Someone is killing off all of the unsuccessful money managers and creating fear amongst those who remain, including Quint Ganderson. Ganderson hires Silas Cade, a former black-ops specialist with a CPA whose logo might best be described as a green eyeshade crossed with a 9mm pistol. Cade's specialty is clawback – the mandatory return of compensation on an investment deal which later goes bad. Cade, of course, has his own way of encouraging his clients to return the money. Cade stays under the radar with one throwaway cell phone per client, word of mouth referrals, and an almost untraceable existence.  

Enter Clara Dawson who somehow tracks Cade down and entices him to help her with information for her weekly financial blog – Event Risk – when she is not working in a private library. When Clara is threatened by the killers – are they investors who are upset with poor performance, money managers looking to take advantage of market swings, or just a deranged serial killer – Cade and his eclectic group of friends set out to find who is responsible.

Johnny, a high school friend who now manages a $3billion hedge fund, Goldfinger, a criminalist who works as a parking attendant, Walter a document forger, and Hendrick a Dutch real-estate agent visiting New York City to participate in a hacker's convention as a locksmith are among the people who help Cade.  

Claw Back is an intelligent, well-written financial thriller; while the financial aspects speak to recent events and are important to the plot, they are explained in an easily comprehensible manner and do not dominate the plot. Mike Cooper has provided numerous action scenes which are sure to raise your adrenalin level and a denouement which is sure to have you on the edge of your seat, rapidly turning pages. When you combine the action and the clever, quirky, well-constructed characters (especially Silas Cade), you have a debut novel in a very promising new series.

--Jerry Solot