The Finder by Colin Harrison is a gritty, graphic thriller. It was engrossing, but I can’t say I necessarily enjoyed it. I listened to it on audio.
The plot’s interesting. Jin Li is a beautiful, young woman who is runs a company hired by Manhattan corporations to shred and destroy paper, some of which is confidential. What the businesses don’t know is that not all of the paper is shredded. Jin Li and her brother, Chen, have been using the discarded secrets to manipulate the international stock markets, making a lot of money. It’s all going well, until someone at the Good Pharma corporation, whose stock is plummeting, starts having suspicions. Two of Jin Li’s workers die a disgusting death, the details of which were difficult to listen to, and Jin is on the run. Her brother forces Jin’s old boyfriend, Ray Grant, to track her down.
The characters run the gamit from the barely literate Mexican workers to billionaires in penthouses, and the story kept me listening, even when an especially gross or graphic or disturbing happened I needed to know what was going to come next. And it is rather nasty and vulgar. I think it actually would have been a better one for me to read in print. I tend to be a reader who skims and I don’t think some of the scenes and phrases would have had quite as much impact if I weren’t hearing every single detail.
There were a lot of characters but each is kinda fascinating in his/her own way, but I think Ray, and his dad who is dying of cancer, are the only two who are truly likeable. That’s okay though. It’s the feeling of the book. Everybody has their own angle and are willing to do what they have to to get what they want, whether it be bribery or outright murder.
It’s not a mystery – it’s a thriller. We know who did what to who, it’s just a matter of seeing how it all wraps up. If I knew what it was going to be like before I read it, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up, but it is quite a read.
3 out of 5 stars
Category: Thriller
First published 2008
Read by Jason Culp
12 hours, 22 minutes
Book source: Library
I actually like thrillers like this so would probably enjoy this one more than you did.
The cover is cool…but even with your lovely review…it sounds skippable!
I think I’m going to skip this one, thrillers have to be really good in order for me to even want to read them. I think I’ll keep to mysteries.
I was also thinking interesting looking cover… which led me to read the review. But too many nasty details wouldn’t appeal to me in audio either.
I like Harrison’s books. There is usually some part that’s over the top but for the most part they are well written and memorable. I love his New York City.
I’ve read and mostly enjoyed:
Manhattan Nocturne
Afterburn
The Havana Room
They’re kind of educational too.