Stead is a wonderful writer whom I need to read more of, having only read All Visitors Ashore and My Name Was Judas. Risk doesn't quite grab me as much as either of those did, although it's well-written. I think the problem (for me) is that the protagonist seems to drift through life without taking any actual decisions or actions. Quite possibly that's the point, given the title, but it doesn't work for me. Also there's the sense that Stead doesn't quite know the book's setting (the London banking sector) well enough - some of the details don't ring true. Nonetheless, it's Stead, so it's never going to be less than good. ( )