In Zero to Fifty by Michael P. Carroll, as oil tycoon Neil Dalton celebrates his 50th birthday in St Tropez with family and friends, he believes his life couldn’t get any better. On the surface he has it all: wealth, success and a beautiful young wife, who has just presented him with a Ferrari as a birthday gift. Then tragedy strikes, and throws Neil’s life and everything he once trusted into turmoil. A series of events uncover flaws in his once perfect life and marriage. He begins to expose corruption, murder and murky pasts as he tries to discover who his enemies are. Someone close to him is plotting his downfall, but who, and can he stay alive long enough to find out?

Zero to Fifty by Michael P. Carroll will take you on a roller coaster of twists and turns. The plot is engaging and I particularly enjoyed the story from the perspective of different characters. Neil is a great protagonist and not the clichéd character I was expecting of a billionaire oil trader. He was shown as a man who had lived a materialistic life to cover up feelings of inadequacy. The author really created a great back story for each character and this showed in the story line and dialogue. The conflict and suspense kept my attention throughout. The plot is richly layered with intrigue and tension as the protagonist embarks on a journey of self-discovery. The ending was not what I was expecting but was perfect, and I hope a sequel is imminent.

Deidre was determined to give her husband Neil a fiftieth birthday celebration that he would never forget. As Neil was a very successful commodities trader, they were quite wealthy, having a beautiful place in New York City and paying for such a spectacular trip. Not only were they staying on a yacht at St. Tropez in the South of France with a large group of his employees, but she presented him with a special gift after a wonderful lunch. But, this special gift resulted in a tragic event. When a French policeman suggested Deidre could be a suspect, seeds of possible infidelity were planted in Neil’s mind. In Zero to Fifty, written by Michael P. Carroll, Deidre and Neil’s twenty-five-year marriage experienced its largest crisis ever.

This novel is full of action and suspense; the reader is engaged from the first page to the last. There is a fast pace to the story, and the writing style is powerful, with subtle nuances. The plot unfolds in a chronological timeline, told from the perspective of several characters. The relationship between Deidre and Neil seems to go through several transformations, and the final resolution is not revealed until the last pages. Author Michael P. Carroll has written an exciting, intriguing novel in Zero to Fifty. There are breathtaking moments, and unexpected twists and turns. As new developments are revealed, the reader will find it hard to put the book down, as s/he needs to find out how it will all end. An excellent summer read!