Purchased Power by Dennis Sheehan and Bull Street by David T. Lender are both featured in Caleb and Linda Pirtle’ list of Top 20 Thrillers.

The Book: Purchased Power

The Author: Dennis Sheehan

The Story: John Moore is a successful and brilliant yacht designer living the good life outside of San Francisco. Life seems perfect, when without warning he discovers his wife is being unfaithful and plotting to take over his business.

He quickly devises a plan to save his business and leave her for good. He soon finds himself in a world he did not know existed–a world of global political corruption and intrigue.

Purchased Power is a story of human weakness, greed, and good people whose errors in judgment put their lives on perilous paths. Follow John Moore on an epic journey to some of the most exotic countries in the world as he tries desperately to save a good woman from the clutches of the corrupt.

A Review by C. C. Cole: “Purchased Power” is about a successful yacht builder whose life falls apart due to a failed marriage, and when he embarks on a journey to get away from it all, he finds himself embedded in Hong Kong international business, international spies, and the international underworld held together by one thing: large sums of money.

“A young woman brings him new love and new problems that he’s able to sail literally through with the help of some competent friends. On the larger scale, entire countries are held hostage by power held over them by the movement of finances in the right direction, with few unscathed. This is an entertaining read, full of action, romance, and enough of the international issues to keep the reader interested with unanswered questions relevant to the world we live in today. Congratulations, Five Stars!”

A Review by Philip Catshill: “When the successful boat builder John Moore set out on a solo trip to help clear his mind and memory of the disastrous end to his marriage, he had no idea that he would shortly find new love to fill his life, but John soon discovers that new love brings with it a secret which plunges them both into intense danger – but who from? Who is the enemy?

“Well, just about everybody I guess. When John Moore and his new love stumble upon a global web of political corruption and intrigue, it isn’t only the bad guys who are out to get them. This is one of those hard to put down thrillers that is so convincing it’s going to start making you look a little more carefully before you cast your vote…. Do we elect our leaders, or has someone already bought them… purchased them and by doing so… “Purchased Power.”

The Book: Bull Street

The Author: David T. Lender

The Story: Bull Street is the story of Richard Blum, a naïve, young Wall Streeter who gives a jaded billionaire the chance for redemption, as they team up to bring down an insider trading ring before they wind up in jail or dead.

A Review by Rohit Kapur: “Bull Street is another winner from Lender, an even more accurate picture of Wall Street than his last, and this one a story told against the backdrop of the Financial Crisis. It is a tense, suspenseful story of insider trading that builds from the first chapter.

“It has all the elements: the young banker gradually realizing he’s stuck in a web of deceit, the conniving of his dishonest bosses, the chase of the Director of Enforcement of the SEC, and a romance with another young banker who helps our hero in his race to unwind the layers of dishonesty before the SEC can run him down, or the bosses can do him in. It has pace, thrills and great characters. It doesn’t get much better than this.”

A Review by Cruiseman: This is the third book I have read by Lender, and it is his best yet. He is in his element with stories of Wall Street. The Gravy Train painted that world in colorful and realistic tones. Bull Street goes yet a step further in delving deep into this world of shady characters, ambiguous loyalties and double-crosses.

“This is a story of a young man tempted by the greed he encounters, and then of his subsequent struggle to clear his name after he’s been tainted by an insider trading ring at his investment banking firm The trading ring includes the most powerful client at the firm, a man who is the premier takeover artist of his era. The setup is reminiscent of Grisham’s The Firm, however, the plot involves twists that take it in another direction.

“The story features raw emotion that you feel at every step. It also has great characters and a plot that builds like a symphonic piece. This is a powerful book by a writer who has come into his own with a memorable story told with force.”