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The First Billion
The First Billion
Author: Christopher Reich
Christopher Reich electrified readers with Numbered Account and The Runner, his first two international thrillers. Now the New York Times bestselling author whose work has been called “gripping” (Chicago Tribune), “chilling” (The Denver Post), “wonderful” (The New York Tim...  more »), ratchets up the stakes in an ingeniously plotted story of nerve-jangling intrigue and hot-wired suspense. Using today’s cutthroat global economy as a backdrop, The First Billion explodes into a breakneck tale of betrayal, revenge, and redemption...

John “Jett” Gavallan is a former fighter pilot, now the high-flying CEO of Black Jet Securities, an investment firm that earned its first billion before the techno dream crashed and burned. Poised for an offering crucial to his company’s survival, Gavallan is banking on the riskiest gamble of his dazzling career. In exactly six days, he will take Mercury Broadband, Russia’s leading media company, public on the New York Stock Exchange. But rumors of fraud have suddenly surfaced that could send the deal south. Gavallan makes a preemptive strike by dispatching his number-two man--fellow Desert Storm fighter pilot Grafton Byrnes--to Moscow to penetrate the shadowy Russian multinational. When Byrnes fails to return, Gavallan fears the worst. But

the truth is even more diabolical than he can imagine.

Plunging into a desperate search for his best friend, the renegade top gun is suddenly fighting a different kind of war, where there is no safe harbor and no one he can trust. Not Konstantin Kirov, the elusive head of Mercury Broadband who may not be what he seems. Not the bankers and traders Gavallan does business with every day. Not the exotic beauty who has told him all her deepest secrets--except one. Suddenly Jett finds himself trapped in a conspiracy that could shatter the delicate balance between nations--and plunge the global economy into chaos. Hunted by the F.B.I. and a band of elite killers, Jett races from Palm Beach to Zurich to Moscow in a desperate search for answers. But for this brave ex-commando haunted by visions of war, the truth comes at a terrible price. With Mercury rising and the hours ticking down, he is moving closer to a place where murder and revenge are the currency of choice...and where the first billion is the ultimate insider secret--and the deadliest obsession of all.

With breakneck plotting, stunning realism, and a sense of danger that keeps the heart racing, The First Billion is a knockout of a novel that will linger long after the final shocking twist is revealed.
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ISBN-13: 9780385333672
ISBN-10: 0385333676
Publication Date: 8/20/2002
Pages: 448
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 10

3.8 stars, based on 10 ratings
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The First Billion on
Helpful Score: 2
After reading this book, I immediately purchased all the other books this author wrote. AND, I was up till 3AM this morning finishing it. I absolutely could not put this one down. Incredibly well written, marvelously plotted, and filled with "edge-of-your-seat" surprises.
reviewed The First Billion on + 209 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A suspenseful story; takes us on a ride from Zurich to Moscow--a financial thriller! Great dialogue! You'll have trouble putting this one down!
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reviewed The First Billion on + 7 more book reviews
I liked all of Reich's books but The First Billion may be his best.
reviewed The First Billion on + 8 more book reviews
Great summer read, is you like Grisham you will like Reich.


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