street (after seeing the film multiple times), I loved its darkly funny, irreverent voice and knew I wanted to channel some of that energy. Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities was another stylistic touchstone. So the book grew out of both history and literature — from centuries-old patterns of finance and war to the sharp, satirical voices of modern storytelling.
What inspired your characters’ interactions and backstories?
Alex is probably the most personal character — he’s a reflection of me, but exaggerated. I gave him many of the same questions I’ve wrestled with in my own life, then pushed them further to see how far they could go under pressure. The other characters came from a mix of real experiences and public figures I’ve studied. Some are composites — Lena, for example, was inspired by several real women, but I wanted her to embody duality: someone magnetic and vulnerable, yet someone you can never fully trust. Devil Bill, on the other hand, was meant to be the incarnation of corruption and power without conscience. And Langston was my chance to write a parody president — larger than life, full of contradictions, but all too familiar.
Some events in the book were chillingly similar to real-life events. Did you take any inspiration from real life when developing this book?
Absolutely — I drew inspiration from real events, but Prophets of War is still very much a work of fiction. You can’t write about finance, politics, or war without noticing the patterns that repeat throughout history. Shell companies, corruption, shadow networks — these things are in the news all the time, but fiction gives me the freedom to connect the dots in ways that journalism can’t. My goal wasn’t to retell any specific headline, but to create a story that feels uncomfortably close to the world we live in. Readers should come away thinking, ‘This could happen… maybe it already is.’ But at the end of the day, it’s still a novel — a thriller built to both entertain and provoke thought
Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?
I’ve been asked that a few times now, which is exciting in itself. I do have ideas for where the story could go next. If Prophets of War is about uncovering the financial machinery behind conflict, then the follow-up might explore how those same hidden networks shape politics — through propaganda, dark money, and campaign donations where no one really knows who’s footing the bill. I could see a storyline where a presidential candidate is backed entirely by the business of war. That said, whether I actually write it will depend on how this first book resonates with readers. If there’s demand for more, I’d consider it.
There will also be a podcast coming out soon that you can listen to. I am featured on Read, Beat (…And Repeat) on Spotify but it has not come out yet. It will be posted to my website once it’s live.
Author Links: GoodReads | Instagram | Facebook | Website | X (Twitter) | Amazon
When Alex Morgan, a rising star in wealth management, stumbles onto a trail of cryptic financial clues, he doesn’t just uncover corruption—he unmasks a global conspiracy.
Behind the headlines of the war in Ukraine lies something far more chilling: a private empire of shell companies, black-market trades, and political operatives turning global conflict into personal profit.
The deeper Alex digs, the more dangerous the truth becomes. His own father may be at the center of the scheme. His mentors may be funding both sides of the battlefield. And the woman he trusts most might be the key to it all—or the final betrayal.
From Caribbean tax havens to Wall Street boardrooms to shadowy Zoom calls between oligarchs and ex-presidents, Prophets of War is a pulse-pounding political thriller that rips into the machinery of modern power. Inspired by real systems, real tactics, and real moral failures, it asks a question no one wants answered:
What if the next world war is already on the balance sheet?
Prophets of War
Prophets Of War follows Alex, a young financial advisor who stumbles onto a horrifying truth: his own father has created a shadowy business empire that bankrolls Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. What begins as a Wall Street career quickly spirals into a nightmare of offshore shell companies, secret deals in Tortola, oligarchs with bottomless bank accounts, and a sprawling conspiracy called the “Business of War.” The story stretches across years, peeling back layers of betrayal, greed, and the way capital can be twisted into a weapon. It is a thriller about money and morality, but also about family, ambition, and the unbearable weight of knowing too much.
Reading it was both exciting and unsettling. I found myself drawn to the writing in a way that made it difficult to put down. Jack Brown’s prose is sharp, direct, almost conversational, and it has this raw energy that carries you forward. The emotions are messy and real. The narrator swears, second-guesses, and drinks too much, and it all makes him feel believable. Still, the style can be over the top, even exhausting, with its constant intensity, but that relentlessness matches the chaos of the world he’s describing.
