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canada_matt's review against another edition
4.0
In another thrilling one-off novel, Finder pulls the reader into a story of a man who comes to realise that he knows little about the man he's called 'dad' his entire life. Rick Hoffman suffers numerous set-backs, which forces him to return to his childhood home. With a father in a nursing home after a horrific stroke, Hoffman chooses to renovate the house, with the help of a neighbour. What they find in the walls, besides rot and despair, ends up being a sizeable amount of money. Hoffman hides this from everyone and begins using his investigative journalist skills to track down the source of the funds. With a father who cannot speak, Hoffman must look at the business dealings that took place in and around the time of the stroke, slowly getting a better image of the man who put on the front of being a reputable lawyer, but who chose to be a bagman for seedy businessmen, paying bribes where needed. The further Hoffman digs, the more the mystery unravels, moving things from the past into the present. A key piece of information piques Hoffman's interest, though its discovery has a number of highly resourceful men on edge, who will stop at nothing to keep it hidden. As Hoffman stays one step ahead of danger, he finds himself turning down many pathways covered it pitfalls. It could take a single mistake to end his life and maintain the silence forever. Finder tantalises the reader with this stellar piece of fiction surrounding Boston in the early 90s, packed with a punch that will resonate the further the reader delves. A must-read for any and all who love a good thrill.
Finder uses his capable writing style to bring the reader into the middle of the story from the outset, pinning plausible characters against a plot that develops seamlessly. The reader sees strong shifts in the novel throughout, but the narrative is such that the flow is uninterrupted and the action intensifies. While not based on a series, Finder is able to bring the reader to better understand the likes of Rick Hoffman without needing extensive backstory, but does offer crumbs throughout, keeping the reader curious, yet informed of the character's development. With Boston as a wonderful backdrop, Finder speculates on The Big Dig and how its creation was surely filled with bribes, lies, and backroom deals. A wonderful piece sure to lure in the new fan and leave them begging for more.
Kudos, Mr. Finder for this great piece. I cannot wait to see what you have in store for your fans in the years to come.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Finder uses his capable writing style to bring the reader into the middle of the story from the outset, pinning plausible characters against a plot that develops seamlessly. The reader sees strong shifts in the novel throughout, but the narrative is such that the flow is uninterrupted and the action intensifies. While not based on a series, Finder is able to bring the reader to better understand the likes of Rick Hoffman without needing extensive backstory, but does offer crumbs throughout, keeping the reader curious, yet informed of the character's development. With Boston as a wonderful backdrop, Finder speculates on The Big Dig and how its creation was surely filled with bribes, lies, and backroom deals. A wonderful piece sure to lure in the new fan and leave them begging for more.
Kudos, Mr. Finder for this great piece. I cannot wait to see what you have in store for your fans in the years to come.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
tina_feaster's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Before I started blogging, I had never heard of Joseph Finder or his novels. Now, he's becoming one of my favorite authors. Everything I've picked up by him have been wonderful reads. They're fast-paced, complex, and keep you guessing. This surely won't be the last book by Finder that I pick up.
Rick Hoffman finds millions of dollars in his father's home when he begins to renovate it. Then he does what I think a lot of people would do, spends a ton of money on silly things like clothing and fancy dinners, all while trying to impress a girl. However, he soon realizes that this money wasn't just left for him, and someone wants it back. His life is now in danger and he must try to figure out where it came from and who's trying to kill him. He uses his skills as a former investigative reporter to figure out just what his father was up to and why he had all of this money. Rick learns things about his father that he never knew before, things that aren't always good. But Rick knows he needs to keep digging for the truth, even if it means it could kill him.
I love how Finder wrote this book and really enjoyed the characters. I thought the story was pretty complex and I couldn't stop turning the pages to find out what was happening. I never really figure out what was going to happen until the very end. I had suspicions about some characters and didn't trust a few of them throughout the story. But sometimes I would be surprised and they were good people; other times I was surprised that they weren't. All in all, this was a good book and I'm thankful that I was given the opportunity to read and review this one. I can't wait to read more of what Finder has in store for his fans. I'm sure I won't be disappointed!
Pagesofcomfort.blogspot.com
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Before I started blogging, I had never heard of Joseph Finder or his novels. Now, he's becoming one of my favorite authors. Everything I've picked up by him have been wonderful reads. They're fast-paced, complex, and keep you guessing. This surely won't be the last book by Finder that I pick up.
