- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (May 16 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312347472
- ISBN-13: 978-0312347475
- Product Dimensions: 15.6 x 3.5 x 23.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 726 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,298,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. At the start of this masterful business thriller from bestseller Finder (Paranoia; Company Man), Jason Steadman, successful salesman at Entronics, an electronics company that's right up there with Sony and Panasonic, drives into a ditch near his office outside Boston while talking to his wife on his cellphone. Jason befriends the tow-truck driver who comes to his rescue, Kurt Semko, an ex–Special Forces soldier, and recommends him for a position at Entronics. In gratitude, Kurt begins performing fiendish little jobs for Jason that boost his sales and fortunes with the company. But Kurt eventually goes overboard, and people begin to die. The likable Jason finds himself trapped in a battle with a scary, seemingly unbeatable foe that builds to a rousing and satisfying climax. The villains may verge on the cartoonish, but readers who enjoy movies where you have to fight the urge to shout "Stop! Don't open that door!" will love this one.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Finder writes a special brand of business-world thriller one might call Dilbert noir. His previous best-sellers, including Paranoia (2003) and Company Man (2005), spliced corporate cubicle routines with murderous plots and international intrigue. In his latest, Finder takes a man least likely to swim with the sharks--Jason Steadman, a very happy, contented salesman for an electronics giant--and places him on Fortune's wheel. The first spin of the wheel comes from Steadman's wife, a lovely Lady Macbeth type consumed with ambition for a picture-book family and a much bigger house. The next spin comes from a car accident that ends up with Steadman meeting a tow-truck driver, a special forces officer recently returned from Iraq. Steadman takes a liking to this man's man and gets him hired in his firm's corporate security department. Suddenly and inexplicably (to Steadman), his career skyrockets as his rivals experience a run of bad luck and even worse accidents. Part of the dreadful fun of this thriller is figuring out ahead of Steadman who is behind his good fortune; the rest of the suspense comes from watching Steadman seek to outwit his malevolent benefactor. Finder is a first-rate story weaver, though he sometimes lavishes too much detail on unnecessary scenes or bits of dialogue. Still, Steadman's 10-month ride from complacency to terror is filled with the requisite number of thrills and chills. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
First Rate Corporate Thriller,
This review is from: Killer Instinct (Hardcover)
This is a very enjoyable, fast-paced novel of corporate intrigue. Someone you get more than you wished for.Jason Steadman is a mid-level sales associate in an electronics firm, Entronics. His wife, Kate, was born with a spoon in her mouth and pushes Jason to climb the corporate ladder. At first seemingly stalled, Jason's star begins to rise after he befriends an ex-commando named Kurt by securing Kurt a job in corporate security at his firm. Kurt beieves in paying back his friends. Suddenly strange and deadly things start happening to Jason's rivals.The only negative point is that the author gives away the essence of the plot in his prologue. Nonetheless, I recommend this novel as an enjoyable read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW!!! FINDER JUST GETS BETTER & BETTER!,
By Betty L. Dravis "BETTY DRAVIS, author/reviewer" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Killer Instinct (Hardcover)
I'm pleased to be the recipient of an advance reader's copy of this exciting new novel by St. Martin's "Golden Boy," author Joseph Finder. Not only is the book a quality book, it comes with a CD interview between Finder and Malcolm Gladwell, best-selling author of BLINK. Now this is what I call a bonus "to die for."It's a cliché to say "this is one of the most exciting books I've read in a long while." Even though it's true, that trite statement does not do this book justice. This stupendous work is much more than that. KILLER INSTINCT has everything: love, adventure, murder, mystery, intrigue. Joseph Finder skillfully paints an accurate portrait of the contemporary corporate workplace, while deftly weaving a touching background story about the main character, Jason Steadman, and his wife. Her support of him as he struggles with normal and abnormal workplace problems––and his support of her in her efforts to conceive a child––gives the book another dimension ... a dimension that tugs at your heart-strings. Finder introduces the reader to the high-powered business world and the inner- and inter-corporate struggles of ambitious employees aiming for the top rung on the ladder. What some of them do in the name of "power" is reprehensible, but realistic. Our hero is the ultimate "Mr. Good Guy"––brilliant, charismatic, moral, and likable––but he doesn't have the killer instinct to get him to the top. Or so everyone thinks. Then along comes Kurt Semko––a Harley-riding, former Special Forces guy just back from Iraq––who worms his way into the corporation through Steadman and immediately goes to work on his own ulterior plans. Semko is one villain who really has the KILLER INSTINCT––enough for both him and Steadman––and sets out to prove it. The thing that intrigues me most about this book is the penetrating way this best-selling author portrays the struggle and mind games between Steadman and Semko. He fleshes them out until they are not only believable, but are also real. I feel like I know them personally. Finder certainly seems to understand the inner workings of the human mind, both the good and evil of human nature; the depth of his psychological profiles are astonishing. His profound portrayal of the subtle way the "evil" character plays on the good-natured main character is an intellectual piece of writing. It blows me away. Author Joseph Finder has once again proven why he's "top of the heap" at St. Martin's Press and with readers around the world. If you haven't discovered him before now, you're in for some unique, exciting reading experiences. You must read his other fantastic books, like COMPANY MAN and PARANOIA, to name a few. Joseph Finder is the "find" of the year. And to repeat a truism someone else beat me to: JOSEPH FINDER DOES FOR THE CEO WHAT JOHN GRISHAM DID FOR ATTORNEYS. - Betty Dravis, 2006
