Rating: 
Summary: Not Bad For a Debut, But Still Needs Work
Review: I bought this book because I had grown tired of all the standard formula thrillers. Be they courtroom, military or espionage, they were all starting to wear a bit thin. I saw NUMBERED ACCOUNT and thought that it might be a good way to get off the beaten path. I had high hopes for it and for the most part, my expectations were met. In others, they weren't. First let me say that this is not exactly a page turner. There are parts that move quickly and then there are periods where the book lags so badly that I was tempted to put it down and pick up something else. But I plodded along and stayed with it and as I approached the end, the pace picked up, the tension increased and I really became concerned that the main character, Nicholas Neumann would find his way through to the end. Nick is a fairly straightforward character. Son of a Swiss banker father who is murdered when he is ten, he grows up in southern California, attends Cal State University at Northridge and goes on to become an officer in the Marine Corps. But the Marine Corps almost becomes his undoing and he leaves to attend Harvard Business School. At Harvard he meets his fiance and on the verge of success with her and his career, decides he must find out who killed his father 17 years before. This is the basis for the rest of the story. Nick quits his job and gets another one with a Swiss bank that specializes in private banking. His employer and the people he works with are not all they appear to be and Nick gets involved in the various intrigues of the office while trying to find out why his father was gunned down. Throughout all of this, Nick tries to adhere to his own moral code. He is not as strong a character as others I have read in fiction but this is what makes him all the more interesting. He is not without flaws, as the reader who discovers how his USMC career ended will discover. Throughout the novel, he maintains his integrity despite every roadblock he comes up against. This is a long book (with large print) that probably should have been shortened by 200 pages. I thought that there were just too many segues off into unrelated areas and they did nothing to enhance the book. In fact, they are the very plot gimmicks that slowed the pace and detracted from my enjoyment. Despite these comments, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it as beach reading or for readers who are snowed in. I am curious to read Mr Reich's next release, THE RUNNER because the plot line seems to hold a lot of promise as Reich takes his readers back to the period just after WW II for a story that involves the Nuremberg Trials and the hunt for justice. I think that with time and effort Mr. Reich could easily develop into an accomplished writer of page-turning, nail-biting thrillers. I'm willing to give him that chance and will do so with his next book. END
Rating: 
Summary: Incoherent Plot and Dull Blocky Writing.
Review: Numbered Account is a poor choice for any reader who wants thrilling action or sound and interesting writing. The plotting is incoherent. The hero, Neumann, has no reason to take the actions he takes -- saving the "Pasha" from DEA enforcement, being loyal to the bank which may have been behind the murder of his father... He acts to advance an artificial plot line, and not out of any character development. I do not mind the silly telescoping -- where he starts work, and within about a week he is handling huge multi-million dollar accounts -- but when combined with the plot defects listed above, they create a jerky feeling of being manipulated by an amateur author. The writing style is blocky and uninteresting. The author tells us many many things about Neumann, until chapter after chapter reads like a briefing book. The interactions between Neumann and other characters are stilted and do not seem to move either the plot or the character along. This is supposed to be an improvement over Ludlum and such? No, this is an easy book to put down.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Story - Great Detail
Review: I really loved this book. Bravo to Reich who has managed to produce a well written, fast-paced thriller. I loved all the banking details and descriptions of Switzerland. Good characters, good plot - just an excellent read altogether. I can't wait for the next Reich novel - The Runner.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Book
Review: I'm sorry, but I cannot BELIEVE that anybody could say that Numbered Account is "the worst book I have read in a long time." This book was great. Every character was richly textured and interesting. Most of the moves Neumann made were sensible and you could see why he was making them. Oh, and to Dave Vaupel I say this: I can read you like a book. You need to know that you can't judge a book by its cover. Thanks to you, I'm going to be laughing all the way to the bank.
