THE MONTH OF THE LEOPARD

Thrillers are not customarily fought out on computer screens, but when the powerful and ruthless Jean-Pierre Telmont, who controls the trillion-dollar Leopard Fund, determines to gain control of the world's capital, cyberspace proves to be as exciting an arena as any. Tom Bracewell, an economist working for an investment bank, must face and defeat Telmont to avert a world economic disaster. As the novel begins, Tom's Estonian-born wife of only three years, Tatyana, has just left him—or has she been kidnapped?—but Tom finds an attractive ally in Sarah Turnbull, who works for Telmont. As Tom searches for evidence that might explain his wife's departure, he discovers that she has been leading a secret life, has lied about her background and has access to three unbelievably large Swiss bank accounts. Meanwhile, Sarah is uncovering disquieting information about the Leopard Fund. After she and Tom meet, the action shifts across the capitals of Europe, as Telmont causes one government after another to collapse. The secret of the Swiss bank accounts is revealed at the climax, in an abandoned Red Army outpost in Estonia, where Tatyana, tracked by Tom, has been forcibly brought. The pseudonymous Harland, "a well-known financial journalist," describes the field of international finance with authority. There are problems: flat characterizations, gratuitous violence, unconvincing motivation for Telmont and a too-hasty denouement. But the book is a page-turner for anyone interested in high-stakes financial shenanigans. (July)