Calculated Risk

The Washington Post Book World called Katherine Neville's bestselling novel The Eight "a feminist answer to Raiders of the Lost Ark." Now, Neville remakes the rules of adventure fiction again with a gripping tale of financial intrigue and mesmerizing romance that whirls from the high-power money centers of New York and San Francisco to Paris and a breathtaking Greek island.

Verity Banks is the senior woman executive at the Bank of the World, a prestigious financial institution with offices around the globe. Head of Electronic Funds Transfer — and supervisor of some of the bank's most dedicated computer geniuses — Verity lives and breathes the world of big money. But when her power-hungry boss, Kislick Willingly III, axes her proposal to step up the bank's computer security, Verity finds herself thinking some remarkably treacherous thoughts. Her plan is simple. She'll break through automated security and hide some money in a place no one will find it — inside the bank's own computer system. She'll then point out to senior management how easy such a theft really is. It's a perfect caper (and perfectly harmless) until the reappearance of Dr. Zoltan Tor. Tor is the financial wizard who, twelve years earlier, taught his protege Verity everything about technology, commerce, and the fine art of sensual living. Now Tor is back with a challenge: Which of them can steal a billion dollars and invest it to earn thirty million in three months? To tempt her to take such an enormous risk, Tor gives Verity an edge: she can use a computer for her theft, but he cannot....

A fascinating insider's look into the world of high-stakes banking, A Calculated Risk is also an immensely enjoyable thriller of the ultimate scam, in which the players jet around the world, team up with bankers and baronesses, and, along the way, discover each other fully for the first time.

"A dizzying, enjoyable caper...After reading this hard-to-put down thriller, you may put all your money in your mattress." Los Angeles Daily News

"Romance and riches ensue for these fetching characters in a farfetched plot. Good escapist fare." Library Journal

"Alternately sounding like a romance novel...and a text on banking...[Verity's] story proceeds haltingly, disrupted by frequent recaps and descriptions of her emotional states...." Publishers Weekly

"A dizzying, enjoyable caper...After reading this hard-to-put down thriller, you may put all your money in your mattress."
LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
When financial executive Verity Banks' latest proposal is axed by her boss, she decides to show how easy it is to break through automated security, hide money, and then show senior management where it is. Then her former mentor, financial wizard, Dr. Zooltan Tor ups the ante, and dares her to steal a billion dollars, invest it to earn thirty million in three months, then put the original billion back before anyone notices. To heighten the challenge, Tor and Verity will compete against each other, though Tor gives Verity an edge: she can use a computer for her theft, but he cannot....
A BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH-CLUB ALTERNATE SELECTION

Katherine Neville was a global executive in data processing, and was a vice president of the Bank of America for many years. As an international consultant, she delivered computer systems for corporations and governments around the world. She was for some years a commercial photographer, professional model, and painter. Katherine Neville's novels have been translated into more than fifteen languages. She lives in Virginia and abroad.