Need You Now audiobook

Need You NowAuthor James GrippandoReviewed By Fran LewisOne man decided to take matters into his own hands and end his life. This same man pulled off a Ponzi scheme right in front of everyone’s eyes and thought he would never get caught. Rather than face the music, pay the penalty or even divulge where the money was hidden, Abe Cushman took a leap out of a window and buried his secrets and money along with him. But, there is much more to this story as another young man, Gerry Collins who thinks he can escape the wrath of those that were swindled. After all he was what you made say or call Abe’s point man who helped get these unsuspecting investors to hand over their money thinking he was investing it when he really want not. Patrick Lloyd is a young Wall Street guy who finds himself embroiled and caught in this web of deceit and lies. Working with the Bank Of Switzerland, thinking he was included in a special meeting for assistant Financial Advisors, what happens to him is right out of today’s headlines. As Patrick learns the real reason the Director of the bank and what information they think he has to help find what Cushman stole from so many investors summoned him to a meeting. But, there is much more as Patrick as seeing a young girl named Lilly who they think knows more than she’s admitting and was fired from her position in the Singapore branch of the bank and whom they think Patrick has linked up with. Patrick blindsided by this meeting promises to help, is not fired and then kidnapped by those who would rather have him dead asking for the same information but definitely in stronger way letting him know his life depended on his next move. Reenter Lilly who turns up out of no where hoping to connect with him taking the reader inside the mind of those who feel they can fleece the public, banks and allude the FBI’s wide net. But, Patrick’s troubles have only just begun as not only does this secret group want a piece of him, the bank and suddenly the FBI. Explaining her position with the bank, her part in the money transfers you begin to wonder why Lilly fell for this scheme. Claiming she knew nothing about the Cushman money the Treasury had a memo identifying her as the point person for all of the activities. She claimed she was feeding money into Cushman’s Fund and not taking it out. But, Times Square Tour Guide is out 2 billion dollars and will do anything to make sure they get it back. Threats both physical and worse hang over her head and Patrick’s as she promised she would find and return the funds within one week. Enter one of my favorite characters FBI agents Andie Henning who knows what Patrick is up to and who he is secretly working for in order to investigate Lilly and fund out where the funds might be. Unfortunately, for him, the bank found out information about him he did not want divulged and they are digging into his past, his life and hope to find out just who Patrick Lloyd is and hope he does not wind up like Gerry Collins. While talking with Andie she chastises him for his indiscretions, does not answer all of his questions and tries to dissuade him from going any further into finding out why a man considered part of the mob, named Tony Martin, is in prison for a crime he might not have committed. This is just the tip of a very slippery iceberg as author James Grippando brings the reader inside the minds of those who think they can defraud the government, create these huge Ponzi schemes, watch as the SEC sits back and lets it happen and hope that the bank will have someone on the inside that will reveal what is really happening outside of its bank vault of walls. When questioning the events that led to Gerry Collins being murdered and Tony Martin’s confession, Patrick begins to realize he just might have come to one dead end but he is definitely not going to stop there. Added in is the fact he cannot go to the police. Why? That I cannot tell you or I would blow the entire case for Andie and endanger Patrick and Lilly. So, a deal is made between them and the end result remains to be seen as Patrick wants his attacker identified and protection for himself and Lilly. Blackmail, not really. Insurance that he will be protected and Andie and the FBI will have him stay on to find out what really happened to the money and where is might be. Someone wrote that treasury memo. The FBI is in the dark about it. What happens will definitely not be what the reader expects. Andie Henning was someone not to be fooled with but Patrick realized the target was Lilly Scanlon at BOS/Singapore. Now, he would have to be transferred there since he worked in New York. Let’s define his role: mole for the FBI. Not a great position to be in. Just who Patrick really is still remains to be revealed. Lilly is thought to be the agent who transferred the two billion dollars between Cushman and Gerry Collins GC