The Job [Paperback]

The main character in this book is from the get-go, tough to like. As the novel continues, he screws up by the numbers and gets himself into deeper trouble. He is one of those men who really doesn't stop to smell the flowers and in the process, misses all the details of life that are important to him.

As the book opens, Ned Allen is a Regional Sales Manager for a computer magazine. He is living the yuppie dream without the ability to pay the bill. He has a beautiful young wife who loves him, but who also accuses him of not communicating or sharing his fears, hopes and aspirations. As we get to know Ned, it seems that the only redeeming character trait that he has is his loyalty to the people who work for him.

As the book continues, Ned plans on becoming a bigwig at his magazine after a German conglomerate takes over. However, plans don't work out, the Germans flip the company quickly (to the competition, no less) and the new buyer decides to quickly close the magazine. Ned is out of work and almost as quickly, out of his home and marriage, when a night of drunken carelessness leaves him with the telltale marks of illicit sex. Within hours, it seems Ned is not only jobless and homeless, but penniless as well.

As he grows desperate, an old high school friend seems to step in to the rescue. But just remember, when things appear to be too good to be true, they generally are. Ned is hired to market a private equity fund. He quickly comes to realize that all is not as it appears to be. Just as quickly, he finds that his high school buddy is more sinister than altruistic and Ned realizes that his friend has him in a deadly and vice-like grip.

The author Douglas Kennedy, has done a very fine job of capturing all of the tension, fear and emotion that Ned feels as he realizes that his predicament may be inescapable. But as other readers of this finely plotted and paced thriller will tell you, Ned Allen, not always likeable as a person, is more resourceful than we would suspect.

Kennedy paces this story at just the right speed to move Ned along from one predicament to another. The reader finds himself beginning to sympathize with Ned and hope that he finds a way out. Because, despite his failings as an employee and a husband, Ned Allen has really done nothing to merit the problems that have been heaped on his plate.

I enjoyed this book. Mr. Kennedy does a very effective job of fleshing out his characters and although I did not like Ned too much at the beginning of the book, he reminded me of John Grisham's main character in THE FIRM by book's end. This is a fast read that gets faster as the story progresses. To be sure, it is not Tolstoy, but it is an entertaining look at the world of magazine publishing, sales, and some of the shadier and more sordid sides of investment banking and high finance. There is also a well wrought description of the money laundering process and how Ned is sucked into it as an unwitting dupe.

All in all, an entertaining, quick read. Give it a try.

Note: I made some Mormon angry because of my negative reviews of books out to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews.

Your "helpful" vote is greatly appreciated. Thanks

A very short review is not necessarily a bad review. You don't want to re-tell the whole story. I try for the hook that will make a person want to read this book. In my opinion, you should read long reviews after you read the novel. Read a short review first.

I don't want to give too much away, but when things go down hill for an major sales executive at computer magazine, things really go down hill--like a roller-coaster ride.

Having read "The Big Picture," I'm beginning to wonder if Douglas Kennedy can write a bad novel. Both novels are up-in-the-night stories. I would start with "The Big Picture." Kennedy is a great discovery in the genera of crime fiction. Highly recommended.

The Big Picture

It is always a pleasure to read a novel that is crafted so well, where the author's skill at story telling is so blatantly evident, that it literally immerses the reader into its world and will not let go until the last page is turned.

The Job is an excellent tale about a Ned Allen, a magazine advertising salesman who loves the thrill of the deal, closing the sale is his ultimate adrenalin rush, and he's good at it. He's living the Manhattan dream: high fliers, exclusive restaurants, a downtown apartment and a beautiful wife. Ned is also a nice guy, generally an ethical man, which is a dangerous thing to be in a world of the "cut throat" deal. One could say that life is a series of choices, and the choice we make determine who we are in the end. Ned wants to do the right thing, he cares about his employees, but sometimes the pressures of the deal, and the stress of the moment can push one to make decisions that can turn one's life upside down. Ned is confronted with an ethical dilemma - he makes a decision, moving into that ethical `grey' area, that sets off a chain of circumstances which changes his ideal Manhattan life into a nightmare.

Kennedy ensures we have great sympathy for Ned Allen. The mistakes he makes, his dubious ethical choices, most would agree are minor compared to some of the stories we hear about in the world of big business and high finance. But for some people it doesn't take much to topple our house of cards on simply a whim or seemingly insignificant choice. While some get away with murder or move through life stepping on people on a daily basis without a second thought of consequences, some of us can make one little mistake, and the world changes forever. Ned is that type of person that must follow his own values or pay the price. And, unfortunately, he pays the price.

The job is a convincing piece of story telling, compelling in its content, a compulsive experience that wouldn't let go until it was finally finished in the dark early morning hours. A perfect weekend read that has prompted me to seek out further novels by Douglas Kennedy. A great performance.