The central concept that war itself can be commodified, that it thrives not on ideology but on profit, is chilling because it feels close to the truth. The book doesn’t come across as a lecture, though. It’s more like watching someone wake up to a nightmare and realizing you’re in it too. There were points where I laughed bitterly, other times where my chest tightened with dread. And then there’s the father-son dynamic, which added a gut-punch of personal betrayal on top of the political corruption. That made the story hit even harder for me, because it wasn’t just about governments or faceless corporations, it was about blood ties and the price of silence.
By the time I finished, I felt both drained and oddly hopeful. Drained because the world it paints is so dark. Prophets Of War is best for readers who like fast-paced thrillers that are unafraid to mix politics with personal stakes. People who enjoy the works of John le Carré or Robert Ludlum but want something grittier and more contemporary will likely appreciate this story.
Pages: 174 | ASIN : B0FL2YB474
Running Toward Danger
Cram Down follows a Kansas City attorney who takes on a case involving a couple who had their business funding cut off, only to get mixed up with the mob and a missing bank president. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Many times, the story just seems to be inside of me waiting to come out. For Cram Down, there were several components in play: (a) the inspiration for a community bank came first, (b) followed by the notion that 3J would have to force a plan of reorganization on the bank over its objection, and (c) I’ve always been fascinated with Kansas City history, and I’d been reading books about the Kansas City mob in particular. In each book in the series, there’s always Jazz, and BBQ, and history as well.
3J is an amazing character that readers can be invested in. Was the character’s backstory something you always had, or did it develop as you were writing?
When I started working on the series, I wanted to create a strong, admirable protagonist who would give me a chance to comment on social issues in each book. 3J is a Black, female bankruptcy lawyer in a large Kansas City law firm, which, until recently, was dominated by white men. I am neither black nor female. So, while her character gives me the chance to address social issues (haters, mental illness, when does the ends justify the means, redlining), and have my characters reflect the diversity in our country, I also need to respect that I can never actually know what it’s like to be Black, and a woman, and their struggles to make it up the law firm ladder.
How did you balance the action scenes with the story elements and still keep a fast pace in the story?
In Cram Down, I wanted to kick the action scenes up a notch. In the prior book – Unfair Discrimination – 3J must battle a White nationalist who becomes unhappy that he won’t get paid back all that the debtors owe him, and he takes his rage out on 3J and a Jewish attorney. My readers liked the action in UD, so I wanted to create an action-packed story in Cram Down as well.
3J also has a habit of running toward danger, at great personal risk, which continues in Cram Down, and through flashback chapters, we begin to learn more of her bad habit, and where it may come from as she grew up in the Lower Ninth Ward and Tréme neighborhoods in New Orleans.
Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?
Yes. I have begun to research my next 3J thriller – tentatively named For Cause. It will involve a Deep Fake video that 3J must contend with and save her client from its impact, while trying to prove in court that the video is not her client’s message to the world. She will also continue her habit of running toward danger.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Linkedin | Amazon | YouTube
Cram Down
Cram Down, follows the compelling narrative of the astute lawyer Josephina Jillian Jones – affectionately termed 3J by her friends – and the intricately woven lives of brothers Amadi and Jordan Browne.
Embarking on a journey from a shadowed past, 3J plunges herself into the legal maelstrom encompassing a non-profit organization, Abode. The atmosphere tenses as her involvement quickly spirals into a vortex of unpredictability and peril. The reader is left poised on a razor’s edge, contemplating: will 3J’s legal prowess and emotional resilience be enough to navigate this treacherous case?
Contrastingly, Amadi Browne, rooted in his banking pedigree and a connoisseur of charitable endeavors, grapples with the bittersweet legacy of a bank inherited from his parents. His appreciation for the institution’s history teeters on the brink of melancholy as he yearns for his brother to peer into the depth of its legacy with equivalent reverence. The complexities of family ties and inherited responsibility are palpable, keeping the reader bound to Amadi’s internal and external struggles.
