The Devil's Banker

The Devil's Banker by Gary Van Haas Based on a True Story

A STUDIO7360 review.

From its first page, The Devil's Banker pulls you onto a midcentury movie lot — the kind you'd find at MGM or Warner Brothers in their golden age. The voice is pure film noir, rich with detail, and the imagery is immediate. Inspector Serge Porter steps into frame — handsome, well-tailored, fedora and all — and you know you're in capable hands. It’s this characterization that paints a clear picture of Inspector Serge Porter, an American-born, British MI5 Inspector, tall, aggressive, and fearless. Masterful.

The subject matter is timely and unsettling. Enabled by the Vatican, the cross-border graft, greed, murder, and institutional corruption cross borders without apology. What makes this story genuinely compelling is that it happened. The author includes links to real-world journalism covering the actual events, which adds a layer of uncomfortable authenticity that lingers well after the last page.

The storytelling does require patience. The narrative shifts back and forth in time, and those jumps can interrupt the flow. Readers should know going in — stay with it. The payoff is worth the work.

A note for Kindle readers specifically — older devices may find the formatting amplifies the narrative's ambitious time shifts. The story itself, however, is structured with clear intention.

This is a mature, researched, and rewarding read. For the strength of its true story alone, and the craft of bringing it to life, The Devil's Banker earns a well-deserved four stars.

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