Rick Hoffman finds millions of dollars in his father's home when he begins to renovate it. Then he does what I think a lot of people would do, spends a ton of money on silly things like clothing and fancy dinners, all while trying to impress a girl. However, he soon realizes that this money wasn't just left for him, and someone wants it back. His life is now in danger and he must try to figure out where it came from and who's trying to kill him. He uses his skills as a former investigative reporter to figure out just what his father was up to and why he had all of this money. Rick learns things about his father that he never knew before, things that aren't always good. But Rick knows he needs to keep digging for the truth, even if it means it could kill him.
I love how Finder wrote this book and really enjoyed the characters. I thought the story was pretty complex and I couldn't stop turning the pages to find out what was happening. I never really figure out what was going to happen until the very end. I had suspicions about some characters and didn't trust a few of them throughout the story. But sometimes I would be surprised and they were good people; other times I was surprised that they weren't. All in all, this was a good book and I'm thankful that I was given the opportunity to read and review this one. I can't wait to read more of what Finder has in store for his fans. I'm sure I won't be disappointed!
Pagesofcomfort.blogspot.com
vailynst's review against another edition
4.0
Notes:
Yay for Libraries!
- Great Narration by Steven Kearney
- A slice of life thriller was a nice change of pace.
- I really didn't like Rick at the beginning and his gradual change in perspective took a while to happen but it was well done.
Yay for Libraries!
- Great Narration by Steven Kearney
- A slice of life thriller was a nice change of pace.
- I really didn't like Rick at the beginning and his gradual change in perspective took a while to happen but it was well done.
mhanlon's review
2.0
I got a copy of this through First to Read, Penguin's advance copy program. I was super excited because Joseph Finder seems like a really nice guy and I really liked his Paranoia, I felt like it captured the telecom/tech industry really well. So maybe I didn't enjoy The Fixer as much because I didn't work in the magazine industry, but there felt like there was something a little flatter in this book. There was a lot of description, and it's obvious that Mr. Finder loves his adopted home of Boston, but I felt a lot of of felt clunky, vague, as if afraid to commit.
Around page 76, in the BlueFire Reader edition, there's a scene in which Rick, the main character, finds himself in a situation that might be a bit disorienting, but in the span of one paragraph we hear the voice he hears are Irish, *maybe*, that the thing he tastes is *maybe* burlap, something he jams his foot into isn't steel, it's *probably* human. The other, most egregious example of the reader being beaten over the head with something was later on in the book, page 173, where Rick understands something, but "Dr. Girona went on as if Rick hadn't replied," and we're treated to the definition of a stroke.
The story was a promising one, but I struggled to find Rick all that interesting (he loses the riches and fame of a lifestyle you're not quite sure he's earned, and then re-earns the riches, sort of, and becomes a d**khead again for a short while) and I found the extensive wardrobe descriptions a little tedious after a while.
I'd go back to Finder again in the future, because he's got a great history of fun, ripping reads, and this would make a good beach read where you can skim the description a little bit more when you have to squint because the sun has come out from behind the clouds again. But this one wasn't his best.
Around page 76, in the BlueFire Reader edition, there's a scene in which Rick, the main character, finds himself in a situation that might be a bit disorienting, but in the span of one paragraph we hear the voice he hears are Irish, *maybe*, that the thing he tastes is *maybe* burlap, something he jams his foot into isn't steel, it's *probably* human. The other, most egregious example of the reader being beaten over the head with something was later on in the book, page 173, where Rick understands something, but "Dr. Girona went on as if Rick hadn't replied," and we're treated to the definition of a stroke.
The story was a promising one, but I struggled to find Rick all that interesting (he loses the riches and fame of a lifestyle you're not quite sure he's earned, and then re-earns the riches, sort of, and becomes a d**khead again for a short while) and I found the extensive wardrobe descriptions a little tedious after a while.
I'd go back to Finder again in the future, because he's got a great history of fun, ripping reads, and this would make a good beach read where you can skim the description a little bit more when you have to squint because the sun has come out from behind the clouds again. But this one wasn't his best.
janp's review
4.0
My 2015 review: Reviews were great. Couldn't wait to read. Bit bored at page 50. Gave it one more shot. Loved it. Great story. Always love a Boston setting. Complex characters.
My 2019 review: Did not remember reading it before. This time, did not find myself bored at first. Very enjoyable thriller, set in Boston, that had me guessing most of the way through the book.
Recommend.
