Nationally Recognized Midwest Book Review Recommends The Vault to U.S. Public Libraries

MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ, UNITED STATES, March 19, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Midwest Book Review (MBR) has endorsed The Vault, a new book by Wall Street veteran Stuart Z Goldstein, as one of their top recommendations for acquisition by Libraries across the U.S.

The Vault is a fictional tale of employees at Americlear, who after decades of mistreatment decide to steal $100 million in bearer bonds from the largest securities vault in the world. And as the heist unfolds, Hurricane Sandy slams New York City flooding the Vault and threatening to expose the crime.

MBR said, “The Vault draws thriller readers into a story that mixes elements of crime and confrontation with psychological and ethical considerations. A Wall Street vault that holds more riches than Fort Knox becomes the center of plotting, controversy, and the financial heart of America.

Goldstein takes the time to build personalities, motivations, and insights that not only give each character added dimensions, but makes their actions, reactions, and choices logical and realistic. This enhances the story’s tension, producing likeable characters whose involvements and interactions test the boundaries of moral and ethical behavior, financial savvy.

The Vault is one of our top recommendations to Libraries seeking stories that rest as much upon psychological insight as on strong character development, evolving interpersonal relationships, and bigger objectives of financial management. Suspense is nicely constructed with twists and turns readers won’t see coming, that add further value to the plot.”

“This is a significant book review,” said Alice Sherman, Assistant Director at publisher Pen Paper Press. “Today, there are more than 16,000 public libraries and they represent nearly 2% of all book sales in the U.S.. These libraries are always struggling to find the right book acquisitions in keeping with their mission and to serve readers in their communities.”

“Midwest Book Review, established in 1976, is one of the oldest and most respected independent book review companies promoting literacy and usage of public libraries. It is looked to as a leader in sourcing books for Librarians. We are so grateful for this vote of confidence in this new Wall St. financial thriller.”

Sherman claimed the excitement with The Vault was due to “how close it reflects the actual events.”

“In 2012, Hurricane Sandy did indeed flood the largest securities vault holding trillions in assets (stocks, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, bearer bonds, money markets, etc.). The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) aka Americlear in the book claimed in the media that the financial industry suffered no losses.

“But Goldstein imagines an alternative storyline. What if that was not true? What if, when the vault flooded, securities were lost, millions of dollars vanished, and a web of secrets was buried beneath the chaos? Would we have ever known? Would they have told you? How would investors and financial markets react?”

The Vault was released six weeks ago, and Sherman suggested there has been a growing list of positive book reviews and sales (reaching #43 on Amazon’s Kindle Financial Thrillers list).

Independent Book Review (IBR):
A nail-biting thriller centering on an audacious heist that coincides with a spectacular natural disaster. Goldstein does an excellent job with his antagonists—both plausible and nicely detestable. As The Vault starts to build toward a thrilling conclusion you can’t help but root for the anti-heroes.

Publisher Weekly’s Book Life:
This gripping tale of loyalty, betrayal, and redemption takes place against the backdrop of Wall Street's largest bank securities vault. Goldstein weaves a captivating narrative, exploring the complexities of corporate loyalty and the moral dilemmas faced by employees who feel betrayed by their higher-ups.
One of The Vault’s strengths is its treatment of the immigrant experience, the moral complexities of corporate life and the bonds that tie people together, making this compelling narrative stand out in the genre of financial thrillers.

Reader Views: “The Vault by Stuart Z. Goldstein isn’t just a modern-day heist novel. It’s also a story about making things right for people who have been overlooked and underappreciated…I found the concept of this story compelling as it’s not far removed from reality, and honestly, I was rooting for them throughout." — Richard Bist, Author, Book Blogger for Reader Views

Matt Levine, Money Stuff Column, Bloomberg: “DTCC is a little-known company that owns trillions of dollars of stocks and bonds on behalf of everyone else (in U.S. financial markets) -- it is such an obviously good subject for a thriller.”

About the Author:

Stuart Z Goldstein served as senior advisor/spokesperson at The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) for two decades, serving three CEOs. He’s co-authored two small books in plain English explaining the inner workings of U.S. capital markets that were used in lobbying Congress on the Dodd-Frank legislation, requiring the reporting of credit default swap trades to a centralized trade repository.
www.amazon.com/Vault-Stuart-Z.../dp/173663223X

Alice Sherman
Pen Paper Press
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