Suspicion

Sometimes, you just want a so-called "beach read." No matter how refined your tastes, no matter how much you like thematic depth and richness in your books, no matter how much you enjoy savoring a beautifully crafted sentence or carefully wound chapter, sometimes, it's just fun to read the equivalent of a summer blockbuster popcorn movie. Growing up, there were a bunch of authors I could turn to for this: Clancy, Crichton, Grisham, and so forth. But many are gone now, and I quit on Grisham at a certain point. Lee Child's Jack Reacher books are great, sure. But what if I want a great "regular guy in tense corporate, sort-of-legal conspiracy thriller" kind of book?Well, you can turn to Joseph Finder, whose books often scratch that exact itch for me. Over the years, I've read about a half-dozen Finder books, and they're all solid: they deliver tight plotting, enough character work to draw you in, effective prose, and a narrative momentum to die for. Sure, they don't exactly change the way you think about the world, but they're entertaining and gripping as anything, and sometimes that's enough. And Suspicion is no exception to any of that, thrusting a likable single dad into a nightmare of violence, lies, and double lives.It all starts innocently enough - Danny Goodman is struggling to pay his bills, and more importantly, to keep his daughter in the private school she's attending. So when Thomas Galvin, the father of her best friend, offers Danny money to pay his bills and keep his daughter at the school (explaining that the friendship is incredibly good for his own daughter), Danny takes it. But when he suddenly finds himself accused of taking a large payment from a notorious money man for a lethal Mexican drug cartel, well, Danny's life gets a little hairier - and that's before they ask him to start spying on Galvin.That's only the basic setup for Suspicion, which has twists and turns aplenty to come. You might see a couple coming (I did), but that's okay; Finder has plenty up his sleeve, and half of the fun isn't just watching the plot unfold, but wondering exactly who knows what and who's being played. By keeping us almost entirely in Danny's head (apart from a few side chapters used to build up the book's main villain), we're constantly in his own sense of paranoia. Does Galvin know about him? What will happen if - when - he's found out? What will his daughter think? And most importantly, what will the cartel do to a man who's helping the government take them down?Finder expertly spins all of these threads together, wringing tension out of every conversation with Galvin and constantly keeping us in the dark as to what he knows and what he doesn't. And even when you think you've got a handle, Finder has a way of taking things in unexpected directions, keeping his plot moving without ever a moment's peace. It's all a ton of fun, and makes for a great little piece of thriller writing. And if the ending doesn't quite stick (for one thing, there's a really awkwardly shoehorned-in piece of foreshadowing; for another, there's a slight twist that feels a little thrown in), that's okay. Suspicion does its job, giving you plenty of entertainment and a lot of fun. Sometimes, that's enough.

How good is Suspicion? Let me put it this way: for the first time in a great while, I literally couldn’t put the book down — I HAD to know who was doing what to whom!Danny Goodman is writing a biography of Jay Gould, the archetypal 19th century Robber Baron, when he crosses paths with Tom Galvin, an extremely wealthy investment manager, at the snotty private school where their 16-year-old daughters have struck up a close friendship. Danny is in deep trouble financially — between book advances, as it were — but finds a white knight in Tom, who befriends him. The two are both sons of blue-collar families and hit it off. Acting out of friendship, Tom loans Danny a large sum to bail him out.Then the trouble starts. Big trouble. Life-threatening Big Trouble involving not one but two Mexican drug cartels. With taut prose, the increasingly complex plot of Suspicion steadily unwinds, building to a crescendo.Joseph Finder is no stranger to thrilling tales of suspense. However, unlike so many of his peers in the field, his writing is not formulaic. A few of his books feature a stock hero, Nick Heller, but most are standalone tales built around their own complex logic. Finder has discovered high drama in industrial espionage, international finance, terrorism, and war in Central America.I’ve read and reviewed a number of Finder’s other books, including Buried Secrets, The Zero Hour, and High Crimes. Every one of these novels is a fine example of the genre.

I’ve read many of Mr. Finder‘a novels. Somehow, this was in my library, unread until now. Boy, was I missing out. All of Mr. Finder’s novels have been great, but for certain, this one was outstanding!!! Couldn’t put it down…. Read it in the course of two long days and nights!!Great twists and turns …..

Suspicion helped me through a few days in bed with a coughing, hacking, nasty cold. So, in the midst of a fever of 101, and relentless nose blowing, I read user reviews to assure that Suspicion was a page-turner, and it was. I like thrillers with twists and turns, so it looked like Suspicion was a winner. The book started off slow but picked up steam, and I liked it a lot. I looked for a second book by Finder and found the movie Paranoia, based on his book, on Netflix, instead. It's was a pretty good movie for a sick day. If I felt better today I'd heap much more praise on Finder, so instead I'll leave it to thriller fans who I'm sure will give more detailed reasons for liking the latest Joseph Finder thriller. I've especially liked Jo Nesbo and of course Greg Iles, so if you like these authors, you might like Finder. Also, this book is a read through if you have the time and just a little stamina. I'd not read Finder before, he was a nice discovery through Amazon suggested titles. I did some research on Finder and his books. I scanned Amazon reviews with a critical eye. These reviews provide valuable nuggets about a book that an official review doesn't get at. Amazon reviewers were spot on.

Joseph Finder's Suspicion is a stand along thriller about a single parent and struggling writer who ends up in debt to a suspected drug cartel money launderer. With the DEA threatening to involve him in the crime, he is forced to go undercover to assist in their investigation. At the same time, a rival drug cartel is also moving in. All the while, his teenage daughter and his psychiatrist girlfriend add to his anxiety as he struggles to comply, but at the same time, extricate himself from a no win situation.While only an amateur, the stumblings and bumblings antics are believable and realistically portrayed. Finder does a good job of setting up the situation before delivering the numerous plot twists that turn the tale from a routine thriller into a nonstop action packed adventure. In spite of the well crafted plot, the main characters are not very relate-able and engender little empathy.

There is no point in analyzing the literary merit of this book, as one might in a novel of lasting quality. Joseph Finder has produced a slick, modern and easily read thriller. He is not trying to compete with Dickens or Shakespeare. He knows his audience and he writes for them. I have never read any of his previous novels, but this one seemed to me every bit as good as those produced by Grisham, Child and many others. He found a clever ending and then built a story around it. Some details were hard to take on board but it is a good holiday read, with deeper analysis not needed.

Brilliant....in one word....brilliant !This is the third book written by Mr. Finder that I have read in a month, the other two being "Guilty Minds" and "Paranoia" and each one is a page-turner, full of twists and suspense.I "found" Mr. Finder here on Amazon and I am working my way through all of his other novels.....what more can I say?...other than "brilliant!"

I chose this book after reading an interview with Jackie Collins, who said that she had it on her holiday read list. Im not a particular fan of Jackie Collins, but as I wanted an addition to my Kindle library, I thought why not. What a good choice Jackie! I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and will look out for others by this author. Anyone who enjoys crime thrillers will surely find this one an engrossing read.

This is the second book I have read by Joseph Finder, the first being Paranoia, which is definitely in my top ten favourite books ever (and I read a lot).I finished Suspicion this morning on my journey to work.It was a brilliant story, one of those that got better and more on the edge of your seat thrilling in the middle and by the last few chapters I couldn't put it down.Joseph Finder is a fantastic writer (purely based on the two books I have read by him) and I'm going to order another of his now. Can't wait.

What a fabulous book. In fact I have reread this