Review: "The Wall Street Games and Losses"
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 4, 2014
This is another magnetic novel written by Author Stephen Douglass.  It kicks off in New York City, 1980, with Louis Visconti, 33 years old, multimillionaire, living the lavish high life.  His passion is possession and power, never interested in crossing the bridge into marriage.  He is an investment broker for the Wall Street firm of Mara, Griesdorf and Visconti. In the previous novel, Jim Servito's death left more than 300 million dollars that was from unpaid petroleum taxes money laundered from Canada and the United States.  Mike King maneuvers that money back from the Cayman Islands into the United States as a trust fund managed by Louis Visconti.  Karen Servito, Jim's widow, and Mike King are now married and Mike has legally adopted Phillip, Jim's son at 10 years of age.  Though Phillip is the sole beneficiary of his father's estate, Mike and Karen are overseeing the management of the trust fund.  Move on to 1987 and the situation in the middle-east is threatening to explode like a drum of oil.  They've produced more oil than there are buyers.  OPEC's control has weakened because of greed and the oil prices rise. Suddenly, almost without any warning or symptoms, on October 19, 1987, the great fall of Wall Street occurs, known as Black Monday.  Visconti has been in the Bahamas in isolation from news and phones.  When he returns, King's trust which had climbed in value to over 800 million has now been reduced to the original 300 million.  But he does not divulge this loss to King ... Visconti has mismanaged the trust all along, and he also knows of the secrets of how the money was laundered.  Soon, Jim Servito's daughter, Kerri Pyper, 21 years old, married to Brian, a profession football player, arrives in New York City and is looking for a job.  Disaster strikes her husband on the football field, the marriage fails, and before long she becomes romantically involved with ... Louis Visconti.  This novel reveals the highs and lows of Wall Street, and how it impacts so many lives which seem to rise and fall just like Wall Street.  From cover to cover, this story is extraordinary, finely honed, suspenseful, romantic, and a total thrill ride.  I'm looking forward to reading the last of The King Trilogy.  Highly recommend this powerful story.