Company Man

Joseph Finder

The arrival of a new Joseph Finder book is always something to look forward to. When you see his name on the spine and you pick the book up, you know you're going to get a cleverly-constructed mystery/thriller where nothing is quite what it seems, and while he uses all the conventions one expects of the mystery/thriller, he at least puts them in a framework that keeps you guessing about what's going on. I got my copy of Company Man in the mail on Friday, and true to form, I'd finished it by Sunday. Like Paranoia, Company Man is a book that demands you set aside anything else you're reading and devote your full time to it. It's a little long for most folks to put away in one sitting, but Finder should start putting money-back guarantees on his books; you're certainly going to try.

Here we have Nicholas Conover, CEO of office furniture manufacturer Stratton Corporation. Conover used to be the golden boy, son of an assembly line worker made good, beloved of the whole town. Until, that is, the company was bought by an outside firm, and Conover was forced to cut half the work force. Since then, someone's been breaking into his house, leaving graffiti, and causing his family some consternation. Well, most of his family, that is. Conover's wife is also recently departed, having fallen victim to a car accident. All the ingredients are in the soup, all you have to do is stir them. When the unknown home invader ups the ante, everything starts to crumble under Conover's feet, and he finds himself walking a number of thin lines, waiting for something to snap, knowing what snaps will probably be him.

One of the problems with Company Man, from the perspective of the reviewer, is that trying to describe the book without revealing major plot twists is next to impossible. They start coming early, and they come thick, and much of what makes this book so readable is thus impossible to describe. Just trust me on this. If you liked Paranoia (and who didn't like Paranoia? If you haven't read it yet, it just came out in paperback, go read it right now), you're going to like Company Man, too. Finder isn't out on the bleeding edge here quite as much as he was in Paranoia, but that's not so much a problem as it is a stylistic decision; Company Man is a more conventional book, more mystery than thriller this time, but Finder delivers on the level of mystery. You're going to keep guessing right up till the last few chapters, and you will most likely be wrong. Isn't that what a good mystery is supposed to do? (The other problem with Company Man can be found in a description of Dairy Queen products.)

Another hit for Finder. Recommended.