Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Thank you Netgalley UK and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers - Black Swan for sending me an advance reader copy in exchange of an honest review.

3.5 stars (but bumping it to 4 because I love the author).

TL;DR: exciting thriller journey hit a bump by the appearance of an envelope too early in the story.

In Berlin, Germany, the world's political, financial and philanthropic elite gather for an a summit to resolve a looming crisis, in a backdrop of protests from locals who question the institution of capitalism in the way it has failed them.The summit's agenda is of course secondary to the shoulder-rubbing threesome between the sweet-talking financiers, billionaire investors and politicians who all have their personal agendas."Take Note: Fortunes will be made tonight"<i> says Ted Holden, one such billionaire hedge fund boss, while simultaneously informing his young female colleague about the prospect of the global economic crisis that would dwarf the 2008 crash.

Meanwhile, Nobel Prize winning economist Herbert Thomson and his young mathematical protege Will Cantor are en route to the summit to present a revolutionary new paper that they have co-authored which might be solution to everyone's problems. They never reach their destination as they are murdered mercilessly in what is meant to look like a horrific traffic accident. 18 year old trainee nurse Jan Wutte is the unfortunate witness to this. Despite being the one to call the emergency services, a minor record of previous offenses means the overstretched police ignore his story and try to pin him down for the crime.

With the killers, professionals on a hit job who want to tie up the loose ends, and the police both in pursuit, Jan's only hope are the 2 seemingly random names that one of the dying men have left him with. And begins a cat and mouse journey through Berlin, from breaking into VIP hotel rooms where CCTV is minimal to protect privacy to squats occupied by the protest groups, from climbing up building facades to falling down broken fire escapes, from rooftop chases to shaking off pursuers with the wit of local taxi drivers - all the high stakes, page-turning elements that I was looking for in a thriller.

I have been a huge fan of Marc Elsberg's work since reading Zero for the first time back in 2017. It's one of the few hardback that I don't mind carrying on my morning commute (pre-covid of course), and multiple reads have still managed to keep me engaged despite knowing the twists I have been counting down to the publication of Greed since the start of the year and perhaps I built my expectations too high After all, my workplace book club read Zero (on my recommendation) and the feedback was a real pendulum of love and hate between 2 divided camps.

Greed for me was a mixed experience. I loved the trademark Elsberg plot of pacey thriller, with a everyday people, including the young and powerless, taking on hugely powerful institutions and their ruthless mercenaries. But despite my suspension of beliefs I just could not justify to myself certain actions by the characters.

The gobbledygook of the conversations at the summit versus the clever discussions weaved into the plot that explain economics and mathematical concepts were a genius plot move. The reader can easily see why someone like Ted Holden can came millions while Jan, <i>"equivalent of one bun to hundred people" <i> is not paid enough for 12 hours shifts at the hospital. <i>"Sharing your knowledge also means sharing your power" <i> says one ​of the characters and it is quite apparent the rich speak in a largely made up language of jargons that others wouldn't comprehend.

The economics at the heart of it didn't fully convince me as it relies on <i>certis paribus<> too far in my opinion. (That's all things being equal, for you non-econ folk). Perhaps I am too close to the subject matter which is why the simplicity, which would leave other readers feeling fascinated left me a bit dissatisfied. I am however determined to look further into the original research, by an actual Nobel winning economist among others, that this story is based on.

The book doesn't pretend to provide a solution, but start a conversation, which made the ending satisfying for me. it also presents a fairly balanced argument which is surprising centrist in a world increasing polarisation. The writer does remind us to keep an open mind and not be like the nameless one line character who <i> "associates everything that didn't match his worldview with his favourite ideological bogeyman, be it communists, left-wing activists, 'do-gooders', fascists, Nazis, liberals..."<i>

I also don't get the structural choice of jumping between POVs in a chapter. It was really difficult to follow at times and killed the mystery in many places. I enjoyed having the different perspectives into the same scene and it did move the plot along, but the same effect could easily have been achieved by breaking it into separate chapters for each POV. The jumping between different people's head in one conversation also really didn't help.

