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tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
‘Working in this business is just like running a con. You find your mark, make your play and get out as quickly as you can.’
Finn Harding used to be a private investigator. Until he lost his licence. Now he works for a different kind of clientele – people who don’t care whether he’s licensed or not as long as he finds the people they are looking for. It’s a shadowy world: payments in cash and on the periphery of the law, but it pays the bills.
‘What’s the worst that could happen?’
But then Finn gets asked to find someone who is trying to take over a black market business in personal information brokerage. His success in finding this person leads to another job offer, and things quickly become dangerous, both for Finn, his ex-wife Brooke and daughter Becca. There are more than a few people in pursuit of Finn, from both sides of the law. Will one of them get to him before he works out exactly what is going on? Can he protect his family?
‘I am not sure the exact moment I became a criminal.’
This is a fast-paced crime thriller for modern times. Finn Harding reminds me of some of the private investigators from the hardboiled crime fiction around the 1940s, only updated for the 21st century. I liked the character and thoroughly enjoyed this story. Crimes thrillers which rely in part on the technical details of cyberspace can often lose momentum because of the need to explain how some aspects work. Trace Conger provided enough information for me to follow what is happening in the story, and mixed in enough action to keep it all interesting. There are some great characters in this story, including Finn’s father: a prototypical grumpy old man.
I believe that there will be more books in this series, and I’m looking forward to reading the next one.
Note: I was offered, and accepted, a copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Finn Harding used to be a private investigator. Until he lost his licence. Now he works for a different kind of clientele – people who don’t care whether he’s licensed or not as long as he finds the people they are looking for. It’s a shadowy world: payments in cash and on the periphery of the law, but it pays the bills.
‘What’s the worst that could happen?’
But then Finn gets asked to find someone who is trying to take over a black market business in personal information brokerage. His success in finding this person leads to another job offer, and things quickly become dangerous, both for Finn, his ex-wife Brooke and daughter Becca. There are more than a few people in pursuit of Finn, from both sides of the law. Will one of them get to him before he works out exactly what is going on? Can he protect his family?
‘I am not sure the exact moment I became a criminal.’
This is a fast-paced crime thriller for modern times. Finn Harding reminds me of some of the private investigators from the hardboiled crime fiction around the 1940s, only updated for the 21st century. I liked the character and thoroughly enjoyed this story. Crimes thrillers which rely in part on the technical details of cyberspace can often lose momentum because of the need to explain how some aspects work. Trace Conger provided enough information for me to follow what is happening in the story, and mixed in enough action to keep it all interesting. There are some great characters in this story, including Finn’s father: a prototypical grumpy old man.
I believe that there will be more books in this series, and I’m looking forward to reading the next one.
Note: I was offered, and accepted, a copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
jlrmac's review
2.0
This story is well-written and would have been enjoyable and entertaining to read except for the cold, calculated killings by Finn, the protagonist. Finn and his father, Albert, are likeable, and the plot unfolds quickly. I was chilled by Finn's rationalizations and actions as he aids and abets cold-calculated murders He enjoys the cunning planning involved. I definitely will not read any more in this series. I enjoyed the writing style but not the content. I obtained this as a Freebie from BookBub,com.
deearr's review
5.0
Normally I am pulling flaws and errors out of a book like this, as the genre is glutted with haphazard efforts. Happily, this book is a step above all the rest of the PI thrillers…and probably two or three steps. Here’s a rundown, without spoilers:
PLOT – Yes, the main idea of the story has been done. Private Investigator gets in over his head and spends much of the book trying to keep himself and his loved ones safe. Where author Trace Conger excels is in the way he continually injects realism into the story. I was not forced to suspend disbelief every other chapter, and thus relegate the Mr. Finn stories into the superhero category. Finn Harding is a normal guy, a bit down on his luck, who finds himself facing hard choices and doesn’t always make the right ones (and if he did, the book would have been a lot shorter). The plot moves forward at all times, never going slower than a steady pace.
WRITING STYLE – The wise-cracking PI is also overdone, yet Mr. Conger handles the chore effortlessly. Harding’s character weaves itself into the description of events and breathes fresh life into the book. However, the author doesn’t try too hard to constantly make Harding funny, and combined with his serious moments, help to round out his characterization. The story is told primarily in first person, although there are a few chapters where the reader needs to see what the other characters are doing. This worked, as the story is told through action rather than one of the characters having to describe everything he did “off-scene.”
CHARACTERS – A major break from the normal PI/detective who has physical issues or a serious PTSD issue chasing him or her from page to page. Finn Harding is your everyday guy who has been molded by life events into someone different, perhaps someone a younger version wouldn’t recognize. The plot of this book pushes him further into the darkness, forcing him to make what might seem to be rational decisions, though in reality they aren’t. Harding is a complicated character, and some readers may wrestle with the choice of whether to cheer for him or not. Other members of Mr. Conger’s cast are fleshed out to various degrees, and I found them all believable.
OTHER STUFF – This is a dark book, and the language matches it. While the vulgarities are not stuffed without reason in every other paragraph, if you are bothered by the f-bomb, you probably want to choose another book. There is violence and one particularly gruesome torture scene, but there are not even hints of sexual relations between characters. The story wraps up normally, although the teaser for the next book was masterfully executed.
RECAP – This is a dark tale that introduces Mr. Finn, an honest yet somewhat twisted character. Mr. Conger’s presentation of characters and story is believable and his writing style captures readers, effortlessly pulling them into the tale. Personally, I couldn’t put the book down and read it in two sittings. Recommended for anyone looking for a thriller mixed with grit and realism. Five stars.
PLOT – Yes, the main idea of the story has been done. Private Investigator gets in over his head and spends much of the book trying to keep himself and his loved ones safe. Where author Trace Conger excels is in the way he continually injects realism into the story. I was not forced to suspend disbelief every other chapter, and thus relegate the Mr. Finn stories into the superhero category. Finn Harding is a normal guy, a bit down on his luck, who finds himself facing hard choices and doesn’t always make the right ones (and if he did, the book would have been a lot shorter). The plot moves forward at all times, never going slower than a steady pace.
WRITING STYLE – The wise-cracking PI is also overdone, yet Mr. Conger handles the chore effortlessly. Harding’s character weaves itself into the description of events and breathes fresh life into the book. However, the author doesn’t try too hard to constantly make Harding funny, and combined with his serious moments, help to round out his characterization. The story is told primarily in first person, although there are a few chapters where the reader needs to see what the other characters are doing. This worked, as the story is told through action rather than one of the characters having to describe everything he did “off-scene.”
CHARACTERS – A major break from the normal PI/detective who has physical issues or a serious PTSD issue chasing him or her from page to page. Finn Harding is your everyday guy who has been molded by life events into someone different, perhaps someone a younger version wouldn’t recognize. The plot of this book pushes him further into the darkness, forcing him to make what might seem to be rational decisions, though in reality they aren’t. Harding is a complicated character, and some readers may wrestle with the choice of whether to cheer for him or not. Other members of Mr. Conger’s cast are fleshed out to various degrees, and I found them all believable.
OTHER STUFF – This is a dark book, and the language matches it. While the vulgarities are not stuffed without reason in every other paragraph, if you are bothered by the f-bomb, you probably want to choose another book. There is violence and one particularly gruesome torture scene, but there are not even hints of sexual relations between characters. The story wraps up normally, although the teaser for the next book was masterfully executed.
RECAP – This is a dark tale that introduces Mr. Finn, an honest yet somewhat twisted character. Mr. Conger’s presentation of characters and story is believable and his writing style captures readers, effortlessly pulling them into the tale. Personally, I couldn’t put the book down and read it in two sittings. Recommended for anyone looking for a thriller mixed with grit and realism. Five stars.
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