The Finder: A Novel
by Colin Harrison
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Book Reviews of The Finder: A Novel
Book Review: Superb urban noir crime story
Summary: 5 Stars
Those of you who remember movies like "Naked City" or fancy the noir crime thrillers of the late 1940s will feel immediately at home with Colin Harrison's "The Finders", which is frankly one of the best urban noir novels I've read in years.
New York, with its endless contrasts between rich and poor, elegance and crass, conflicting cultures all trying to get their piece of the American pie is the perfect setting for noir fiction and Harrison, a Brooklynite, plays it for all its worth. And, man, does he ever do it well!
In the high-rise office towers of Manhattan where "Masters of the Universe" contend for billions, young illegal Mexicans scurry about cleaning the detritus of the business at night under the supervision of Jin Li, a young, beautiful Chinese woman. Jin Li is more than she appears to be. She is, in fact, a key player in a global power play, something that becomes apparent when she takes an after work, middle of the night ride with two of her Mexican female workers. They part in a remote Brooklyn park when disaster in the form of truck bearing a load of excrement comes on the scene.
Jin Li escapes death and is pursued by a growing cast of characters. The good guy is Ray Grant, Jr., Jin Li's recent lover who still pines for her. Grant, Jr. is backed by his father, who is dying of cancer, a near-retirement NYPD detective and that's it. Against them and Jin Yi is a surprising number of bad guys, all of whom Harrison introduces flawlessly, each one racheting up the suspense level.
There are few writers with Harrison's skill and the ability to keep layering on plot twists. It is a delight to watch as we are introduced to Bill Martz, Tom Reilly, Chen, Victor, Richie, Violet, Montoya, Elliott and more, each contributing their bit of evil to the story without tripping over some other character.
Harrison deftly builds his main characters like Jin Li, Ray Grant, Jr., Bill Martz, Chen and the others largely through backstories and flashbacks. In less adept hands, this technique could be disastrous, but Finder pulls it off beautifully.
The suspense builds with each page as these characters pulled literally from different universes come together on a collision course. The ending is a bit of a stretch, but still totally acceptable.
If you like noir, you will love "The Finders". If you like suspense, crime or thriller novels, "The Finders" will have you turning pages. It is simply one of the best I've read in a while.
Jerry
Book Review: "Stupid. You can't be so stupid and expect to survive."
Summary: 4 Stars
Business in New York is a smoothly-oiled machine, from the more obscure mob figures that still exert influence on waste management to the high-rise buildings where billion dollar deals are made by men every bit as ruthless. In fact, Harrison's latest novel is a contrast in the old and the new, the subtle challenge of global stock manipulation, while the usual thugs continue to feed from the darker corners of criminal enterprise. The only difference is the price of their suits. But greed is greed and opportunity awaits the enterprising man. Jin Li runs a business that specializes in secure corporate trash collection, with sophisticated and expensive shredding trucks to ensure the privacy of companies who shield their every transaction from prying eyes. Jin Li works for her brother, Chen, who takes advantage of certain information his sister culls from her nightly work, insider information that allows Chinese investors to profit from the American market.
But one crack in this careful façade and a variety of interested parties seek to take advantage of unexpected opportunity. When Jin Li goes missing after an ugly murder of two of her Mexican employees, certain events are set in motion that threaten powerful men, including a hedge-fund billionaire determined to recover his investment, a PR man for a pharmaceutical company that may or may not be in trouble and a sadistic crook with Mafia connections who still does business old school. Then there is Ray Grant, Jin Li's ex-boyfriend, who is desperate to locate her before she becomes collateral damage for those who will do anything to preserve their fortunes and have the resources to avoid the piqued interests of law enforcement. That Ray's father is dying from a particularly painful kind of cancer only adds to the urgency of the younger Grant's quest.
In a departure from his usual dense dramas limned with human struggles, The Finder is a slicker, more action-fueled thriller from Harrison, one with a number of complicated pieces and an unpredictable plot. Harrison creates an intricate maze of colliding interests, each character dedicated to his own agenda, whatever action that demands. From high finance in Manhattan to a cement building in Red Hook, the author reveals a Tom Wolfian New York in constant flux, an uneasy truce between insular crime and globalization. This is a tense and driven novel, but I have to admit I miss the weighted prose of his earlier work. Luan Gaines/2009.
