The Day Trader

I do not understand the negative reviews on this novel. I found this book to be very well written and thoughtful. Stephen Frey is a lot of writer.

There's a point in Day Trader that you find yourself saying 'a guy this talented couldn't be this much of a nitwit.' That may be harsh but yet it's a valid criticicm of whether or not we like the protagonist. Even more importantly, we're into the protagonist's life: can we believe him?James Crumley for example, the great Raymond Chandler, James Burke once in awhile, Elizabeth George from time to time, write about characters we don't necessarily like. However in those instances, the writing is so brilliant as to carry your distaste. Your dislike of the main character, I submit, becomes sublimated into the story and the telling. But with Augustas McKnight, we are constantly scratching our head. A man brilliant enough to decipher the Wall Street Journal, daily, in his spare time, should realize that when his wife works until two in the morning and comes home in strange underwear, something is wrong. Counselling may be in order. Denial isn't a good choice. And there are many other incongruities.Hey. This is a good, "B" movie. It's entertainment. You won't remember one passage. But it's 7 o'clock at night and you're at Newark Airport and they just announced your flight's been delayed three hours. This then becomes a great book. But Frey has in fact written better and probably ought to get back to writing better before we start expecting more Day Traders. He is worthy of better efforts. An OK read. Not necessarily a good read . . .unless you're at Newark Airport.

Frey's books just get better and better. The surprise ending made it worth staying up late to finish it. I'm not much of a reader, but Frey's writing makes it easy. Much like Steinbeck's novels, he keeps the pace, and doesn't make the reader strain to keep the momentum. I really enjoy the financial points of all of the books. This one has a little less financial content, and more of the "who done it" theme. I'll look forward to getting Silent Partner, and catch up on the books I've missed in the mean time.

This was my first time reading a Stephen Frey book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I like the way he leaves the reader hanging at the end of each chapter. It kept me hanging on and therefore, I felt implored to read the next chapter because I wanted to know the resolution. However, Stephen Frey doesn't give you the answer in the next chapter, he keeps you reading and provides the answer dispersed throughout the rest of the book. That is a great approach! I read this book in 2 1/2 days, and I usually hate to read, but I enjoy finance and I was a former day trader myself, so I can relate to Augustus's humdrum life.I found Agustus McKnight's ignorance about his best friend, Roger and his wife frustrating. I often yelled out loud "you idiot, Don't you get it" as if he could hear me. The ending didn't surprise me as it did other readers. I figured out who Roger was about half way through and I figured out about Augustus's wife and Vincent about the same time. Although, the muderer was a surprise to me. Great book and I'm in the process of buying more of Stephen Frey's novels.

`The Day Trader'is Stephen Frey's latest foray into the financial thriller. Not his best but still quite enjoyable.When Augustus McKnight gets lucky on one of his stocks and makes a significant profit he thinks it'll make things all better for him and his wife. Wrong. Before he gets a chance to say anything she tells him she's leaving him and wants a divorce-it seems there is a greener pasture with her boss. The next day she is found murdered. He will be the beneficiary of a one million dollar life insurance policy taken out six months earlier. So he quits his regular job and decides to become a full time day trader. Needless to say there is a detective on his case as well as an insurance investigator. Now for some reason this seems very surprising to the, obviously very naïve, Augustus. With some neat twists and turns, Frey has written an entertaining novel. The biggest flaw in this book (fairly significant) is the protagonist. Through most of the novel I could not have cared less about Augustus. As mentioned by other reviews, and to put it plainly, he was just too dumb to care about.I kept waiting for him to get smart but the book ended before I got there.Though the novel tells you a little about trading, it mostly deals with the murder mystery.