After The Interview is the second corporate thriller by author AA Abbott and offers a fast-paced, interweaving narrative with a vast cast. Add to that a London setting and you essentially have the literary equivalent of a Guy Ritchie film.
The story revolves around a London-based company called GardNet, headed by a volatile but socially-awkward chief executive called Jed Gardner. GardNet need to buy a Birmingham-based company's call centre in order to retain their largest client, however a grudge between the two chief executives complicates the negotiation. Matters become more tricky when Jed Gardner employs his former university house mate, Boris, to advise on tax implications because Jed is in love with Boris' fiancée.
If business negotiations and love triangles sound unappealing to you then fear not. The story contains enough fraud, blackmail, violence, murder and sex to keep you reading on. As with many corporate thrillers, everything begins to take on an intense, over-the-top level of reality, similar to a pulp fiction novel. Happily, this only serves to make the story more enjoyable.
That said, there are several moments where you will have to suspend your belief. We are repeatedly told that the character Boris looks like Boris Johnson, yet he regularly seduces attractive women! I can't quite imagine the Mayor of London doing that!
Nevertheless, After The Interview is an addictive page-turner. AA Abbott offers short Dan Brown-style chapters, which swiftly jump between characters - chief executives, American journalists, fraudsters, a fired concierge, a dominatrix and more - to ensure the story-telling remains fresh and engaging.
Due to all of the corruption, infidelity and manipulation, it is hard to find a sympathetic character, which can make for quite unsavoury reading. However, rather than worry about finding a hero, it is best to just go along for the ride. Suffice it to say, a few characters do discover their decency towards the end of the novel and it is not the ones that you would expect.
AA Abbott's second novel does not disappoint and shows why she deserves to be a rising name in the genre of corporate thrillers.
For more on AA Abbott, you can visit her website.
The story revolves around a London-based company called GardNet, headed by a volatile but socially-awkward chief executive called Jed Gardner. GardNet need to buy a Birmingham-based company's call centre in order to retain their largest client, however a grudge between the two chief executives complicates the negotiation. Matters become more tricky when Jed Gardner employs his former university house mate, Boris, to advise on tax implications because Jed is in love with Boris' fiancée.
If business negotiations and love triangles sound unappealing to you then fear not. The story contains enough fraud, blackmail, violence, murder and sex to keep you reading on. As with many corporate thrillers, everything begins to take on an intense, over-the-top level of reality, similar to a pulp fiction novel. Happily, this only serves to make the story more enjoyable.
That said, there are several moments where you will have to suspend your belief. We are repeatedly told that the character Boris looks like Boris Johnson, yet he regularly seduces attractive women! I can't quite imagine the Mayor of London doing that!
Nevertheless, After The Interview is an addictive page-turner. AA Abbott offers short Dan Brown-style chapters, which swiftly jump between characters - chief executives, American journalists, fraudsters, a fired concierge, a dominatrix and more - to ensure the story-telling remains fresh and engaging.
Due to all of the corruption, infidelity and manipulation, it is hard to find a sympathetic character, which can make for quite unsavoury reading. However, rather than worry about finding a hero, it is best to just go along for the ride. Suffice it to say, a few characters do discover their decency towards the end of the novel and it is not the ones that you would expect.
AA Abbott's second novel does not disappoint and shows why she deserves to be a rising name in the genre of corporate thrillers.
For more on AA Abbott, you can visit her website.