My 2019 review: Did not remember reading it before. This time, did not find myself bored at first. Very enjoyable thriller, set in Boston, that had me guessing most of the way through the book.
Recommend.
samhouston's review
4.0
The Fixer is my first experience with a Joseph Finder novel, and I have to admit that near the beginning of the book I experienced one of those “been there, done that” moments that had me questioning my intent to finish it. But I persisted, and that turned out to be a good decision on my part because, in the process, I found out just how good a storyteller Finder is.
The “been there, done that” moment hit me when I realized that the thriller’s basic plot sounded very familiar to me. Many, if not most, people have probably read at least one book, or seen at least one movie, in which the main character stumbles upon a small fortune in cash, or gold, or jewels, etc. Then, in a weak moment, our hero decides to keep his find all for himself. Bad move, that – and the rest of the story involves the guy trying to keep from being maimed or killed by the bad guys who want their loot back. Well, that is the basic premise of The Fixer. But Finder throws so many twists and turns, fun characters, and side plots into his story that I could not wait to see what was coming next and ended up quite enjoying the book.
Rick Hoffman’s (our hero) friends would probably agree that his judgment is not always the best. Once a well respected up-an-coming investigative reporter, Rick made what turned out to be a terrible mistake by letting a slick Boston magazine hire him away from his newspaper job. Now the magazine has failed and Rick, along with most all of his co-workers, is history. Things have gotten so bad, in fact, that Rick is camping out in his father’s old house, an unheated structure that seems just about ready to fall down around him.
Rick’s luck changes -but not for the better - when he finds a large stash of cash hidden in the old house by his father. How did it get there? Does it belong to his father, who has not lived in the house for eighteen years, or to someone his father had been hiding it from? Rick, though, can’t resist the lure of all that cash, and when he starts throwing hundred-dollar bills around, he draws the notice of some very bad people – and they want their money back. But, even more, they want Rick to stop trying to figure out why it was in his father’s house in the first place.
If The Fixer is typical of Finder’s writing, the man certainly knows how to tell a good story and give his readers a fun ride. This definitely will not be the last Joseph Finder title I read.
Thriller fans should enjoy this one.
(This is one of those times I wish that GoodReads used half-star increments in its rating scale because I would preferred to rate this one at 3.5 stars rather than at a full 4 stars.)
The “been there, done that” moment hit me when I realized that the thriller’s basic plot sounded very familiar to me. Many, if not most, people have probably read at least one book, or seen at least one movie, in which the main character stumbles upon a small fortune in cash, or gold, or jewels, etc. Then, in a weak moment, our hero decides to keep his find all for himself. Bad move, that – and the rest of the story involves the guy trying to keep from being maimed or killed by the bad guys who want their loot back. Well, that is the basic premise of The Fixer. But Finder throws so many twists and turns, fun characters, and side plots into his story that I could not wait to see what was coming next and ended up quite enjoying the book.
Rick Hoffman’s (our hero) friends would probably agree that his judgment is not always the best. Once a well respected up-an-coming investigative reporter, Rick made what turned out to be a terrible mistake by letting a slick Boston magazine hire him away from his newspaper job. Now the magazine has failed and Rick, along with most all of his co-workers, is history. Things have gotten so bad, in fact, that Rick is camping out in his father’s old house, an unheated structure that seems just about ready to fall down around him.
Rick’s luck changes -but not for the better - when he finds a large stash of cash hidden in the old house by his father. How did it get there? Does it belong to his father, who has not lived in the house for eighteen years, or to someone his father had been hiding it from? Rick, though, can’t resist the lure of all that cash, and when he starts throwing hundred-dollar bills around, he draws the notice of some very bad people – and they want their money back. But, even more, they want Rick to stop trying to figure out why it was in his father’s house in the first place.
If The Fixer is typical of Finder’s writing, the man certainly knows how to tell a good story and give his readers a fun ride. This definitely will not be the last Joseph Finder title I read.
Thriller fans should enjoy this one.
(This is one of those times I wish that GoodReads used half-star increments in its rating scale because I would preferred to rate this one at 3.5 stars rather than at a full 4 stars.)
conalo's review
3.0
Entertaining if somewhat short on suspense and the end was a little disappointing I thought. Good characters and some decent action scenes kept this fun most of the way through.
3.5 stars for a fun read.
3.5 stars for a fun read.
heathermassa's review
4.0
Fans of Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay will dig this Boston tale of grift, journalism, selfishness and the mob. Twisty turny and quick pace!
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