The incredible banker by Ravi Subramanian

 Synopsis from Goodreads:

A new Expat CEO, a bank riddled with losses in its Retail banking business, mind numbing politicking amongst the honchos, aggressive loan sales guys battling the listless credit folks Greater Boston Global Ban k(GB2) seemedto be like anyother foreign bank. Till it all changed one day when Ronald McCain, CEO of GB2 is hurriedly pulled out of his morning team huddle and s...moreA new Expat CEO, a bank riddled with losses in its Retail banking business, mind numbing politicking amongst the honchos, aggressive loan sales guys battling the listless credit folks Greater Boston Global Ban k(GB2) seemedto be like anyother foreign bank. Till it all changed one day when Ronald McCain, CEO of GB2 is hurriedly pulled out of his morning team huddle and summoned by the RBI Governor. What ensued thereon was something Ronald was least prepared for. How could something as catastrophic transpire in an organization, considered to be the Mecca of banking? Ronald has no answers. And when the CBI lands up at Deepak Sarups doors trailing the scent of a the same scandal, Ronald decides to distance the bank leaving Deepak, a senior executive, to fight his own battles. Will Karan, Deepak's one time adversary and now a Journo, bail him out? Will Savitha, his girlfriend, stand by him? And will his family; the CBI and more importantly the country believe what he says? With the media and CBI in hot pursuit, Ronald can't help but wonder what his fate has in store for him An intriguing tale of love, politics, unbridled aggression and money laundering, "The Incredible Banker" is the last in the trilogy of banking chronicles Sometimes future can only be seen in fiction. "The Incredible Banker", a tale of corporate politics, deceit, relationships, frauds and money laundering releases in August 2011 raises some interesting and some worrying aspects of living life the foreign bankway. A crucial question, to answer which the reader will have to navigate his way through this 300 page blockbuster, is - What does the embedded "Red" in "The Incredible Banker" signify?. 

 My thoughts: 

I didn't think that I would finish this book as fast as I did, but then the book was racy and un-putdown able that I had to finish it in a couple of sittings. Maybe this had something to do with the fact that I have spent a few years in the banking industry and could relate to the malicious co-workers, the politicking and scams that this book is all about. Even if you don’t come from the industry, the story is fairly relatable to most working people who have had the misfortune of working with politicking, scheming ,ambitious co-workers during some part of their career. Ravi tells it like it really is and there is no doubt about that ..

Plot-wise, I thought that the scope and the canvas of this book was much wider compared to the last Ravi Subramanian book that I read ( Devil In Pinstripes ). Though, I have heard of something similar happening in one of the banks a long time back(on a much smaller scale), the story that Ravi weaves is exhilarating and fresh. Character-wise, I don’t think I liked anyone (including the goody-goody Karan) as much of the story revolves around the exploits of the slimy Deepak . The writing isn’t spectacular, but is competent and does not act as a hindrance to the flow of the story. I did find the dialogues and conversations a tad trite and somewhat amateurish in a few places, but that doesn’t really affect the spirit of the book. I also remember feeling that the editing was somewhat tauter compared to the last book.

The story flits between incidents that span over several years and that helps keep up the “mystery” factor . Infact, initially I wondered what connection there was to some naxal leader to a tale about a banking scam. Well, this is the element that makes the book all the more un-putdownable. However, almost halfway into the book so many clues have been provided that it becomes easy for us to guess what really happened and that made me get a little impatient. In effect, you figure out things even before the person investigating the scam figures it out and this is definitely a damper. The plot should have been tweaked in such a way that the reader learns about “what really has happened” along with the person investigating in a book. Anyway, the best part of the book is the ending . When you think everything is over , Ravi brings in a new twist tying up a lot of things neatly in the end. I must confess that I didn’t expect the ending one bit and liked it a lot..

Overall , it’s a breezy, fun read that I’ll recommend to anyone who likes reading good contemporary workplace fiction revolving around a scam. I am giving it 3.5/5

Ps: This is an author requested review ; all opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone.