Final Venture
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Read the first chapter here
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"This is thriller writing of a high order"
- Publishing News

"Ridpath has the rare gift of being able to write clearly and simply about the corporate world in a way that suggests he actually wants the reader to understand it."
- The Times

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© Michael Ridpath 2004

Simon Ayot, fast-rising English star at Revere Partners, one of Boston's top venture capitalists, seems to have everything going his way. Newly married to Lisa, a beautiful biotech researcher, he's about to pull off his first major deal. Simon is devastated when Frank Cook, senior partner at Revere and his father-in-law, kills the funding for his hot new internet investment. But his anger quickly turns to terror when a few days later Frank is found dead at his remote beach house. And, as the police soon discover, Simon was one of the last to see him alive.

Desperate to save his marriage and stay out of jail, Simon begins his own investigation into Frank's murder. What is the truth about Revere's gold-plated investment, the secretive BioOne? Was Frank really killed for his multimillion-dollar share in his firm's profits? And who will be next to die? In the biotech world the risks are sky-high. And for some the rewards are worth killing for…

Final Venture is published in paperback in the UK by Penguin and in the US
by Signet.

In Final Venture I have returned to the world of venture capital. Stock markets have gone wild for start ups with huge expenses and no profits in sight, and these have become some of the most valuable assets in venture capitalists' portfolios. But are these companies worth anything? Some must be, but, just as certainly, some must not. It is quite possible for a venture capital investment to be worth several hundred million dollars one day, and nothing the next. This can be the fate of many biotechnology companies. A new drug can take decades and hundreds of millions of dollars to develop. That money can be recouped with a handsome return on top, but only if the drug makes its way successfully through the clinical trials process. The stakes are high, and secrecy is vital, as I found out when I tried to talk to people in the industry. A perfect background for a thriller.

The book gave me the chance to explore the experiences of an Englishman in America. I am married to an American, and have spent a lot of time there. The hero of the book, an Englishman from a very traditional background, is also married to an American. He is attracted by the openness and can-do attitude of the country, but can't quite shed his English reserve. The action takes place in Boston, a city renowned for its glittering new high-tech and biotech companies, as well as for its old families, and traditional attitudes.

Although my fourth book, Final Venture was difficult to write. This doesn't seem fair: surely by now the whole process should have become dead easy? Well, it hasn't, but I believe Final Venture was worth all the effort.