nathaniel_1206's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a hundred pages from finishing this book and questioning whether to do so.
As an exercise in distraction or killing time while traveling, this is a great book. You're not gonna have to think very hard, and the pages turn very quickly.
There is an intriguing hook to this book, a United States Supreme Court Justice is accused of having repeated liaisons with a high priced escort. It's salacious, we've never seen that before, and it's interesting to think what the repercussions of that idea would be. A good hook.
The issue I have with the book, is it takes approximately half the book (170-ish pages) to dispense with that idea. Finder then decides to spin out a conspiracy from that hook. Who's behind the story? Were they after the Supreme Court Justice? I've read about another 140 pages of the conspiracy part of the story, and it's complete boilerplate thriller nonsense. There is nothing interesting about the conspiracy. Finder doesn't have anything else. Or if he does it lies in the remaining pages, but I have no confidence that's true.
Finder hasn't given me enough to keep me interested. Ridiculously wealthy scions. Trashy gossip websites. Super-secret Washington D. C. law firms. It all has the makings of an idea, and with a little work could be original and interesting, but its cut and paste thriller storytelling. Once Finder has resolved the Supreme Court Justice/high priced escort, he hasn't created enough intrigue to keep me interested in the conspiracy. Finder never lays out the conspiracy to do what, so the book goes through the same dumb boilerplate thriller story points. That would all be fine, and tolerable, if Finder could be bothered to point me in a direction, but he really can't. If he knows, he keeps that secret good.
I do have to say while its my first Joseph Finder, I find him much less condescending than other writers of thrillers, which may be the same praise as being the skinniest kid at fat camp. The writing is fine, Finder is never going stop you in your tracks with some turn of phrase. or some clever witticism.
Again, if you forget your book, and are scanning the airport newsstand, desperate to kill time on your flight, Finder is not a bad choice. If he shows up discounted on Kindle, I'm in.
As an exercise in distraction or killing time while traveling, this is a great book. You're not gonna have to think very hard, and the pages turn very quickly.
There is an intriguing hook to this book, a United States Supreme Court Justice is accused of having repeated liaisons with a high priced escort. It's salacious, we've never seen that before, and it's interesting to think what the repercussions of that idea would be. A good hook.
The issue I have with the book, is it takes approximately half the book (170-ish pages) to dispense with that idea. Finder then decides to spin out a conspiracy from that hook. Who's behind the story? Were they after the Supreme Court Justice? I've read about another 140 pages of the conspiracy part of the story, and it's complete boilerplate thriller nonsense. There is nothing interesting about the conspiracy. Finder doesn't have anything else. Or if he does it lies in the remaining pages, but I have no confidence that's true.
Finder hasn't given me enough to keep me interested. Ridiculously wealthy scions. Trashy gossip websites. Super-secret Washington D. C. law firms. It all has the makings of an idea, and with a little work could be original and interesting, but its cut and paste thriller storytelling. Once Finder has resolved the Supreme Court Justice/high priced escort, he hasn't created enough intrigue to keep me interested in the conspiracy. Finder never lays out the conspiracy to do what, so the book goes through the same dumb boilerplate thriller story points. That would all be fine, and tolerable, if Finder could be bothered to point me in a direction, but he really can't. If he knows, he keeps that secret good.
I do have to say while its my first Joseph Finder, I find him much less condescending than other writers of thrillers, which may be the same praise as being the skinniest kid at fat camp. The writing is fine, Finder is never going stop you in your tracks with some turn of phrase. or some clever witticism.
Again, if you forget your book, and are scanning the airport newsstand, desperate to kill time on your flight, Finder is not a bad choice. If he shows up discounted on Kindle, I'm in.
xkay_readsx's review against another edition
4.0
Great thriller. This is my first book by J. Finder and looking forward to the next.
bookedupblog's review against another edition
4.0
This is my first experience with this series, and I did enjoy it. Although it was heavy on the idioms, I found it very much like an episode of Scandal. Nick Heller seems to be a noir-type investigator who never takes things at face-value. It was full of twists, turns and adventure. I enjoyed this edition and I will check out the first two books in the series as well.
Thanks to Penguin and First to Read for my ARC for an unbiased review!
