I don't think there's any mystery/thriller author out there whose new books I look forward to more than Joseph Finder's. His newest one, Vanished, was particularly the case because this is the beginning of a "series" for Finder. I don't know about you but, as a reader, I love getting involved in a series of books featuring one main character.
I have some favorite series that I follow and it seems that the most important thing for the author to do is to develop a character that the reader not only understands but is rooting for every step of the way. Finder scores high points with his introduction of Nick Heller an ex-Special Forces veteran now working for an upscale corporate investigative firm. I will admit here that I often wished that if Finder ever started a series, he would do it based on the main character from Power Play, Jack Landry........he was my favorite Finder character ever.
I'm one of the lucky fans who gets copies of Finder's books prior to their publication as I'm such a longtime fan. I've read everything he's written. But he also knows that this will not sway my reviews in any way.....I tell it like it is.
With that being said, I loved the beginning of this book with Heller being sent on a mission by his employer, Stoddard Associates, to find a cargo plane holding billions of dollars that has gone missing. Within minutes of his arrival at the airport, Heller has it figured out. But at the same time this is going on, a much more important mystery is unfolding. Heller receives a phone call from his nephew telling him that his Dad, Heller's brother, is missing and his mother, Heller's sister-in-law is in the hospital in a coma. Heller drops everything to come to his brother's aid....even though they have been estranged for years.
What follows is the type of story Finder has mastered. On the surface, it appears that his brother has been kidnapped but Heller seems to know better. Working closely with his sister-in-law and nephew, Heller dechiphers every single clue until he's able to unravel the mystery. Throughout his entire discovery mission, he doesn't know who to believe. It becomes more entangled when Nick realizes that his brother discovered some discrepancies in his job involving mergers and acquisitions.I have to say I was a bit lost in this unraveling and the ending was a bit convoluted for me. Whenever I have to go back and reread the end of a story because I didn't understand it, I then know it's a little contrived for me.
I'm excited just knowing that Finder is probably penning his next Nick Heller story. I'm looking forward to some further development of this character and continuing with my corporate education by Professor Joseph Finder. I think the author has a hit on his hands with this series and I look forward to Nick Heller becoming as popular a fictional character as Connelly's Harry Bosch or Childs' Jack Reacher.
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