[.ca] The Millionaires (ISBN 0446611921)

From Amazon.com:
What would you steal if you couldn't get caught? That's the tag line of Brad Meltzer's new thriller, which pits an ambitious young money manager against a corporate villain, whose intricate financial shenanigans accidentally put a huge chunk of dough right in front of a man who desperately needs it. Of course Oliver Caruso's conscience troubles him, but that doesn't keep him from letting his somewhat looser and less ethical brother convince him this is too good an opportunity to pass up. Meltzer's in interesting territory here, but in order to buy his premise, you have to believe that it's OK to steal if you have a good enough reason. This makes his protagonist, who narrates the novel, hard to root for and less than sympathetic. Despite this hollow ring, the book is nicely plotted and should please the author's enthusiastic fan club. --Jane Adams

The Millionaires was not up to par:
I have read Meltzer's The First Counsel and found it a fast paced enjoyable read. The Millionaires, while an easy read, just did not grab me. I found the interplay between the brothers Oliver and Charlie, somewhat sophmoric. While I don't recall getting their ages, this read more like a Hardy Boys novel than a taut thriller. Many of the sub plots defied credibility. How these two 'boys' go up against two secret service men just doesn't cut it - neither is close to a Jason Bourne type. Just did not seem near the level of Greg Iles, or even Stehpen Coonts (whose books I was reading concurrently). I may try another Meltzer novel just to see if this was an anomaly or more typical of his fare.

Same:
The dialogue and the plot is not much different from "The Tenth Justice", so if you like that it is fine. Otherwise I found it to be without much new thinking and creativity. If you have the choice, read something else.

Fun read, nothing earth-shattering:
As a financial thriller, this is an okay book, but nothing outstanding. I mostly enjoyed reading it because it moved fairly quickly. The positives: Quick and painless; Different subject; Exploration of the "gray" areas of crime (when you think no one can get hurt, does that make it right?). The negatives: Dialogue is a bit too cliche at times; Meltzer still has some work to do to perfect his craft as a writer; Unbelievable plot (but that's okay for a quick and painless read); Flat characterization (the villains) or over characterization (the main characters) a bit annoying at times. Overall, neither bad nor good. Just okay.

A promise that soured:
The first chapters were very promising. The author managed to give me a wonderful flavour of the two main characters, but alas... The pace is frenetic but past page 200 the wonderful characters start becoming flat, a run and chase thriller that I could not seem to embrace. I became more and more disinterested in the plight of the brothers. Two supposedly brilliant minds who quite never caught up to the vast "conspiracy" surrounding them, even when it was as clear as glass just wiped with Windex. I can't quite come up with a solid reason why this story didn't draw me in... for that I'll give it 3 stars

4 Stars a decent read:
This was my fisrt Metzger book and it was an enjoyable read. The book grabs you from the get go but tends to drag towards the end. I found myself wondering when is this book going to end. The story was good and I enjoyed oliver and Charlie very much, brothers always come first. I found the Duckworth secret a bit confusing but it all worked out in the end. This book could of been a little shorter but I enjoyed it none the less. The Secret Service tie in and Joey make this book very interesting.