Investments in Florida, one of the feeder funds as they are called. Leaving Lilly in his apartment would set off a chain of events more deadly than he would ever expect. Returning to find her gone, clues left in several places and checking the net he learns where he thinks she might be but what he encounters along the way would cost one person her life, reveal his true identity and enlighten him the what might be behind his attacks. Reverend Manu Robledo is the rector of what he claims is the Church of Peace and Prosperity but seems like a front for something else. But upon closer reflection we learn he is an Argentine connected to South America’s Tri=Border region filled with guns, drugs and terrorists. Contacting Andie again he relates the events that led to Lilly’s disappearance, discusses their next move and refuses the protection he needed as he finds himself on the end of another attack similar to that of Gerry Collins, winds up in the ER and needs to be rescued before things get even more out of hand. Finding out his real name and who might be behind the attacks brings Lilly into action as she enlists the help of the only person who might bail out Patrick his sister Connie. As the truth behind their names comes out, what happened to their mother revealed and whom their father is told, both are in danger of being killed by the people their father snitched on. But, are they really behind this or does it have to do with Cushman? As Patrick and Connie discuss their options many questions come to light, fears arise and decisions have to be made. Involving Andie Henning is next and reflecting his true feelings about Collin’s death with both Andie and Connie bring other family issues present. Just how was his family tied to Cushman and who killed his mother and why? Replaying the incident that led to her meeting Robledo we learn the truth about who opened account 507.625RR. The author brings to light the truth behind Lilly’s involvement with this man, the threats against her and Patrick and her real involvement in this entire situation. Then the author allows the reader to find out more about Robledo and his real role in all of this and what he hopes to get from Lilly and the smoking gun he is holding against her head. She is tossed in the middle of many situations and where she winds up still remains to be seen. Learning that the SEC knew about this and was made aware we meet a computer nerd or Quant analyst named Evan who explains the rationale behind this Ponzi scheme to Patrick. The explanation and what he learns will definitely make you question whether to trust a financial advisor, what the role of the SEC really is and if you should even put your money in a bank. This novel brings to light many issues that are front and center in the news everyday. There are many people who are not really what they appear to be. When the truth behind the conspiracy is revealed you will not believe who the players are, who is really behind what is happening to both Patrick and Lilly and the reasons behind it. What part the mob played, who is pulling everyone’s strings and just how in the dark the government is pretending to be. Patrick and Lilly each have the other one’s records and are set up for a huge fall. What happens that reveals it all you won’t believe and the end result will send chills down your spine. Deceptions lies one man named Mongoose who seems to have all the pieces in place but not where you would want them to fall, as he pays a visit to one Tony Mandretti. One retired FBI agent would enlighten Andie and the truth behind operation BAQ and who knew what about the fraud and cover up goes way up high and just where you just might believe when you really think about all the twists, turns and threats given to both Lilly and Patrick. The end result is another person’s life and Patrick and Lilly just might be back at square one. From Miami, to Ciudad del Este to Singapore author James Grippando takes the reader deep inside the corruption of many different agencies where things were happening in plain sight, crimes overlooked and lives taken because money is the most powerful tool sometimes and powerful players will do anything to come out ahead. When the conspiracy is revealed and you learn what Operation BAQ really means you still won’t believe who was behind it and what the final outcome will be. Lies, deceits, betrayals, government cover ups, high level conspiracies and one man caught in the middle as two young people used as pawns. When the players learn their fate will Andie come out on top or will she be one of the casualties? Who can be trusted? Need you Now: Lilly needed Patrick who needed Andie who needed so many others but this is one novel where everyone’s needs well you decide if they get met or what they deserve. One outstanding novel. One diabolical plot and FIVE MORE STARS FOR THE AUTHOR.Fran Lewis: Reviewer