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (144 customer reviews) 23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Instincts to Pick Up Finder Novels Are Always Spot On!,
By James N Simpson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Killer Instinct (Hardcover)
Killer Instinct, although not as fast paced a thriller as Paranoia or Company Man and to be honest not in the same masterpiece quality league as those novels nevertheless is still a great read.In Killer Instinct, Jason Steadman lives a highly stressful corporate life in the fast paced area of sales in one of the world's major TV and other electronic appliance suppliers. Job security is a big issue, his boss treats him like a doormat as well as steals his ideas and there are rumours going around that the Tokyo owners will soon decide if they are to be shipped to Dallas, which his pregnant wife refuses to contemplate or closed down all together when merged with other acquisitions. Stressed out and driving while talking on his mobile phone he looses control and his badly damaged car needs to be towed. Having nothing in common with Kurk the tow truck driver on the long ride to the garage, who is a dishonourably discharged Iraq/Afghanistan serving special forces soldier, he comments on a baseball game call and soon discovers they share a passion for the game. Jason's company softball team is terrible so he invites the driver to come along and as they become better friends Jason helps the poor guy out and gets him a job in security in the company. Kurk tells him he never forgets a favour and soon every hurdle the Jason whinges about seems to miraculously turn around in his favour. Soon Jason's rivals suspect Jason is responsible and when he confronts Kurk he realises he can only have Kurk as either a loyal brutally helpful friend or a deadly enemy. A must read and if you haven't already done so also check out Paranoia and Company Man as well. 15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Godfather Redux,
By Red Rock Bookworm - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Killer Instinct (Hardcover)
Finder tends to write about ordinary folks in the workplace confronted with extraordinary situations. The result is a riveting story filled with intensity and suspense, abounding with colorful characters and a maze of corkscrew plot twists. Granted, the scene where a character finds a 6 ft. diamondback rattlesnake in his spouses bed is reminiscent of The Godfather (finding a severed horses head in your bed) but this can be forgiven because on the whole the tale is well written and enormously satisfying. This book is nearly impossible to put down. Finder's first book, Paranoia, was a spectacular, his second, The Company Man, somewhat of a disappointment....but with Killer Instinct he's back in top form. This book is a definite winner.
25 of 31 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finder does it again!,
By Debbie Lee Wesselmann - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Killer Instinct (Hardcover)
Once again, Joseph Finder has found intrigue and suspense in the most unlikely of settings: midlevel business. Jason Steadman is a sales associate, neither at the top or at the bottom of his department, a guy who loves to play softball on the company team and who is generally happy with the status quo -- until that is, his wife Kate hints that he should be more ambitious. Jason, though, is down on his luck. His rival Trevor, who tops him in both sales and softball skills, is sure to get the promotion that has just opened up. When Jason drives his Audi into a ditch because he was trying to do too much at once, he meets tow-truck driver, former minor league pitcher, ex-Special Forces Kurt. They take a liking to each other on the drive to the auto body shop, so it seems only natural when Jason offers to get Kurt a better job, one in security, at his company, Entronics. Kurt never forgets a favor, but when Jason's rivals for the promotion start dropping away for mysterious reasons, Jason starts getting nervous. Is Kurt sabotaging other people's work and lives to Jason can go straight to the top? Or is all that happens mere coincidence? What is more important: ethics or pleasing his beautiful wife? When the stakes turn deadly, Jason must decide how he can both keep his new job and get rid of Kurt. The only problem is, no one gets rid of Kurt.Finder is a master at creating suspense in small, incremental moments that build toward the end. Killer Instinct is not the kind of novel that prompts the reader to read quickly just to see what happens but instead is enjoyable on every page. His characters are likeable and believable -- at least, as much as they can be in a thriller Even wife Kate comes across as a fully drawn: a woman complicated by her past and by the pressure her sister puts on her. It helps that Finder's competent prose does not distract from the plot. It is neither overblown nor mundane, sentences with just enough voice to evoke the stakes of the situation. Joseph Finder's fans will not be disappointed with this latest effort. It makes for great vacation or late night reading. |
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