Book Review: Company Man

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

Company Man     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon UK HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Joseph Finder
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller
St Martin's Press, 2005, 516 pages

Finder returns to the world of corporate intrigue and back stabbing which he portrayed so inventively in his book PARANOIA of a few years ago. In this entry we meet Nick Conover, recently widowed in a bizarre automobile accident and struggling to cope with his status as a single father to his two bereft children. Conover is CEO of a successful Midwestern designer and manufacturer of state of the art office furnishings, and in addition to his personal woes, he finds himself on the shifting sands of a corporation in nascent financial distress.

When a stalker threatens his property, terrorizing his children and their pets, Nick takes direct action and finds himself the target of an enlarging murder investigation.

The action shifts between Nick and his bumbling struggles to keep several important tasks underway at the same time, and the cop moving closer and closer to the truth of the events Nick is involved in.

Issues straight from the headlines of the business section of many daily newspapers are also part of the mix, as Nick finds that fellow board members of his company are involved in a scheme to move manufacturing jobs overseas.

The later chapters of COMPANY MAN become somewhat repetitive. While Finder presents an engrossing read, I think 380 pages would have done the job, instead of the 500 plus in the final product.

Woodstock - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM