CHASING MONEY

Two down-on-their-luck entrepreneurs must chase down millions of dollars and a long-lost work of art to save their business and their own lives in Balter’s thriller.

Bo Bishop and Marty Schottare desperate for their latest pitch meeting to go well. They’re the owners of Paladin, a struggling online-retail startup based in Lake Oswego, Oregon, which is losing money fast. Their families are tired of the constant stress, long hours, and financial troubles; the pair hope that this will be the meeting that changes everything—and it does, but not in the way they hoped. It starts with a cryptic phone call from an anonymous investor promising a massive cash infusion if they meet him in his Mt. Hood cabin; there, Bo, Marty, and their silent partner, Nico, are threatened by a towering Russian thug, who holds them at gunpoint and demands $10 million and a missing painting. Bo and Marty don’t know what the man is talking about, but they do know that admitting ignorance will likely get them killed. They have four days to get their hands on the cash and a painting that’s been lost for years—one with a dark history and more than a few criminals itching to get their hands on it. This race takes Bo, Marty, and other colorful characters to strip clubs, sleazy motels (“No one stays in this dump, not even cockroaches”), and towering mansions—and scenes of total mayhem. Readers will find Balter’s novel to be a strong start for a debut author, as he very confidently moves his players around the plot’s chessboard, and each chapter is thoughtfully plotted and delightfully easy to follow. The characters are only sketchily developed, but they feel pleasantly familiar, and as such, the cast as a whole feels solid. Readers will enjoy hunting for clues right alongside the seemingly fearless Bo and Marty, and they’ll be entertained by all the dangerous, unexpected scenarios that they get themselves into along the way.

A simple but satisfying crime novel that will keep readers hooked.