The Last Earnings Call

Evan Cole writes financial thrillers about the people who notice what the numbers are hiding. Born and raised in Dunedin, New Zealand, Evan studied commerce at the University of Canterbury, then spent eleven years as a forensic accountant and investor-relations adviser, listening to hundreds of earnings calls. He now lives in Ghent, Belgium. He began writing at fourteen, filling school exercise books with mysteries, but a finance career pushed fiction aside. The idea for his first novel arrived midway through a long call, when a confident executive's answer didn't quite match the page in front of him. Finding the time, and the nerve, to write it proved harder than any audit.

For Evan, writing makes complicated systems human. He builds each book from a single question, then researches the filings, procedures, and psychology behind it until the story holds up against reality. He wants readers to feel the pulse of a ticking clock, and to finish the last page looking more closely at what they are told. Away from the desk, he swims in cold water, restores old fountain pens, and rereads John le Carré and Patricia Highsmith. A former audit partner who taught him patience remains his greatest influence. Every morning begins with a walk before the first coffee. He values honesty, curiosity, and doing small things properly.