Business is War (Killer Instinct - Joseph Finder)

Member Name: salem_witch

Product:	Killer Instinct - Joseph Finder
Date:	16/03/07 (296 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Something different to the crime fiction genre

Disadvantages: It's slow moving

Jason Steadman is a salesman for a leading electronics company, Entronics, who rivals with the other top companies such as Sony. He is doing well for himself but he doesn't have any ambition to further his career as it is. He comes from a poorer background and he has done well for himself and thinks that is enough. His wife Kate, however, is eager for him to work his way up the corporate ladder. She comes from a wealthy background and yearns for a bigger house and wants to start having a family. It doesn't help that his brother in law is a successful TV Producer and very smug with it.

One evening on his way home from work he calls Kate on his mobile to tell her he'll be home shortly. They talk about Kate trying to fall pregnant and discuss the IVF they are having. Jason isn't concentrating on the road he ends up having a crash. It's nothing serious but he needs to be towed to a garage for it to be repaired. This is when he meets Kurt Semko, an ex-Special Forces soldier who is now towing his car. He is a quiet guy who doesn't want to really talk. Eventually after listening to a Red Sox game on the radio they get talking. They share the same passion for baseball and to Jason's amazement Kurt was nearly signed for a big team but he signed up to the Forces instead. They also come from the same poor background, only Jason went to college to get where he is today. Jason invites him to play on the softball team they have at work as they've been doing really badly and could do with him.

This is where their friendship really starts to develop. Kurt comes along and wins them the game and he becomes a huge hit not only with Jason but his work mates. Jason confides in Kurt about work and a few problems he is having. There is a promotion coming up but a guy called Trevor is more likely to get it. He is friendly with the boss Gordy and has more of a 'killer instinct' than Jason does. Kurt encourages him to become more ruthless in order to get the promotion. He compares business to a battlefield and tells Jason he needs to find out more about the enemy in order to win. Their relationship seems normal enough and they get closer and closer. They go out for a drink together and then Jason works out with Kurt at his gym. More importantly Jason helps Kurt get a job in security at his firm. Kurt still maintains his 'business is war' policy and feeds Jason information about colleagues and clients that will help him further his career. This is when things become clear to the reader what is going to happen.

Kurt is clearly not what he seems at first. He appears to be a quiet but nice guy when in reality he is controlling yet clever with it. From the title of the book and the blurb on the back I knew that he was going to be a complex character and someone who Jason would seriously regret meeting. He doesn't really say a lot and there isn't much focus on his past. As the narrator is Jason we don't see an insight to his character and what he is up to and why. I would have liked to see this, as the first half of the book was a build up to what was going to happen. I found myself getting annoyed that something wasn't happening sooner. Most books I read something dramatic happens at the beginning to get me hooked. With 'Killer Instinct' this wasn't the case. This isn't to say I wasn't enjoying what I was reading though. It was incredibly easy to read and I kept reading because I wanted to see what was going to happen. Of course, I'm not going to give you any idea but it doesn't take Einstein to work it out. I personally like to be kept guessing when I'm reading a book and this is usually the case when you're reading a 'whodunit'. Finder isn't trying to achieve that with this book.

As a character I did like Jason and he is a very likeable character. I did think that there wasn't much to him though. At the beginning of the book his wife is telling him he needs to have more ambition and further his career and he is clearly happy as he is. Then all of a sudden he takes her advice and goes for promotion. At first it looks like he's doing it to please her but he really does want it. I found this a little unbelievable, as he wouldn't really have changed his mind just like that. Kurt has control over him although this isn't obvious to Jason for a long time. Jason just can't say no to all this information that Kurt keeps finding out for him even though he knows it's wrong. His relationship with Kate is dipped into a little but it isn't explored in great detail. I'd have like to see them more as a couple or maybe as Jason is the narrator he could have told us more about them throughout the course of the book. Maybe because of certain books I've read before my expectations for character development were a lot higher.

As I've already mentioned Jason is the narrator. Through his eyes we see the various problems he is getting at work. The Japanese company he works for is going through a few changes and we see how many employees are worried about keeping their job. Jason is never really worried about this but we do get to see how others are worried that the Japanese will not value their work. Having a book based on the business world did make a refreshing change from Detective stories but I couldn't help feeling disappointed in the lack of action. Maybe I'm being overly critical and comparing them to the more fast paced thrillers I do usually read.

On a more positive note I did really like Finder's writing style. He was incredibly easy to read and I couldn't fault him there. The chapters were broken up into bits with breaks which make it easy to read a few pages if that's what you want. Although it was slow moving until anything dramatic happened I found it effortless to keep reading. I hate it when an author rambles on just to flesh a book out so I was glad of that. I kept reading to see what was going to happen and once I did get to that part I was gripped and the last part of the book I read in one chunk.

I was surprised to find that High Crimes featuring Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd was in fact based on Finder's novel. I have seen it although I can't remember what it was about and if I liked it. The fact that I can't recall it says that it was average in my eyes. Thinking about 'Killer Instinct' this could be made into a film and work. Perhaps this psychological thriller would work better on screen that paper as the tension between Jason and Kurt would be more evident and make it more appealing.

I'm in two minds whether to recommend this or not. I certainly wouldn't go out and buy this, as I would feel very disappointed. If you're after a quick read with something a little different from this genre then give it a go. Although I've given it three stars I would have liked to give it four. If we could give half stars then I would award it three and a half. The fact that it took so long to get moving it'll have to be 3. I'd only pick it up if you like the sound of it and only if you get it from the library where it's free!

Summary: An average thriller set in the business world