Final Venture

When Simon discovers his father-in-law dead of a gunshot wound, he is suspected of the murder and must follow a trail of corruption through Boston's glitzy high-tech center to catch the real killer. Original.

Life has been good for Simon Ayot: he enjoys working for a prominent venture capital firm in Boston and he loves his wife, Lisa. But near the beginning of this lackluster novel, Simon's world begins to crumble. First, his request for added funds for a company he has been championing is rejected by his colleagues. Then he goes to visit Lisa's father only to find him dead. Simon becomes the prime suspect, and soon the police find a pistol that they believe Simon used in the killing. Meanwhile, Lisa moves out and then loses her biotech research position as a result of funding arranged by Simon's employer. Simon manages to hang on to his job but spends most of his time playing sleuth as he tries to clear his name, traveling from Boston to New York to California. Although the behind-the-scenes look at how venture capitalists work is somewhat intriguing, Ridpath's (The Market Maker) plot is alternately predictable and implausible. (Aug.)
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