Thanks to Penguin and First to Read for my ARC for an unbiased review!
theannawise's review
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
graff_fuller's review against another edition
4.0
This is the best novel in the seres, so far.
I like Nick Heller. Walked into traps. He seems overconfident at times. This is an advantage at times, but also it is frustrating when the reader sees it as a problem, which I did a few times within this story. Akin to yelling at the TV when the protagonist is about to do something stupid.
Soft targets make people who are dealing with bad people vulnerable. This is like heroe 101 things to avoid. Actually, this is a real problem. There are always people out there who can get to someone that we'll miss if taken out. This will be a deterant for most people. I think Nick played loose and careless with his friend at the end of the book.
I am going to read the fourth book in the series...need to know how much more he grows as a character.
I like Nick Heller. Walked into traps. He seems overconfident at times. This is an advantage at times, but also it is frustrating when the reader sees it as a problem, which I did a few times within this story. Akin to yelling at the TV when the protagonist is about to do something stupid.
Soft targets make people who are dealing with bad people vulnerable. This is like heroe 101 things to avoid. Actually, this is a real problem. There are always people out there who can get to someone that we'll miss if taken out. This will be a deterant for most people. I think Nick played loose and careless with his friend at the end of the book.
I am going to read the fourth book in the series...need to know how much more he grows as a character.
brokebybooks's review against another edition
1.0
Trigger Warning: Suicide, Kidnapping, Murder, Conspiracies. Bunch of deranged white people running around getting away with shit no POC could.
The Gist:
➜Didn’t realize it was a series
➜Can be read as a standalone with no problem
➜Nick Heller is detached, clinical as is the writing
➜Could easily be an action/thriller movie with some bland, tall mediocre white guy as the lead
➜Obligatory hook up
➜Several damsels in distress
➜Hard to feel anything when the MC doesn’t.
➜Lots of details on the practical skills required to pull everything off.
➜Author clearly did his research.
➜Saw the hidden Bad Guy waaaay early. As soon as his father opened his mouth actually, though I was suspicious beforehand.
➜Some events were obvious, some weren’t, but I can’t say was shocked.
➜Given the intro with “I can tell when people are lying” I expected more than just random gut feelings and unexpected questions.
➜Typical action thriller with former military dude going outside the lines despite protesting he doesn’t do it much and doesn’t like to
➜Really liked Nick’s nephew
➜Recommended for fans of the series and white guys allergic to feelings wanting mindless action.
The Gist:
➜Didn’t realize it was a series
➜Can be read as a standalone with no problem
➜Nick Heller is detached, clinical as is the writing
➜Could easily be an action/thriller movie with some bland, tall mediocre white guy as the lead
➜Obligatory hook up
➜Several damsels in distress
➜Hard to feel anything when the MC doesn’t.
➜Lots of details on the practical skills required to pull everything off.
➜Author clearly did his research.
➜Saw the hidden Bad Guy waaaay early. As soon as his father opened his mouth actually, though I was suspicious beforehand.
➜Some events were obvious, some weren’t, but I can’t say was shocked.
➜Given the intro with “I can tell when people are lying” I expected more than just random gut feelings and unexpected questions.
➜Typical action thriller with former military dude going outside the lines despite protesting he doesn’t do it much and doesn’t like to
➜Really liked Nick’s nephew
➜Recommended for fans of the series and white guys allergic to feelings wanting mindless action.
jonjeffryes's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable thriller with lots of good characters and unexpected twists that ultimately doesn't all add up to a storyline that makes a lot of sense. It starts out with a private spy being called in to help disprove a TMZ-style story about a Supreme Court Justice and then it goes all over the place. It's a diverting read.
audra_spiven's review against another edition
4.0
This book was recommended to me on an NPR list of books to read if you liked a certain TV show, and this one was recommended for people who like Scandal. And I would call that a pretty decent comparison. It's not about a fixer, per se, although there is a company like Olivia Pope's in the book, except they're portrayed as bad guys whereas Pope & Associates are always portrayed pretty much as good guys. It was a fun book, though, and the chapters were very short, and the story moved really fast. I enjoyed this book a lot.
jpustka's review against another edition
3.0
Straight forward mystery novel with interesting plot and characters.
Thanks to NetGalley for the complimentary digital review copy.
Thanks to NetGalley for the complimentary digital review copy.