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    Black Maps
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    Black Maps
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    Black Maps
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    Black Maps

    Written by Peter Spiegelman

    Narrated by David Aaron Baker

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The stronghold of white-collar crime in the rarefied world of high finance-this is the setting for Peter Spiegelman's edgy, suspenseful, sharply-honed debut novel.

    At the center: John March, who walked away from his family's venerable merchant bank for the life of a rural deputy sheriff-a life that would explode in personal tragedy and professional disaster. Three years later, he's back in Manhattan, working as a PI and running from his grief and the expectations of his wealthy family.

    March takes the case of Rick Pierro, a self-made man who has everything-and who's in danger of losing it all. An anonymous, poisonous threat has implicated him in a vast money-laundering scheme already under investigation by the feds.

    March's own investigation uncovers a blood-stained paper trail that leads him deep into the lives of both insiders and outcasts on the street. He discovers that his client may be the latest victim of a serial extortionist diabolically adept at psychological and physical intimidation, but the more March learns the more questions he has about Pierro, his wife, and the secrets hidden beneath the glossy surfaces of their lives. And the more he begins to fear that his own blood will be added to the trail before the case is closed.

    With its headlong narrative, quick, incisive language, and brilliantly clarified details of finance-the legal and the illegal-Black Maps is a stunning first novel.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateAug 12, 2003
    ISBN9780739307045
    Unavailable
    Black Maps
    Author

    Peter Spiegelman

    Peter Spiegelman is the author of Black Maps, which won the 2004 Shamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel, and Death's Little Helpers; both novels feature private detective and Wall Street refugee John March. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Mr. Spiegelman spent nearly twenty years in the financial services and software industries, and worked with leading banks and brokerages around the world. He lives in Connecticut.

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    Reviews for Black Maps

    3.5/5

    61 ratings10 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 4/5
      Good, solid mystery.
    • 4/5
      the dark underside of the financial world... detectives John March3.5 well read, well crafted...interesting though not my particular type of suspense
    • 4/5
      This was satisfying enough to go on to the second one but, honestly, not so amazing that I need to read another right away. I kind of got bored in the middle. I read the audible version and generally Scott Brick keeps me engaged as a reader but not this time. I felt like he kind of contributed to the blah. I know he doesn't do all the Spiegelman books so the next one will help me determine the problem.
    • 3/5
      If our library was not closed due to the coronavirus shutdown, I doubt I would have finished this book. Although it is set in the realm of high finance, it is still a very tired plot line with the hero getting beat-up a few times and finishing off the bad guy on the last page. The high finance part was very interesting but the idea of Private Investigator being on the outs with law enforcement at all levels is boring.
    • 3/5
      Despite his family’s wishes John March became a deputy sheriff for a small town until his wife was killed. Then he became a private investigator. In this book his lawyer asks him to investigate a blackmail case for one of his clients, a high profile banker. In doing so March finds himself in a mess bigger than he bargained for. This book is a great mystery that will keep you guessing to the end. I found it very enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone who likes PI crime books.
    • 4/5
      Black Maps was a pick for my mystery book club, and I found that I did enjoy reading about John March. Throughout the book, we get hints of what happened to March three years before with the death of his wife. March is still reeling from these events and the reader can see that March’s loved ones are still concerned for him. March takes a case that involves a white-collar crime and blackmail. Despite the lack of information to work with, March finds himself on several people’s hit list and making new enemies in addition to an old one. Spiegelman does a great job at providing the reader with a story full of many twists and turns and has created a likeable character in March. Overall this was a good read.
    • 2/5
      Debut novel with too many characters, what they wear, former police P.I. who runs a lot - what he eats, bank crisis - what else is new. Oh yes protagonist has a rich family.
    • 2/5
      A so-so procedural about an idiosyncratic private eye who is tasked to unravel a complicated financial blackmail case. Nothing much new, nothing much special. This is the first book in a series, and although it won awards for best first novel, the writer's inexperience shows. There is the kernel of a great idea here, but it needs better execution. Right now, the best works in the genre of financial disclosure in the light of the current recession are non-fiction works.
    • 4/5
      Makes a departure to have a PI that comes from a financially secure background. Hints at his backstory are interesting and makes you wish there was a prequel dealing with that aspect of his life. An engaging character and a plot that while interesting is not overly complicated and with not too many convulted twists and turns just for the sake of it. Will continue with this series as for the first book in the series it promises to get even better.
    • 4/5
      I guess the big question is whether corporate crime can really carry a novel without boring the average reader. IMHO, the answer is no, unless there are a lot of dead bodies and humming tension.PS does some things right. He knows his stuff (but if that was enough, I'd be writing crime novels about growing roses). He is gifted in creating characters with a few short and often wry words. And in the end, he put together a sufficiently fast-paced and bloody (loved all the visits to the hospital!) ending. Also, I did love the final encounter with Helene, where John realizes the true danger of this genteel but ruthless liar. Helene's hypocrisy and corruption is breathtaking.But there just isn't enough at stake (until guns start being pointed at protagonist John March). The first hint of a threat (that Trautmann might be dangerous) comes 3/4 through the book. Too late! this leaves John inadequately motivated. Also, the main bad guy - whose exploits are given lots of coverage - is DEAD. This is not a paranormal. Nassouli is going to stay dead. So he's not a threat. So he can't up the tension. I think this is a major mistake.Now for the backstory. It's too early to judge since this is only the first book in the series, but I'm not sure it works. Some of it is just too trite (hero has lost his wife and given up the badge; he runs to release tension). But PS gives away the store: he killed his wife's killer already (so the guy can't return in future stories); his old foe from the PD is a buffoon (not a worthy or useful enemy). On the other hand, there's a lot of promise in his siblings, all wealthy from his family company, most working there and mostly of the opinion that John is a waste.There are WAY too many characters; some of this could be addressed if PS finds a way to indicate minor players so that the reader doesn't struggle to remember them all. I think this might be a problem with a corporate-crime book, however, as forensic accounting necessarily requires a lot of people working in concert.Three things that got on my nerves (which actually improved over the course of the novel and will probably be fixed in the next one):1. Too much detail - telling every minute including irrelevant actions (transportation from place to place, mundane housekeeping, sleeping etc.)2. Too much description (this made me want to pull my hair out). PS describes *every* item of clothing that *every* character is wearing, and lists every thing ingested at every meal. Buildings and furniture are described to the point that you can draw a blueprint. Not only is this unnecessary but it stops the pace like a flung frying pan.3. Wierd paragraph delineation - where tags are stuck to the previous paragraph - also too many tags - e.g. "Blah blah blah," Neary said. "Blah blah." He pointed a finger at me. "And blah blah blah, too." I nodded. "I agree," I said.