Restitution

May 7, 2007
T
he plot setup of this debut thriller may sound familiar, if not trite: husband and wife in troubled marriage; wife found murdered; police focus on husband as prime suspect; husband must find wife's killer and clear his name. Fortunately, Vance does more than just embroider this theme. After the authorities accuse Peter Tyler, a kingpin at the Wall Street financial firm of Klein and Klein, of his wife's murder, Peter gets entangled in money scams, stolen art, a pharmaceutical giant and a brilliant, ruthless and byzantine act of vengeance. Peter's best friend, Russian business tycoon Andrei Zhilina, may hold the key, but not even Andrei's twin sister, Katya, has been able to contact Andrei in his Moscow office. Peter embarks on a strongly cinematic quest, which takes him from plush Manhattan offices and the Harvard Club to deserted warehouses and meetings with Moscow toughs. Vance's ambitious story line hangs together remarkably well, providing depth and surprises to what otherwise might have been just another fugitive action tale. 100,000 copies.

Starred review from August 1, 2007
Peter Tyler is flying high. Hes a Tom Wolfean Master of the Universe who runs the trading floor for a Wall Street investment bank. Hes wealthy and has adorned himself with all the trimmingsbeautiful home and beautiful wife. A former Ivy League basketball star, he is sure about everything in lifeexcept why his marriage is failing. Then his wife is brutally murdered, and hes the prime suspect for a vile NYPD detective and the tabloid media. Finding his wifes killerand clearing himselfmeans finding his closest friend, who has gone missing, and being menaced nonstop by Russian mobsters, thugs working for big pharma, a coldly evil Wall Street titan, and a Homerically evil art conservator. Restitution is intelligent, deft, and brisk, a page-turner in the best sense, especially for a debut novel. Vance is a retired Wall Streeter, and his insights into a rarefied world add to the novels appeal. Some readers may have trouble pulling for a Wall Street hero, but Vance skillfully strips away the prickly leaves of Peter Tylers character as one peels an artichoke, revealing the heart that lies in the center.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)