Subtitled ‘Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos’, reviews variously describe it as “riveting..compelling”, a “gripping read” and “a tale of corporate fraud and legal browbeating that reads like a crime thriller”.

I can’t argue with any of that. Not since (in a previous job) I read the report into the failure of Grays Building Society have I read such an incredible but true page-turner about greed and corruption.

In total, high profile investors lost $1bn, with some individuals losing $1m each. Those sums aside, it remains impossible – for me, at least – to understand how investors could have been so gullible as to believe a drop out from university in her early 20s could possibly have developed a system which she claimed could save lives via a home blood testing kit.

Worst of all, the number of test results Theranos voided or corrected eventually reached a million. Lawsuits claiming incorrect diagnoses or inappropriate treatment have been consolidated into a class action, however it remains to be seen whether they will be successful or whether there are any assets left.

Whistleblowers deserve admiration, but none more so than the brave employees and ex-employees of Theranos. Many lost their jobs, some had breakdowns, family relationships broke down, one committed suicide, their personal emails were tracked, their homes watched and they were threatened.

A dystopian world indeed. Bravo John Carreyrou for not only investigating but for presenting one of the most complex real life  financial collapses in a readable form.