Shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 2012.
Robert Harris' latest book is gripping, compelling and unsettlingly a little too close to the truth. Set entirely over the course of a single day, The Fear Index follows the genius owner of an incredibly successful, computer controlled, hedge fund in his quest to find out who is trying to destroy him, even as the world's financial markets head for collapse.
CWA Judges' comment: “Highly readable account of a scientist who once worked on the Hadron Collider and now runs a hedge fund. Intriguingly ambiguous take on the Frankenstein story.”
Dr Alex Hoffman is a legend. An American physicist once employed on the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, he now uses a revolutionary and highly secret system of computer algorithms to trade on the world's financial markets. None of his rivals is sure how he does it, but somehow Hoffman's hedge fund - built around the standard measure of market volatility: the VIX or 'Fear Index' - generates astonishing returns for his investors.
| Primary Genre | Thriller and Suspense |
| Recommendations: |
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Closing date: 15/10/2026
Dr Alex Hoffman is a legend. An American physicist once employed on the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, he now uses a revolutionary and highly secret system of computer algorithms to trade on the world's financial markets.
The Fear Index features in the following genres: Thriller and Suspense, eBooks of the Month, Fiction, Recommendations
Paperback, Hardback, CD-Audio. £8.99, down from the £9.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Fear Index was written by Robert Harris and published by Arrow Books Ltd an imprint of Cornerstone
The Fear Index has 385 pages
£8.99, reduced from £9.99. In Stock.