Jordan Browne, embroiled in his ambitious visions, stealthily assumes control of the bank through the strategic acquisition of his brother’s shares. His clandestine maneuvers and stark contrast in visions for the bank’s trajectory pose a poignant question: Will the brothers’ divergent paths weave a future of success or sow seeds of familial discord?
Cram Down boasts an impeccably crafted ensemble of characters. From 3J – whose intelligence and occasional recklessness converge to form a profoundly relatable protagonist – to the dichotomy of the cultured Amadi and the precarious Jordan, Shaiken masterfully molds characters that resonate with vibrancy and depth. The secondary characters, such as the enigmatic Robert McFadden, the eccentric investigator Moses Aaronson, and sagacious William Pascale, are not merely supporting cast but vital cogs in this intricate narrative wheel, each contributing their distinct flavor to the unfolding drama.
The narrative navigates through light and shadow with a suspenseful undertow, encapsulating the reader in a setting richly steeped in engaging history and meticulously tailored to envelop the story. The pacing is unyieldingly brisk, propelling the reader through its pages with a magnetizing allure. Amidst the dynamic world-building and a potently character-driven narrative, Shaiken crafts a tale imbued with non-stop action, gripping suspense, and an emotional complexity that beckons readers into its depths.
Cram Down emanates flawless narrative charisma, effortlessly earning its commendation to aficionados of the legal thriller genre. This book gracefully interweaves tension, drama, and emotional depth, ensuring that readers will want more.
Pages: 336 | ASIN : B0CJ1QJDQV
It Originally Had A Darker Ending
High Risk follows a self-absorbed businessman who becomes trapped in his building for four days with no internet, phone, water, or a way out. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
This story was originally written in 1999 as a screenplay. The idea came about when I was sitting in my office late at night working, and the cleaning crew came around. I wondered what would happen if they accidentally locked me in the building. My office wasn’t 50 stories high like Jim, but this idea of being locked in intrigued me. The basic premise for Jim came together quickly in my head, and I emailed my writing partner about it (who happened to be working late), and he got excited about it, too. The full story and details of the screenplay came together very quickly after that. It was probably the fastest and easiest thing we’ve written. It was one of those rare moments where the story just flowed. There is one key difference between the original screenplay and the final version—the ending. It originally had a darker ending, something neither of us liked. In subsequent revisions, we settled on something very close to the version in the book.
The screenplay seemed like it might get made in the early mid-2000’s. After it stalled out, it sat on the shelf for many years until the pandemic hit, and I decided to turn it into a book. Anyone who read the screenplay really liked it, and a common note we got from readers was that it was a fast and thrilling read. My writing partner and I were very proud of it and thought people would enjoy it, so it bothered me when it became this dead story. During the pandemic, I re-wrote it as a book and enjoyed the process so much that I wrote three more books and plan to continue.
I felt that there were a lot of great twists and turns throughout the novel. Did you plan this before writing the novel, or did the twists develop organically writing?
Most of the twists and turns happened as we plotted out the story. I’ve never had a story reveal itself as easily as this one. The only thing we struggled with was the ending. The original ending felt like it worked, but I didn’t like it. My writing partner and I kept kicking around versions and eventually settled on the final ending.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
We were both much younger in our careers when we first wrote this, and we saw executives who were older than us who had let their work consume their lives. Despite their success, they didn’t seem happy. Some people seemed to prefer being in the office rather than being at home. The book is by no means an anti-work story, but it does offer a picture of what can happen if you define yourself by your career and money.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I’m working on a sequel to Nina Winter and the Age of Darkness which will be released at the end of the year. I also write short stories that I post on my website, and a new one should be released in May.
Author Links: Website | GoodReads | Twitter
From the authors of the mind-bending epic, HISTORY OF LIES, comes HIGH RISK, an intense, claustrophobic thriller set fifty stories high.
An ambitious business executive, Jim Sloane, is imprisoned in his high-rise office over the long holiday without food, water, or power. Cut off from the world, Jim must figure out who locked him in and why. As he unravels the mystery, Jim discovers that his list of enemies is long and his time to escape is short.
Can he find a way out, or will he die trying?
