A review by nathaniel_1206
Guilty Minds by Joseph Finder
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.