Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite

Susan R. Levy’s Galleon Investments follows Anna Little, a Baltimore waitress whose new relationship with stockbroker Evan Kaczmarek brings her close to Galleon Investments, the boutique firm where he works. The company was founded by Randolph Galleon, an aging financier who built his business around political clients, motivated by a lifelong attachment to Dundalk. His son Lionel expects the firm to secure his future, although his ambitions extend far beyond ordinary brokerage work. Meanwhile, Evan’s brother Perry returns to Baltimore carrying a criminal history that places him uncomfortably close to Lionel’s world. When a major European chemical company announces plans for a factory at Sparrows Point, new money begins moving through the community as Anna’s stepfather Thomas commits his retirement savings to its stock. Soon, private fortunes become dangerously dependent on who profits next.

Susan R. Levy’s Galleon Investments is outstanding financial crime fiction, and this thriller knows how to put pressure on a scene until everybody has something to answer for. You see that in a covert meeting inside an abandoned Dundalk drug house, then with a private investigator tracking suspicious activity inside a French chemical factory. That criminal world gives Lionel Galleon room to show who he is once money enters the conversation and his entitlement takes over. Detective Garber is excellent company, a patient investigator who understands that the smartest move is letting somebody talk long enough to expose themselves as routine interviews expose inconsistencies around the case. Baltimore works beautifully as an asset here, with cramped police interview rooms giving the investigations their own atmosphere while heavy snow around Galleon’s office leaves gray banks enclosing the parking lot. Readers drawn to financial crime thrillers driven by greed-fueled murder are in for a real treat. Very highly recommended.