A book reveiw of THE SWINDLE

I was asked to write a review of my own novel and decided to write in the third person.

I'm not surprised this novel's first version received the good review it did from a news group. I did some research on the book before writing this review, and can see why another author had called it a fascinating blend with imagination. While the novel; a re-edited version of its original, offers thrill, twists and turns, and excitement, it mainly looks at three topics: the inner workings of a big (multinational) company's business systems; specifically the measurement and reporting of financial information, while presenting a plausible case for a swindle — how surveillance technologies are used to secretly monitor people and steal the intellectual property of people — and how gang stalking and related methods are used to target whistle blowers. However, despite these heavy-sounding topics, the story offers its thrilling moments and excitement, and along the way makes it evident that the author had firsthand experience in the world of big companies. The Author's note in the book made me appreciate his concern for impressions that might be created by reading it. And having spoken with the author; who explained that the sources of some information used in the book remain undisclosed for their own benefit, considering the sensitive nature of the information, I'd say he was quite  responsible in writing the book. This is from the preface, "The story represents a period of approximately one year, which would have spanned August 2007. It is not based on a true story although events in it are inspired by; however not based on, certain events that have happened for real. In its entirety, the story is not to be considered real."

It's my suspicion the story makes reference to what is considered today to be government classified information. The novel isn't a spy story nor is it a book about espionage, and this is because the author's approach weaved together bits and pieces of information from various sources and topics, making it a different type of cross-genre story. But don't be surprised if in the future, information in the book is revealed to be formally acknowledged, in a similar way; in principle, to the secretive existence of Echelon; Global Surveillance System Echelon Global Surveillance  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON), MK Ultra; the secret experimentation on civilians by the CIA MKULTRA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKULTRA), and the John F. Kennedy assassination; the conclusions of the official Warren Commission investigation questioned for their accuracy to the truth (Almost immediately after the Warren Commission Report was issued, several researchers began seriously questioning its conclusions. … JFK Assassination http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_John_F._Kennedy#Public_response_to_the_Warren_Report). In these cases the truth of events and activities was withheld until a later date when they were formally acknowledged by the governments and groups involved.

Now onto the story… The story's main character; Anthony Brina of Toronto, is presented as an upstanding and down-to-earth executive of integrity, and Mina Kent; his professional colleague and friend from California, is shown to be a loyal friend to Anthony in his time of need — while her profession in journalism sees its own share of corruption. The book's writing is easy to read and it has its moments of elegant prose, and it also offers a good flavour of Toronto and especially Rome as the story moves to different cities; including New York and Los Angeles and the campus of MIT. There is no shortage of twists and turns in the story; they include a leak of sensitive information that puts a United Nations resolution; which affects the launch of the secretive bioengineered product in the story at risk — the mysterious ending of Eva Su; a woman who intercepts Anthony and tries to draw his deep affection — Mina having to reluctantly distance herself from Anthony for her own safety — the unexpected display of the secretive affects of the genetic-altering product which the multinational company has developed — and the surprising climax to Anthony's plan to expose a massive cover up. And beyond these moments of intrigue, the following highlight the book's multi-faceted style: Anthony finding out his mother has suddenly died when his sister tells him to stay away — the display of the futuristic bioengineered technology which is central to the swindle of hundreds of billions of dollars — the chase at the Coliseum and confrontations in Rome and Los Angeles — romantic moments at the Fountain of Trevi and Piazza Navona; also in Rome — a press conference with candid dialogue about the controversy surrounding the multi-national company's global scale product launch, and some lighthearted moments — dialogue about sensitive business information of the international conglomerate — and Mina's live televised report which sees an assassin trying to get to her. I won't comment on the story's ending, I don't want to give it away, but it has a  touch of old-fashioned heroic-like romance.

The book has several provocative references listed in its endnotes, including a news story which was in The Washington Post. And not unlike the case of David Milgaard who was wrongfully imprisoned in Canada for 20 years, the story also looks at Anthony's unjust victimization; in his case for the discovery he made in the multi-national company. In both cases the accused was in fact innocent.

