Leverage

Former Wall Street analyst Gowani parlays his financial experience into a solid debut thriller. After Pakistani hedge fund manager Ali “Al” Jafar loses $300 million for Prism Capital in one day, his boss gives him a new fund with $300 million in it and challenges him to double it in three months—or become the fall guy for the government’s ongoing insider trading investigation. With his boss’s obnoxiously racist son doing everything he can to interfere, Al calls a phone number that an old lawyer friend claims will help him reach a man who facilitates connections for the desperate. The resulting introductions propel Al to incredible success, but also draw him into a complex world of blackmail and misplaced trust from which escape may be impossible. Though Gowani’s rendering of the racist, sexist world of finance occasionally feels like it’s perpetuating the stereotypes he attempts to skewer, the plot is tense without straining plausibility too far, and Al comes off as an intelligent antihero whom the reader will (somewhat reluctantly) want to see triumph over those manipulating him. It’s an encouraging first outing. Agent: Christopher Schelling, Selectric Artists. (Aug.)