By Carly Smith
Freezing Order details the many events—some incredibly surprising and others unfortunately not—in author Bill Browder’s life in relation to tax fraud and money laundering rooted in Russia. The book begins with a recap of Browder’s previous book, Red Notice. Browder’s lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was beaten to death in a Russian prison. Magnitsky had been investigating tax fraud and money laundering committed by Russian officials, and Putin did not like this at all. As Freezing Order continues, Browder chronicles the ups and downs of working hard to pass the Magnitsky Act, which bans government officials who take part in human rights offences from entering the United States and freezes their assets. Not thinking this is enough, Browder turns to the European Union in hopes of grasping their interest and having the Act passed in EU nations as well. What follows is chaos, including, but not limited to, working with a judge who doesn’t seem to have all his capacities, an attempt of a honey trap on Browder in Monaco, poisonings of his acquaintances, and unexplained passport hiccups.
Browder writes the book like he speaks, which is not to say that the book is filled with colloquial language and casual syntax or grammar. Browder is a smart, well-educated man, and his vocabulary supports this. While he works hard to ensure that readers understand his anecdotes, he does not avoid legal, business, and financial jargon. Photos are periodically included, as well as footnotes, but the story nevertheless can be convoluted at times. This isn’t attributable to poor writing; the story itself is tricky to follow and confusing no matter how it’s presented.
I found myself rereading paragraphs, dog-earring important pages for reference, and making side notes, but this did not take away from my enjoyment of the book. I would have appreciated a glossary and an index and often wished that I could turn to the back of the book and find a page of the names, faces, and most important details of the people Browder writes about. Fortunately, the hard copy offers several blank pages at the back, perfect for jotting down the most important bits.
Unbelievable, jarring, and at times spooky, Freezing Order unveils the power that Putin’s Russia has on the rest of the world. The book’s stories left me with conflicting feelings—cynicism and hope, relief and angst, and frustration, and satisfaction. I felt pulled in many different directions and looked forward to the glimmers of humour that Browder included. Freezing Order is the right book to pick up and delve into when you have sufficient time and mental energy. You won’t regret having read it.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.