A MATTER OF WILL is a bit of a thematic departure for Adam Mitzner. Arguably best known for his superb legal thrillers, he trades the courtroom for the boardroom. While this is not his first foray into such territory --- he at least treads along the border of it in his fine novel, THE GIRL FROM HOME --- he deeply submerges himself into the world of high finance this time around (while not entirely abandoning the legal universe), bringing his strong and confident prose to bear on a complex topic while telling a fascinating and riveting story full of interesting characters and unexpected plot twists.

The book is divided into four seasons. It begins in winter during a professional hockey game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers. The chill that twenty-something Will Matthews feels isn’t from the ice in the arena or even from the weather outside. Rather, he is on the verge of being fired from his employment as an apprentice wealth manager at Maeve Grant, one of Wall Street’s most prestigious firms. Will has numbers to meet if he is going to stay there, and he is nowhere close to them. What he quickly learns, though, is that a guardian angel is sitting beside him in Madison Square Garden. His savior is named Sam Abaddon, and he is everything that Will is not --- confident, assured and extremely wealthy.

"Mitzner is a master at making the complex understandable for the average reader while not letting the intricate details of the subject matter that supports his story weigh it down."

Following a couple of hours of conversation and an after-game dinner (accompanied by his hauntingly beautiful significant other), Sam --- after a day or so --- entrusts Will with managing a portfolio in the low eight figures. He also sets him up with a new wardrobe and a number of other goodies. Life for Will becomes wonderful, particularly when he meets a newly minted and very successful lawyer, Gwen Lipton, who is involved as a defense attorney in a high-profile murder trial. Will’s life is better than he ever could have expected.

However, one day, a calamitous and shocking act of violence brings his life plummeting down to earth. He is seemingly on the verge of losing it all. But just when he is about to be shoved from the precipice, he is given a hand up from a highly unlikely source. Will is faced with an impossible decision: he can either lose everything or keep what he acquired...except for his principles. It is a true Hobson’s choice, one that he does not want to make. He is surprised, though, when a third option presents itself. He does not have the luxury of thoughtful reflection, but the path he should take is clear. All he needs is a matter of will to grasp it.

A MATTER OF WILL is a surprisingly quick read. Part of the reason for this is that Mitzner is a master at making the complex understandable for the average reader while not letting the intricate details of the subject matter that supports his story weigh it down. He also keeps a few plates spinning in his plots and subplots, so the reader will be left wondering what will happen next. The answer is never quite what one expects, thus inspiring a reading speed that is more a gallop than a canter. All of this --- and much more --- makes A MATTER OF WILL a perfect vacation read.