Book Review: This is Probably the Best Novel by Harrison I have Read
Summary: 4 Stars
Colin Harrison specializes in "literary thrillers" -- his novels are essentially works of suspense, but he spends a huge amount of time developing his characters and describing the realities of urban life. I've read a few of his novels, including his debut BREAK AND ENTER (awful) and THE HAVANA ROOM (very good). I think that THE FINDER is the best Harrison novel I've read so far.
THE FINDER is a relatively fast-paced novel about a complicated business scheme to steal confidential business information. Something goes wrong, leading to a series of murders and other violent incidents. The plot is remarkably silly if you take the time to think about it, but Harrison is a good enough writer to make things believable and compelling.
Some people have compared this work to BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES and I find that a very apt comparion. In many ways, the story simply serves as an excuse for Harrison to introduce a multitude of characters in New York City and describe (usually in minute detail) how they perceive the world. Even the minor supporting characters get this treatment, which will either delight or exasperate the reader. For the most part, I was delighted by Harrison's descriptions, which seemed highly cynical yet true to life.
Harrison is also interested in how things work -- are you curious about how a gas station makes money? Or how documents are disposed of by large corporations? Harrision spend pages of THE FINDER describing these processes in great detail. I found this material fascinating, but I'm guessing that other readers will find themselves bored.
In the end, I found this novel highly entertaining, despite the lack of a truly sympathetic character (a character named Ray Grant comes closest, although he's a bit of a cliche). Harrison is an incredibly gifted writer, and I recommend this novel to people who enjoy books that take the time to fully flesh out their characters and situations.
Book Review: excellent crime thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
In New York City, someone is using insider information to make a financial killing buying and selling Good Pharma stock. An outraged billionaire warns CEO Tom Reilly to plug the leak and to take care of the culprit regardless of means or else. His paper notes delivered to Reilly even in Yankee Stadium frightens the CEO who must do something or face dire consequences from an unknown but obviously powerful stockholder.
Tom is unable at first to figure out who or how. Using a legitimate paper shredding outfit CorpServe as a guise, Jin Li has been selling company information that she provides to her brother Chen who trades stocks accordingly. A desperate Tom orders a ruthless wannabe to take care of the leak. In Brooklyn two twentyish female Mexican employees working for the shredding firm are murdered, but Li escapes not before she sees their horrific deaths. Her sibling and Reilly assume her former boyfriend Ray Grant not only helped her, he hid her probably in Brooklyn. Each side demands he reveals where she is. He has no idea but turns to his dying father, a former NYPD cop, to help him find Jin before he becomes an afterlife greeter welcoming his father.
This is an excellent crime thriller that grips readers as every trail converges on Li even an overseas stock market. The story line is fast-paced from the moment the two young Mexicans are killed in Brooklyn and never slows down as Tom, Chen and Ray understand the threats to their lives while each seek Li as the key to their safety. Fans of urban crime capers will appreciate this exhilarating action-packed thriller that never decelerates ending with a typhoon.
Harriet Klausner
Book Review: Lost and Found
Summary: 4 Stars
My introduction to Colin Harrison began with Manhattan Nocturne followed by The Havana Room and then one of his earlier books, Break and Enter (which most of his readers didn't love yet I enjoyed immensely). So I'm definitely a fan and look forward to reading anything by him. I think I would put this one on par with The Havana Room.
I read this on a recent trip to Vegas on a flight that should have taken four hours and ended up taking seven with all of the runway delays. Consequently, the book was started and finished in that one trip. There's nothing I like better than books that keep you on the edge of your seat, even though this time I was wearing a seatbelt so I knew I was secure.
This novel explores the far reaching effects of crime as its tentacles reach as far as China where the wheels begin to turn in a scheme involving a cleaning service and stealing information. It's elaborate and well thought out and it will take a firefighter, in the form of Ray Grant, Jr., to get to the bottom of it. Yes, you heard me right....he's a firefighter but his father was a former NYC detective, whose days are now numbered as he wages his war with cancer.
Harrison is very adept at drawing out his characters and introducing new characters who add to the story as opposed to confusing it. This one gives us a good mix but it's Ray Grant and Jin-Li, his ex-girlfriend, who will lead the charge, trying not to be found in her case and trying to find her in his case.
Usually I would give this book five stars but there was just something missing that I can't exactly put my finger on. It was gritty and riveting but, in the end, it did not find me.