This book held my interest even though it is not my typical read interest. It is the story of a financial Ponzi scheme in which very powerful people lost their money. The book tells of their attempts to trace their money and opens up major investigations involving the CIA, FBI, Wall Street, and high government officials. I found myself not being able to put the book down at times. It became difficult, at times, to keep all the characters identified, but overall I recommend this book for reading.

Mystery involving Finance and the characters are shifting through a world of lies and intrigued In the conclussion I did not see the culprit until revealed

A good thriller that uncovers a huge government scandel but still has a touch of love in it.

Not bad

What starts out as a Ponzi scheme and 2 billion dollars missing, becomes a fast paced mystery. There are twists and turns, including the FBI, Treasury department and the CIA. To me this book was a page turner

As our economy continues to wheeze slowly along (what we hope is) its road to recovery in The Great Recession's tumultuous aftermath, James Grippando has written a new thriller that gives pause to conventional thought about what laid beneath one of the most brutal financial crimes of recent times. The story's starting point is clearly inspired by Bernie Madoff's felonious scam that's commonly considered the biggest financial fraud in American history. In the stand-alone book "Need You Now," however, it doesn't take Grippando long to veer sharply from Madoffian dogma and offer for consideration that motivations other than pedestrian self-enrichment can underpin swindles like Madoff's.In the enthralling style for which Grippando has become very popular, "Need You Now" tells the story of Patrick Lloyd. Lloyd is a young financial advisor who, with his enigmatic girlfriend Lilly Scanlon, risk all to expose a deadly $60 billion ponzi conspiracy that oozes from Wall Street's gleaming skyscrapers to sleek, shiny Singapore, to dangerous Paraguayan no-man's-land, and far into the dark heart of Washington, D.C. Appropriately enough given the deliberate complexity of financial chicanery like Madoff's that spans both many years and great distances, this is no elementary A to B to C linear mystery tale. Instead, Grippando successfully intertwines a labyrinth of intriguing (and sometimes seemingly incongruous) plot lines to create a story that's immediate and timely, and as disturbing as it is engrossing. His protagonists are sympathetic and very human characters, refreshingly unlike the quasi-superhumans who frequently overpopulate modern thrillers. Grippando also does a great job of evoking a true sense of place for his settings. For example, in addition to aptly setting stages around various Manhattan hallmarks that are well known from scads of other books set in New York, he deftly captures and conveys less renown places like the Lemon Ice King of Corona, and "spaghetti park," in Queens. That kind of care for detail is emblematic of all Grippando's work in "Need You Now," and is only one of many reasons this very enjoyable thriller is well worth reading.

“Need you now” by James Grippando starts out as a Bernie Madoff-like character, Abe Cushman, commits suicide after his sixty billion Ponzi scheme is discovered. As his partner, Gerry Collins, learns about Cushman’s suicide, he is murdered himself upon getting into his car. Fast forward three years and we met, Patrick Lloyd, a Manhattan employee of the International Bank of Switzerland who had just returned from his six month stint in Singapore, where he had broken up with his girlfriend Lilly Scanlon, a fellow employee. Soon enough, Patrick’s life is disrupted and he is fleeing for his life as his boss accuses him of disposing of two billion dollars from Cushman’s funds, and notifies him that his ex-girlfriend Lilly had just been fired in connection with this. Lloyd is obviously clueless about the allegation and starts looking for Lilly, but is nearly killed on his way home from work. To complicate matters, Lloyd is not his real name, and his trip to Singapore was no mere accident. As Patrick finds Lilly, he soon loses her again as Lilly runs from his apartment in the middle of the night after an intruder appears. As they try to figure out what is happening, they put people around them in danger. And the violence escalates from there. There’s FBI agents (both good and bad), sketchy characters, and financial puzzles. Even Lloyd’s own family is thrown into the mix. This is a pretty hard to put down mystery. There’s no one you can trust—even the main characters constantly seem like they’re hiding something. That definitely pulled me into the story. Grippando also does a good job with the plot revelations and action scenes. Highly recommended.

When I read the publisher’s synopsis of Need You Now by bestselling author James Grippando, it sounded so relevant to what we’ve been going through as part of this recession that I thought it would be a very timely read. It definitely was. Obviously real life is, hopefully, not normally as filled with conspiracies as fiction; however, Need You Now was a gripping read. If you like conspiracy thriller novels full of political and corporate intrigue, with a bit of romantic interest, then you’re going to enjoy this one! Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=2568

Another fast-paced suspenseful plot. Good premise and likeable characters. Patrick Lloyd and Lilly Scanlon, once lovers, are reunited and on the run. Someone believes they have the means to uncover the whereabouts of billions of dollars lost in a Ponzi scheme. Their lives depend on uncovering the truth. Set mostly in New York, I enjoyed the descriptions of some of the city's landmarks and neighborhoods. Recommended.

Grippando really knows how to weave a story together! The book starts out with Wall Street Ponzi scheme. Eventually, it involves a Swiss Bank, the CIA, the FbI, and the NSA. There are also people working undercover to find money hidden from the Ponzi scheme. The plot jumps around a lot from one character to another, but eventually everything comes together. A great story line. It was hard to put the book down. I highly recommend it.

What starts out as a Ponzi scheme and 2 billion dollars missing, becomes a fast paced mystery. There are twists and turns, including the FBI, Treasury department and the CIA, all of them trying to locate the missing money. Patrick, a low-level stock trader, reunites with an old girlfriend, Lilly, to try to determine what happened. To me this book was a page turner