August 18th is the day I've been looking forward to for a couple of months. Author Joseph Finder's newest book, Vanished, is being released today. You can be sure I'll be at Barnes and Noble picking up a copy.
Why, you might ask, am I so excited about Joseph Finder's latest book? Well, it's easy. He works in a genre that has hardly ever been explored or exploited in book circles. His specialty is thrillers set in the business world. Countless attempts have been made to capture the day-in and day-out shenanigans of business from a comedic standpoint. This is true across all entertainment mediums. What has been missing is an inside look at business from a thriller perspective. On all accounts, Finder nails the business world dead to rights. It's uncanny how well he has captured the nuances and essence of business life. The people who run it and the people who make it run are found in living color.
I've read everyone one of his business thriller books; and what made them even more special was the fact that from an advertising agency perspective, I had clients in the categories that served as story back drops. His first business thriller, Paranoia was in the telecom segment. Company Man took the reader into the office furniture category and locales in and around Grand Rapids, the office furniture capital of the world. Power Play was set in aviation with a "corporate retreat" as a backdrop. Having been there and done that, I've seen and witnessed first-hand what goes on in the categories and companies within them. Finder's books take you deep inside!
Finder has great industry insider contacts and does tremendous background research. It's as if he had worked in these industries. If you like business and you like thrillers, you'll like Finder.
I've given his books many times to colleagues and clients and it was universal, they loved him; maybe because they're so realistic and capture the essence of the people that move business day in and day out. Finder's new book, Vanished, introduces a new character called Nick Heller who, in loosely defined terms, is a fixer. Think Michael Clayton. Advance reviews on Amazon and Barnes and Noble indicate that the book is a "can't miss."
If you want a great read, pick up one of Joseph Finder's books. You'll see and recognize people that you've worked for and with. Start with Paranoia, move onto Company Man, get into Killer Instinct (how to be dead on with your selling techniques), and Power Play. I'll give a review on Vanished as well. Joseph Finder - He's a real find.
You can be sure I'll be picking up the new one. Company Man was a fave of mine.
Perhaps, as a Hitchcock Chair Company alumni, and as lover of the thriller book genre, I'll explore these further... while Hitchcock Chair wasn't in the "office furniture" category, it'd be interesting to see if there are any similarities in their business models, issues and overall approaches. I'm guessing there are.