Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice

Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice

Rating

8.5

The Pequod Review:

Red Notice is a thrilling memoir of Bill Browder's experiences running a hedge fund in Russia, beginning with his 1990s-2000s investment successes and continuing through a shocking case of mistreatment by the Russian authorities — which culminated in the torture and murder of Browder’s lawyer (Sergei Magnitsky). It's a well-told story and along the way Browder provides real insights on his investment strategy (the way Browder uncovered price anomalies in the shares of Russian oil companies make up some of the best parts of the book), the difficulties of doing business internationally ("Russian business culture is closer to that of a prison yard than anything else"), how the American legislative process works (Browder would successfully lobby Congress to pass the 2012 Magnitsky Act), and the horrors of the Putin regime. Browder sometimes focuses too much on mundane personal events and he doesn't always go into sufficient detail on his most substantive experiences, but his story is such a remarkable one that it remains a gripping read anyway.