I must admit the most enjoyable aspect of preparing to write this review was my interview with the author; Frank Riganelli. He first explained to me that it's always a challenge for him to talk about the book because of the sensitive aspects of it. And after having our talk I could understand how an author of this book could chose to not speak of it at all, which made me respect his effort all the more. And what I am referring to is how people have been severely and unjustly discredited for revealing information about some of the sensitive topics in the book. When I asked Frank why he wrote the book, he didn't hesitate to say it was a story he wanted to tell because it needs to be told — before he shared with me his feeling that good and decent people in our societies are targeted for destruction and or monitoring, when they are in fact undeserving of it and suffer unjustly for it. My next question which others have also asked him was if he is the main character in the book. He answered by saying that although the book is not an auto-biography, parts of it are auto-biographical in principle and that he wouldn't go into details about which parts those were. I found him careful in talking about the book and in his choice of words at times because of the precarious aspects of the story, however he was very open in talking about his background which allowed him to write the book — and in sharing his thoughts about writing it. He had a former career in the operations group of several well-known Fortune companies in Canada, and his degree is in Industrial Engineering. He shared with me that many aren't aware of what I.E.s (Industrial Engineers) do, which among other things includes working in the area of cost development; a part of the story which is evident — and that his formal training and then experience in the area permitted him to write the storyline about the swindle. He was clear in saying that the part of the book about the swindle is real in principle, and that he had personally been involved in a similar matter which had the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) discuss a report about a Fortune company, and that the SEC had corroborated the company's guilt of fraudulence in the matter. When I asked him about the information in the book regarding gang stalking and related methods; and their affects on targeted people, he told me there are numerous accounts of victimization and that the information is not difficult to find. But when I asked him about his sources, he became tight-lipped and only said that people have been unjustly discredited for revealing information about aspects of the topics in question. He said that gang stalking has been reported on in newspapers, and that the information available on different theories relating to more sophisticated aspects of it, in many cases are legitimate; although not yet formally acknowledged in this problem. The interview then became a bit quiet at that point so I changed pace and asked him if he knows a Mina Kent or Eva Su for real. He answered that he had known a woman who the character Eva is somewhat based on, and that he wished he knew a Mina Kent. He explained that the character of Mina is a metaphor for how some people in the media have offered assistance to victims like Anthony. I asked him if he was a victim like the main character, and he replied that his circumstances had changed for the worst years ago while in his professional career in Fortune companies. He went on to say that it's not an easy thing to talk about because people who tell the truth about certain aspects of victimizations are often smeared — but he did say unequivocally that gang stalking is real and dangerous and that's it's been reported on in the news, and that people should not try to cover it up. I asked him how he was able to combine the many different aspects in the story, and he said it's in ways like a balancing act of working with ideas. They all have to relate reasonably to each other and if they don't the story risks leaning too much to one side of the high wire, and possibly falling off it. The author went on to say how he enjoyed writing about the characters and inner workings of the multi-national company, because a lot of it came from his own personal experiences. And he added that writing about the characters and their relationships was also fun; being able to draw upon his life experiences while adding some imagination. He said he enjoyed writing about Rome and it's sites; having been to the city himself, and wanted to offer the cities beautiful and historic sense to the story. "Rome is one of those places that makes you stop a moment and appreciate all that has gone on there in the past. I thought to use the city as a location to offer the sense of historic romance to the story, which provided for some softer scenes with the characters; writing about Piazza Navona with its cafes and famous statues, and the Fountain of Trevi," he explained.

My final question was about the character Ken Striker and why he wrote the character the way he did. And in reply Frank said that in ways I was like a Ken Striker by offering the interview — Ken being a journalist who helped Anthony by revealing sensitive information to him about secretive government activities. He explained that Ken had to be a strong type of character for what he was to bring to the story, and that the name Striker served to help that impression. He added that Ken is a seasoned veteran in his work and has seen a lot in his career, which lets him withstand the influences of gang stalking activities. He serves to offer the voice of insight the author explained, and his character allowed for a reasonable way to introduce the information which is revealed. He added that in real life that's how it usually happens in such situations; the revealing of undisclosed information. And, he said the character; the way he wrote him, brings the necessary credibility to his role in the story. "If I wrote the story in a way that had Anthony break into a government building and steal the information, that would have brought the story in a different direction," he explained. "And also, I was working within the idea of the media helping a targeted individual."

We wound up the interview with my asking about Frank's future plans and next book, and he answered that the horizon didn't look very good for him. He said he is experiencing the continued effects in his life of the monitoring and surveillance of him, which had started years ago in his former career — and that the reported sales of the novel has been near zero which means no royalties from it. He also said people have wanted to know what happens next with Anthony, but without a reasonable chance at writing a sequel to The Swindle for his circumstances; which include severe financial setbacks, he said it looks like they'll never find out. I asked him if he could comment on his circumstances when he paused in thought a moment before replying, "Let's just say the things I do don't remain solely with me, and not that I do anything wrong, but the meddling creates problems."

This excerpt is from chapter 10 of The Swindle:

"Within fifteen minutes he was at Albergo Ottocento. It was a nineteenth century hotel nestled between adjoining businesses that fronted the street — a design of a continuous three-story stone structures that ran the length of the city block. The glass and marble décor provided for a modern setting within the older theme, and it was complete with a rooftop restaurant.
    He paid the driver and walked into the hotel lobby to book a room, when he asked for Mina. After dropping his bag in his room, he immediately went to hers on the second floor and knocked on the door — room 213.
    “Si,” she called out from inside the room.
    “Mina, it’s me, Anthony.” The door opened and he saw her standing in her bathrobe, looking a little worried.
    “Come in come in. What’s this all about?”
    He walked into the room as his shoes tapped on the wood flooring, before he abruptly stopped. “I got an anonymous note sent to my apartment,” he began saying with swift words. “It says I’m a target in a program that thinks I’m a genius—”
    “Hold on,” she interrupted. “Have a seat and tell me what happened from the beginning.” He wasn’t himself she thought to herself. She had never seen him like this and knew he had good self-control, and wasn’t prone to panicking or getting visibly nervous.
    “Do you want a glass of water?”
    “No, I’m okay,” he replied, as he took a deep breath to relax, before looking at her with dead seriousness. “Gene-Aid is a fraud,” he said plainly.
    She didn’t say a word. This wasn’t what she expected. “A fraud?”" ...