Chasing Money: A Marty and Bo Thriller (Marty Schott and Bo Bishop)

Chasing Money - A Captivating New Crime Thriller Michael Balter’s debut novel, Chasing Money, is a fast-paced thriller that hooked me in the first few paragraphs and reeled me in page by page. Marty and Bo, the two protagonists, are friends and business partners in a struggling startup who make the mistake of taking money from the wrong person. When Nico is murdered, the killer sends them on a desperate search for $10 million and a mysterious missing painting. What I loved about this book: - The characters are vividly portrayed and anything but stereotypical. When they had money, Bo drove race cars and Marty collected fountain pens. Now they’re both struggling, and Marty’s marriage is on the rocks. When the two men are thrust into danger, they react like real people, with fear, confusion and questionable choices. - The dialogue is darkly humorous and exceptionally well-written. The tone reminds of great noir crime writers like Elmore Leonard. This would make a great buddy movie. - The author has done his research - on art history, Nazi loot, forging techniques - and is intimately familiar with the challenges of raising money for a startup. He weaves fascinating vignettes into his story without slowing down the pace. - Every chapter ends with a hook that made me want to read more. The action builds to a compelling climax, and then closes with a twist that promises more Marty and Bo thrillers to come. Bonus points - the book is set in Portland, Oregon and the surrounding area. I love reading books that place in my former hometown! I highly recommend Chasing Money!!

The story line almost goes out the way to be really complicated! The give and take of Russian vs English was fun to process.

It starts off with a literal bang and never lets up. The characters are very relatable, and the prose style is quick, clever, witty, and vivid. I was hooked from the first sentence and couldn't put it down. The twists and turns were very surprising, and I loved all the details on Silicon Valley startups and the art and business of art. I will absolutely read the next one.

The main characters - Marty and Bo are likable and the concept of a copy of a painting being substituted for the real thing - a masterpiece lost in the Nazi era with a Russian mobster trying to recover the real thing has its merits. The author definitely did his research and shared all of it (as in too much of it in, not in action, but in characters explaining it all. There is action.

Decent thriller, especially for a debut. Could use sone polish but that will come with additional installments. Looking forward to the next installment.

This was one of the few books I can earnestly say, I didn't to put it down (and often didn't). For me, this had me constantly saying, "one more page.... one more chapter" The author did a marvelous job of creating a world that felt very "real" with characters I liked and cared about, and on a lot of levels related to. Would love to read more by this author. 10/10 recommend for any thrill seekers, entrepreneurs, and oddly adventurous art lovers.

Great storytelling, fast paced thriller! Captures the reader from first chapter to last. Exciting, surprising story. This book deserves five stars! Michael Balter has been a story teller all his life. Michale writes a great story and takes the reader on an international thriller adventure.

Marty and Bo are like a lot of start-up founders I know - incredibly optimistic about the future, at times to the point of being delusional. You have to convince yourself of what's possible before you can convince anyone else. I never thought about those character traits in the context of a high stakes thriller with guns and death, but it works really well because these founders have the entire world against them, and they have to figure out a path through. The stakes felt really high! And all the other characters along the way are fully fleshed out, the spouses and artists and brokers all have fully realized worlds and personalities even if they are only in a few scenes. This book was a fun ride, and, having lived through start-ups myself, often hit too close to home! A great read!

I love art in crime fiction and the art aspects here were fascinating and helped propel the story. After an exciting opening, the mood takes a dive when everything is laid bare; picture a soufflé collapsing when you take it out of the oven. And, after that, it’s just a case of going through the motions. Neither Marty or Bo made for particularly good company; it was the baddies that held your attention.