Michael Balter (2)

I think this book is a prime example of why you don’t start a series in the middle. I enjoyed the plot, I thought it was well written with enough action to keep you interested and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, but I also felt like I was missing a lot of connections because I didn’t read the first two books. Unfortunately, I also felt no emotional connection to any of the characters. The main two seem kinda dumb, by their actions, cowardly at points and blustery loud show more mouths at others and every time it seems like it was
the wrong way to be. They really didn’t seem to have any redeeming qualities, Bo was basically devoid of personality in this book and Marty seemed to do all the wrong things, like I said before, and his only real motivation was making sure his wife didn’t find out about his affair. He didn’t seem remorseful about It, at points I didn’t even think he wanted to end it, just as long as his wife didn’t find out…pretty lame. Now, were they better in the earlier books and I just missed out on that connection because I started with book 3?
Maybe, but I don’t know. Maybe I’ll eventually check out the first two books in the series, but I’m not in much of a rush to do that. I feel like that sounds harsher than I intended it to…the book really wasn’t that bad….but it is what it is. show less

The Vatican Deal, as the title implies, involves a financial deal with the main characters (Marty, Bo and Natalya) and the Vatican. There are numerous additional characters and I had a little difficulty keeping them straight.
A kidnapping is part of the thriller aspect of this novel.
Character development was very good. I enjoyed the banter between the 3 principles of the story and the descriptions of Rome were quite detailed and accurate.
I didn’t care for the writing style that was like show more a flashback in time. For instance, the story was moving along nicely and then the next chapter is set 6 months prior to the action in the previous chapter. (There were quite a few of these flashbacks and it distracted from the flow of the novel).
Overall, the story was interesting and kept my attention. Not quite a page turner, but nearly! Subtracted points for the extra people in the book and the strange back and forth of timeline.
Well worth the read if you like thrillers. show less

The Vatican Deal (2025) by Michael Balter. This is the second international thriller from Michael Balter and while it is a stand alone novel you might want to find his first book, Chasing Money and read that first. It seems that so much of the relationships depicted in The Vatican Deal rely heavily on the previous book. I did read this without the pleasure of having read the first and found myself more than capable of determining the essence of the backstory without too much difficulty.
That show more said, I will now have to get a copy of the first just to enjoy this second book fully.
Marty Schott, who narrates the book, and his business partner Bo Bishop, former footballer and race car driver, are business partners in an investment company. Their latest venture is buying up a sculpture foundry in Naples. The foundry holds the forms used in making many of the priceless artifacts found in the Vatican’s museums. The forms themselves are beyond value, but it is the forthcoming licensing deal with the Vatican Bank that appears to be the real prize.
But there is more to the deal than they have been led to believe.
It seems the Napoli Mafia wants the foundry and are willing to go to extremes, including kidnapping and worse, to get it.
Marty and Bo have been assured by their Vatican contacts there would be no problems getting the deal done, but of course there are. That’s why you picked up the book hoping, there would be action, alluring women (this is aimed primarily for the male audience although anyone who likes the action/suspense genre would enjoy it), thrills, sprinkles of violence and a fast paced plot.
Toss in hidden agendas, turncoat “friends” and at least one very gruesome warning and you have a very capable thriller.
You’ll find all that here and more.
I found this book especially appealing as two days after I starting it, Pope Francis passed away, adding an unforeseen plot point and a certain level of poignancy to it all. show less

The author alludes to the first book featuring the duo of Marty and Bo, providing enough background for those who have not read it without rehashing the plot. Marty and Bo are distinct characters and have an interesting yin/yang relationship. At times their dialog borders on trying too hard to be clever but is mostly entertaining. The setting does not disappoint. Balter describes Vatican City through the eyes of first time visitors and provides plenty of fascinating detail about the inner show more workings of the Holy See. The narrative is complicated with involvement of Russian oligarchs and Italian mafia and flashbacks to Marty's recent past. The cast of characters is expansive and tighter storytelling would have helped focus the story. show less