Despite this, I loved the character development. Fitzroy's classic English charm (I may be partial here!) and his mathematical genius really excited me, as did the warmth of Kim and Nida, the two protesters who Jan and Fitz meet along the way. The homogeneous group of assassins, seen from the perspective of their leader were cool antagonists to follow. A special mention to Kim's grandmother who can fall asleep in the middle of a conversation but is also proactive enough to attend the demonstrations to protest her pension cuts, with her old union colleagues.

Maya Parritta, the police officer who fights an uphill battle against her superiors and colleagues humanises the systemic oppression that the young protesters stand against, putting my questions about their distrust of the police to rest. One aspect that really excited me about the book was the lack of definitive racial descriptions. I was able to read certain characters as being any reflections of myself and my friends without the description telling me otherwise.

My main problem with the story comes from lovely Jeanna Dalli, the assistant turned one night lover of Ted Holden. Despite the author telling us how to pronounce it, I found her first name really tricky, especially as the pronunciation came in much late in the book and only confused me further. But my issues are deeper than the name. Even as she is described as <i>"a perceptive and witty person"<i> by another esteemed guest, her own mind quickly drifts to the only quality that she really seems to display in the story: <i> "a perceptive, witty, and pretty woman"<i>. In fact, my notes have multiple mentions of her as <i>"attractive" <i> including in her own description.

Despite having an impressive CV, including employment at investment banks and hedge funds (undoutedly with academic excellence to complement that), she spends most of her time either dreaming of becoming one of her boss's <i> potential trophy wife <i> or actually being draped around his arm like the latest accessory. I couldn't believe how little she says at the summit soiree and the only insight she brings is a quip about how identical everyone there looks which is treated by everyone (read: men) as a adorable thing a child might just say.

Jeanne's decisions along the way are also so so mind-boggling that I wanted to chuck the book across the room at one point (didn't do it as I was reading on my phone!) She single-handedly manages to make the book a good 15% longer with her naive decisions. There was a real opportunity to use Jeanne's view of Ted to develop him into more than the cardboard cutout we see and that might as well have saved the story for me, envelope or not. Instead, I tried so hard to justify her behavior but the story clearly showed to me that she was not in love with Ted, making me question why she trusts him so much - if she is meant to be a metaphor for the general public who too trust the people like Ted, then it was one that went over my head.

Ultimate the thing that made the plot fall apart was the appearance of an envelope far too early in the story. It was a great gasp moment but beyond that it really ruined the rest of the mystery for me. Funnily enough, if the documents had appeared without the envelope, it would have justified the actions of the characters so much more and kept the story alive for me. Once I realized why the envelop was where it was, there was no going back.

I will stop before I reach applied territory. Greed was great fun to read and the world building (if I can hazard calling it that) was amazing, with a pacey page-turney plot. It's a fun read if you are able to justify the actions of the characters particularly i the second half but for me the mystery fell through and what was an Aha! moment the ruined the rest of it as it took away the joy of the final twist. I still love it as a great read and I will continue to follow Marc Elsberg for more thrilling, global stories that dig deeper in the institutions around us.

In my edition, there is a small Q&A with the author, where he says <i>"Every topic can be turned into a thriller...I think the truly ground-breaking point here is the scientific solution, I am able to present. Some might do it in a non-fiction book, I wrap it up into a thriller."<i> That for me is the essence of the genius that is Elsberg, and I am sure to continue to countdown to his books with a lot of excitement.

I enjoyed this book, i don't really go for these kinds of books but im glad i did. it took me a while to get my head around the perspectives as they change every paragraph and i kept confusing myself but i got there in the end. I had to keep reading, i wanted to keep knowing about the plot and how it was going to play out and it ended how i wanted it too. A very good read