cover image No Admission

No Admission

Robert Winder. Viking Books, $17.95 (464pp) ISBN 978-0-670-81221-9

Winder roots his spellbinding novel in his experiences as a British journalist and editor with an insider's eye on international finance. In London, an expert breaks into Chips, the fail-safe computer code which sends huge sums from dollar citadels in New York to Europe. Eager young British reporter Erica Sanders hears rumors about Citibank covering up the loss of $100 million and flies to Manhattan in search of a story. When Erica vanishes, her brother Ericalong with friendsis determined to find her. Switching back and forth between London and New York, the author animates the actors in a remarkably large cast: Chips's controls at the New York Clearing House; officials at Morgan Guaranty and Chase; elusive terrorists and many more, all trying to hide secrets about a conspiracy to reduce American banks to penury. The reader is treated to a tense, crisis-packed suspense/thriller with all-too-believable intimations of official chicanery. (Mar.)