Author: Davis Bunn

Publisher: Bethany House

Release Date: September 6, 2016

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

With the economy on the brink of collapse, one woman must devise a plan to save civilization from utter financial ruin!

Esther Larsen is the leading risk analyst at her bank, Carolina First Mercantile. Ever since the 2008 bank bailout fiasco, she has been compiling information on the reasons why the banks failed and what to watch for in order to prevent it from happening again.  In present day, Esther begins to see signs within the markets that these events are going to occur again but on a much higher magnitude.  What’s worse is that she suspects that her bank in the one leading the charge.  Like most risk analyst, she has always been a loner.  That hasn’t stopped her from building a house to fill with a family one day, but that day has never come.  Her parents died when she was young and even though she went to live with her grandparents, her older brother stepped into the role as a primary caregiver.  Unfortunately he had a recent automobile accident that also killed his wife and he seems to have lost the will to live.  Esther has put him in one of the best rehabilitation facilities, but he still continues to show less improvement.  When Esther starts to put a plan into action to help people survive another banking industry crash, her bank’s CEO must stop her.  Perhaps she has been put in this situation for such a time as this!

It is interesting how many books with lead characters name Esther parallel the traits of the well-known Queen Esther of the bible. This book is no exception, but it is done considerably different than I have ever seen it before.  She still works to save people, but instead of being eradicated for their religion, it is done through a financial aspect.  Many readers will remember the events of 2008 and undoubtedly this book could easily happen in the present day.  The current events mixed with the financial aspect make this book a quick, suspenseful page turner.

For those that don’t know, Davis Bunn also writes under the alias of Thomas Locke. His most recent book Flash Point also has a lead character that is a risk analyst at a bank.  However, the similarities of the main character pretty much end there.  In The Domino Effect, Esther is a strong central character, but is very lonely.  She keeps everyone at arm’s length to protect herself.   Throughout the book, she lets down her guard and begins to let people in.  This allows her to release some grief she didn’t know about as well as begin a romantic relationship and step into a surrogate mother role for two young girls.

Very well done story by Bunn. I strongly recommend you pick this one up for fall reading!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest and thorough review. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.