Rating:
Summary: WORTH READING ONCE, TWICE MIGHT BE PAINFUL
Review: There is much to like about this book. I loved the beginning where the main character's incorporation into a secretive Swiss bank built wonderful anticipation and created an interesting atmosphere. I was certain I was in for a memorable reading experience. But as I finished the book, I found myself strangely disappointed. The last 200 pages were a bit of a chore. The main problem with this book is simple - it's too bloody long! At least 100 to 150 pages should have been cut/condensed/tightened. The ending was not worth the interminable build-up. Also, the characters were schizoprenic. One moment Nick and Sterling Thorne are hating each other, the next they are slapping each other on the back like old chums. Sylvia was dispatched with all too quickly, as if the author just wanted to get rid of her. It was confusing. Also, Mehlevi seemed to become more and more cartoonish as the book progressed. I found myself not caring at all about the bank takeovers - who cares if one greedy, immoral banker beats out another greedy, immoral banker? There weren't enough characters in this book to really care about. There were so many twists and character flip-flops it was almost as if, in an effort to be unpredictable, the author purposely made everything good bad, and everything bad good. Whatver the desired effect, I feel it partially backfired. And Nick lying to the DEA and Swiss authorities justso he could POSSIBLY get a crack at Mehlevi made him look unbelievably reckless. This book is worth reading, despite its length, but overall I was simultaneously satisfied and relieved to finish. Too many things went awry in the last 200-300 pages, and the book was just far too bloated. But worth plowing through - once!
Rating: 
Summary: A mixture of light and dark
Review: In his debut book, Mr Riche has written what could be termed as a reasonable attempt at an intelligent financial thriller, with several failings. The main plot outline: that of a young and successful New York banker returning to the land of his father, Switzerland to solve the mystery of his murder, makes for an exciting experience, as the hero battles and encounters shadowy bank executives, international drug lords and criminals and U.S Government law enforcement officers. A large portion of the book is devoted to the description of the workings of the financial world and that of a Swiss bank. The wire transfers of the bank's largest and most mysterious client are explained in minute detail. With a successful plot and exciting scenarios presented along the way, the book's faults come in the writing department. In several parts of the book this becomes quite bad as the author struggles to hold together the essential themes. Also, the several scenes between the main character and Swiss lover are written poorly indeed. In conclusion, I would recommend this book only to people who are seeking either a quick and easy thriller, or those who are interested in the field of international financial business and its relation to international crime.
Rating:
Summary: It was a dark and stormy night ....
Review: This is the worst book I have read in a long time. It was written as if Reich had a special word processor that contained on its keyboard every cliche known to man. Characters were cartoons, situations were predictable, descriptions were trite . Is there anyone out there who has read this book who couldn't figure out the solution to Neumann's quandaries at least a hundred pages before he did? Was he really thay dull? If so, how could these brilliant captains of Swiss banking mistake him for a bright shining star? Some descriptions were truly laughable. Does Syria really have a 'royal blue sky'? Are we really to believe that Cerutti was found shot through the head with a white fluffy pillow resting on his stomach? Did Sylvia always have to laugh huskily before,during, and after sex? This book sank into my skull with a dull sickening thud on a dark and stormy night.
Rating:
Summary: brilliant story
Review: Despite the literary-snob remarks against it, I loved this book. Excellent character development; believable suspense and action scenes; and all against the backdrop of big-money and international crime- Who could ask for more?
Rating:
Summary: Very worthwhile read
Review: The whole consept of the book was excellent, if you have been to Geneve you can relate. Great story, starts out strong, carries well but he seemed to quickly write the end and get the manuscript quickly off to the publisher, I would have like to have seen the bad guy suffer more, sorry he deserved it....
Rating:
Summary: Some good, lots of bad
Review: There were some good things about this book -- the detail about the Swiss finance, and some of the scenes in Zurich. And the plot had some good points as well. But Reich was never to make me care about the protagonist. Why should we care for him? When has he ever done anything good to make me care about him? What are his strengths, what are his weaknesses? The Harvard MBA is so one-dimensional (wouldn't it be nice, for a change, to have a charcter who didn't go to Harvard -- say Stanford, Chicago, or Wharton, to name a few). For example, he breaks up with his fiancee -- and then she takes him back, and he's returning to her. There should have been some heart to this. Didn't he have any guilt about sleeping with Silvia Schon? This flaw is demonstrative of the core problem with the book -- too much detail, too many intricate plots, without concern for how people think and feel. And -- it was too long. Not just that there were too many subplots, etc., but Reich needs to have a better sense about the length of book that is emotionally satisfying to a reader. Some books can be longer, because characters grow, or because they take over a long period of time. But a suspense type of book, based on plot instead of character, especially one that takes place over a short period of time, simply needs to be shorter. Also, speaking of time: the technique of Friday, or whatever, on top of the chapters, should have been more specific. An actual time of day should have been given. And -- minor point -- how could he be returning to the States only the day after the end of the main events? It's hard to believe that the Swiss authorities wouldn't want him to hang around -- wouldn't demand that he hang around. The implication was that he was leaving for good, too -- and leaving a country, moving, requires a little more effort. Finally, if you know German, the choice of names will drive you crazy.
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