The House's Money

by Owen Sullivan

Passionate, idealistic, young Matt Whiteside has just landed the job of his dreams. Dressed to kill and running on pure ambition, he enters the ranks of mortgage-backed securities traders twice his age for one of the most prestigious firms in San Francisco.

Life couldn’t be sweeter.

But the roller coaster has only just begun. When he meets a beautiful woman, also on the upward move, his dreams appear to be unstoppable. But unbridled love too often hides the truth in its shadow and not everything is as it appears.

As he discovers the world of mortgage-backed securities, experiencing a soaring financial wave never seen before, Matt is welcomed with open arms into a seductive arena almost too good to be true. When insatiable greed raises its ugly head, jealousy and betrayal follow quickly behind. In a moment of brutal clarity, his world shatters with the realization he is merely a pawn in someone’s wicked game. Just as quickly as it all began, his dreams slip through his fingers as he struggles to hold on to a world that never really existed.

The House's Money made the 2013 Winners List:
Finalist Medal 2013 in Next Generation Indie Book Awards
2nd Place Award-Best 2013 Fiction from No. California Publishers & Authors Association
Honorable Mention Awards 2013 from New York, San Francisco, and Hollywood Book Festivals

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Suspense

266 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

Owen Sullivan is the award-winning author of The House's Money.

With a degree from USC’s School of Business in Real Estate Finance and Marketing, Owen Sullivan has attacked almost every corner of the real estate industry for over 35 years. From one tip of California to the other, he served as Senior VP for one of the largest builders in the country. In 1987, he ventured off to start his own company, developing and selling in excess of $300 million in real estate ventures.

The House's Money made the 2013 Winners List:
Finalist Medal 2013 in Next Generation Indie Book Awards
2nd Place Award-Best 2013 Fiction from Northern California Publishers & Authors Association
Honorable Mention Awards 2013 from New York, San Francisco, and Hollywood Book Festivals

Liquid Gold is the riveting follow-up to The House's Money, as well as being an outstanding read alone novel. Liquid Gold will be available August 2013.

Reviews

[Lauren Cecile · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The author did a good job making the bursting housing bubble fiasco interesting and understandable. The characters were rather flat and the villains were too one-dimensionally villainous, but it was a plot-driven story. The plot was fast-paced and the final resolution was a bit unclear and unfortunately, at least for me, unsatisfying.

I needed to see more relevant consequences for the people who created the mess that decimated the economy although this didn't happen in real life. One of the characters said, "This is white collar stuff. We get a slap on the wrist and a fine because nobody got hurt. Jail is for robbers and rapists."

The financiers, however, robbed and raped the people they lured in with slick marketing, teaser interest rates and lofty visions of living the American dream by living in beautiful, new, overpriced homes.
Overall, a good, quick, eye-opening read.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was hooked at page 2 and couldn't
put the book aside until I had finished.
I would highly recommend it to anyone. Great job Mr. Sullivan. You
have left me clamoring for more.

[Emracer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been a wonderful, fun read, full of twists and unexpected turns. It kept me captivated, itching to read more and more. Besides all the mystery and intrigue, the relevance to today's economic circumstances will shock and amaze you. I highly recommend this book!

[Katherine A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, Great story, writing is spectacular. Very intriguing and I cannot put it down.
Can’t wait till next read!!

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a mixed response to this book. On the one hand, the writing is only okay. Characters are fairly flat and relationships were underdeveloped. The plot wanted to feel like a mystery or a thriller, but there was no ambiguity or unknown information to cause any real tension or keep the reader eager for more.

However, the overall topic of the plot was the impact of subprime lending on the real estate market and how that impacted the overall economy in the mid-2000s. Reading this book is a good way to get a very high level picture of what was happening and why it had such a huge impact, without necessarily having to understand complex ideas around financial markets or economics.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a pretty bland story about some shady financial deals during the housing bust. There are few personal stories to try to engage the reader: a budding romance, a sneaky colleague, an amateur investigation, and an older couple losing their home due to bad financing. It all added up to... nothing exciting punctuated by long, boring dialogue. There are seeds of decent ideas her, but nothing exciting.

[Therese Marchetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!!! The characters draw you, in the plot, with all of it's twist and turns keeps you hooked. I read the house's money in one sitting. The references to local spots that i am familiar with were a surprise and very engaging. with each page i could wait to see what was next. Great read.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

The House's Money kept me on the edge of my seat! Excellently written, Owen Sullivan, the author, has a knack! As entertained as I was, I felt I also was educated in the rise and fall of the housing market. It was easy to relate to the characters. This is a book that just can't be set down. Definitely, a MUST read! Pure enjoyment!

[beth starkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two thumbs up!

This book "The House's Money" is a real page turner. Owen Sullivan has a flair for writing that does not come around often. It kept me enthralled from beginning to end. I hope that at some later date we will find out who the mystery man behind the demise of the most narcissistic Taylor Whitney.

[Genevieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read. The story has all the good stuff: romance, ambition, greed, betrayal and interesting characters. The author leaves you guessing until the end and wishing the story could have gone on and on.

[Marcela Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a First Reads Giveaway. I wanted to try and read a new genre of book. I tried this book and to my surprise, it got my attention. It was not a book I read right through without any breaks, but it did keep my interest with great characters, twists and thick plots. Thanks!

[Ed Fritz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping Book

This is a book that is hard to put down. It has some good people whom you can cheer and to balance them there are bad people whom you can keep. The hero, Matt, has his troubles and successes and it is all described inflicting language.

[Todd McPencow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to suspend reality too much in reading this book. It felt like the writer had a poor experience during the housing downturn and wrote this book as a commentary on it. Some of the writing is very good but at times the timeline of the events don't match up.

[John Prospero · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read

The book is a fun read and does give some insight into the mortgage crisis. The plot has some holes and sometimes it seems as if you are reading an abridged version because it's the gaps. But, I enjoyed it

[Candice Ellis]

Great read

This was an interesting book because the author used current events to make a suspense novel. This book was an easy read and very entertaining. It was very hard to put the book down once I started reading.

[Lovenia Chafee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Money for Hire

The whole books about money and the evil it can do along with the good. The selfishness that it brings out in some people. This mystery book doesn't want you to put it down.

[Bridget · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't get past the first few chapters. Maybe I'll try it again someday.

[Sandra Gobin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story.

I think this was a realistic view of how they real estate market worked. The attitudes and indifference were very real. The story kept my interest and was believable.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives some realistic views of the real estate downturn. A bit choppy

[joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Houses money

I liked the book it had a lot of interesting things in it. the bad guys go it in the end

[Deq Decara · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT book

knowledge.skeptic. relate. its a good book! enjoyed reading it.
Never gets old. A good guideline :') Kudos to the Author!

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting with a hint of everything, mystery, intri gue, romance, kept my attention.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

This book shows how easy greed overshadows some people. Easy reading,kept me interested throughout. This book shows what happened when the housing market bubble burst

[Mandee Renaldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book interesting , but mainly because I sell real estate. The plot may not interest everyone. It had some slow parts , but is an overall good storyline.