Title: Vanquish of the Dragon Shroud: Murder, Intrigue, and the Hidden Wealth of the Red Nobility
Author: Gregory E. Seller
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 9781504962699
Pages: 288
Genre: Fiction/Thriller

Reviewed by: Anita Lock

Read Book Review

Buy on Amazon

Pacific Book Review

A celebratory evening suddenly goes amiss when an explosion occurs on a yacht. Six out of eight passengers are accounted for while one dead body is located and another is missing. Ethan Chandler—owner of the yacht—deduces the absentees to be Logan Aronheart, his hedge fund partner, and Maxine (Max), Logan’s wife. Shortly afterwards, Ethan and his wife Jackie receive news that Max is alive, which is a mystery considering that Max’s husband deliberately threw her off the yacht. When people start disappearing, mystery quickly unfolds into mayhem, especially when the firm’s biggest client is involved with the Chinese Communist Party.

Gregory E. Seller crafts an edgy page-turning plot in his debut thriller Vanquish of the Dragon Shroud. Seller weaves suspicion and suspense from the get-go into his third person narrative. Inspired by “current events in the world of investment and politics,” Seller sets the mood of the investor domain by opening with a posh yacht party. Yet when it suddenly turns into an unexpected disaster, Seller takes advantage of this scene to begin twisting his plot with a series of confusing clues. Although many in Seller’s cast are affluent, the unsettling maritime incident throws them into a tizzy. They find themselves in survival mode since someone out there wants them dead. Seller surrounds his well-defined and complex cast with a wide variety of foils that range from local police and FBI to ruthless Chinese agents.

Reminiscent of Hitchcock thrillers that always reflect historical and political themes of times, Seller zeroes in on the world of money laundering and the covert operations between countries—and in this case, between China and the United States. While an unnerving reminder that “business and politics trump ethics…and the law,” Seller’s storyline—which is aptly lacing his narrative with the behind-the-scene workings in the investment realm—is nonetheless gripping. Key to Seller’s plot is dialogue and the way he employs this literary tool to create character interactions and develop relationships— another driving force used in Hitchcock thrillers. Seller’s use of dialogue creates a constant ebb and flow (tension and ease) throughout his narrative.

Besides his excellent use of dialogue, Seller also keeps his plot moving by incorporating other literary elements that include alternating between unanticipated and often time juxtaposed character scenes, backstories, cliffhanging chapters, and ticking clock scenarios that lead to a surprise ending. In closing, Seller says it best in describing his storyline: “You don’t have to be an investment expert to become fascinated about a story in which the investment business becomes a conduit for hiding illicit assets of foreign governments in the United States. It is a lucrative business from a financial standpoint, but one that can become dangerous when secret ownership, and political alliances begin to unravel.” Indeed, a fascinating read with wide audience appeal!

Maxine Aronheart is the stunning wife of a handsome and successful Beverly Hills hedge fund manager. A celebratory evening on the company yacht Copious turns to horror as the yacht suddenly explodes and is engulfed in flames. Maxine is thrown overboard by her husband Logan, as Copious is rapidly sinking. He says to her, “You’ll forgive me”! Then, he vanishes. Was he trying to save her or kill her? In a story taken from current headlines, a power struggle in China results in a battle for control of billions of dollars in hidden assets. The Shroud of the Red Dragon is a multibillion-dollar business enterprise that hides the personal wealth of families of the Red Nobility, leaders of the Chinese Communist Party. They have hidden their vast wealth from the Chinese people and from the world, but a purge of the old regime threatens to expose the secrecy of these illicit assets. The new leader in China sends his agents to repatriate, for his own purposes, the hidden assets of the former regime. The secrecy of the assets of the Shroud, and the struggle for control must be protected at all costs, even if it means death to all who learn of it. Logan, his family, and business associates are caught in the middle of this deadly battle for possession of the secret assets. He ends up fighting the new leader’s murderous henchmen and, ultimately, his own government. His quest turns to a desperate struggle for survival, revenge, and redemption.
Gregory E. Seller spent forty years in the public and private pension investment and administration business. He is a frequent speaker and writer on pension and retirement security issues and consults on those topics for private and public organizations. This is his first novel. He lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.