Review: Company Man

I rated Paranoia, Joe Finders previous novel as one of my best reads of 2004 and I am pleased to announce that Company Man will definitely feature in my best of 2005 [even though it is only May currently], such is the page-turning ability of this book.

Finder seems to have found himself a niche in the thriller world – corporate espionage and intrigue in big business America, and he really knows how to turn on the taps in the reader, short terse chapters, cliff-hangers a-plenty and enough red herrings to keep a Norwegian fishing boat stocked up for the winter.

This time around, Finder tells the tale from the viewpoint of Nick Conover, a troubled CEO of an office furniture manufacturer as opposed to the flippant Generation X-er Adam Cassidy from Paranoia. The most important thing about Company Man is that it really works – this is a book that just makes you turn the pages, even when your eyes want to close at the end of a hard day. The story hooks you from page one and the pressure is unrelenting.

CEO Nick Conover, finds himself trying to bring up his two children behind the security steel bars of a gated neighborhood, coping also with the loss of his wife in a car accident as well as managing the troubled Stratton Corporation [a manufacturer of office furniture] based in Michigan. Conover is not liked in his hometown, as he has had to lay off half the work force due to the weak [post-Iraq] economy and having to compete with Chinese imports. Considering that Stratton Corp used to be the largest employer in town, Nick soon is a pariah figure locally.

Then vandalism occurs to his house, a stalker appears and things escalate when Nick asks his security director to become personally involved in a break-in that leaves a body on Nick’s lawn. Before you can say ‘freeze punk!’, Police Inspector Audrey Rhimes appears, and discovers that all may not be as it seems at Stratton Corp, as well as in the Conover household. Audrey has her own problems, because her husband was laid-off from Stratton Corp and now finds solace in the bottle. Nick finds it hard to keep everything together when Audrey and the police start to dig up evidence, clues that could shatter Conover’s life and family. To make matters worse, Nick’s Financial Director seems to be plotting [with the Boston based venture capitalists who own Stratton Corp] behind Nick’s back and not only is the future of Stratton in the balance, but also Nick Connover’s sanity, his career as well as his life.

This is a tremendous book, the only reservation I have is that it ties-up all the loose-ends just a little bit too neatly for my taste. Loose-ends are rarely wrapped-up in such a neat bow; life just is not like that, but despite this minor gripe, I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes their thrillers fast and furious because it is an excellent read.

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

Book Review: Company Man