Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
Macmillan Audio (2006), Edition: Abridged
Description
Fiction. Thriller. HTML: Jason Steadman is a thirty-year-old sales executive living in Boston and working for an electronics giant, a competitors to Sony and Panasonic. He's a witty, charismatic guy who's well liked at the office, but he lacks the "killer instinct" necessary to move up the corporate ladder. To the chagrin of his ambitious wife, it looks as if his career has hit a ceiling. Jason's been sidelined. But all that will change one evening when Jason meets Kurt Semko, a former Special Forces officer just back from Iraq. Looking for a decent pitcher for the company softball team, Jason gets Kurt, who was once drafted by the majors, a job in Corporate Security. Soon, good things start to happen for Jason�??and bad things start to happen to Jason's rivals. His career suddenly takes off. He's an overnight success. Only too late does Jason discover that his friend Kurt has been secretly paving his path to the top by the most "efficient"�??and ruthless�?? means available. After all, as Kurt says, "Business is war, right?" But when Jason tries to put a stop to it, he finds that his new best friend has become the most dangerous enemy imaginable. And now it's far more than just his career that lies in the balance. A riveting tale of ambition, intrigue, and the price of success, Killer Instinct is Joseph Finder at his best. *San Francisco Chronicle** Pittsburgh Post Gazette Audio edition includes an exclusive bonus interview with Joseph Finder and Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of Blink and The Tipping Point!… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member librarylady23
Jason Steadman befriends a War veteran, recruits him for the company softball team and offers him a job in corporate security.
The vet helps him advance in his sales but at what cost?
The vet helps him advance in his sales but at what cost?
LibraryThing member Bookmarque
Let’s just start by saying that although I laughed at how stupid Jason is during the whole novel, I did enjoy the tale. I didn’t really root for Kurt. Not really. But it was hard not to. Especially in the beginning when one or two of his stunts were truly justified. Jason’s enemies needed to
No wonder he couldn’t get ahead on his own. He was outgunned and outclassed at just about every turn. He avidly listens to lame sales technique tapes and recites mantras of positive thinking to psyche himself up. He gives in easily and lets things happen to him instead of making them happen. The ability to put two and two together is pretty limited. He has no idea of creative thinking and has to be led. When light dawns, it’s comical. Each time Kurt pulled some shenanigans, Jason was amazed. When it got ugly, he was surprised. Not just at the tactic, but at the escalation itself and the fact that he was outwitted at every turn. Kurt thought of everything and had his moved planned well ahead. He played Jason totally and the dumbass didn’t even know it.
It was fun to watch him realize it though. It took a couple of times for him to be shown that Kurt was taping his conversations for him to remember. And each time he found out, he was amazed and outraged. What a dope. Ditto with some of the escalating tactics and violence. What else did the guy expect? For Kurt to just quietly withdraw? To stand down? To be a good boy and heel?
As if. It was also really interesting to watch Kurt ramp up. From simple almost practical joke level stuff (albeit really cruel practical jokes) to bloodshed and death. Like he was so fond of saying, ‘you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube’. But in the end, Jason learned a thing or two from Kurt and got the better of him. I won’t deconstruct it here, but there is a glaring problem with the final scene/solution. It has to do with timing and the order of events and the likelihood of Jason’s plan working at all simply by the way he went about setting Kurt up. I also didn’t believe that Kurt would leave Jason so unblemished, but I guess it would have been difficult to spend the required time on things if the evidence completely and totally pointed to Jason even after the resolution.
Still, if I were Kurt, I would have certainly planted evidence to hang Jason for my crimes. One other things bothers me, too. The fact of Kurt and Jason meeting at all. I mean how lucky is the guy to happen to meet just the patsy he needs to orchestrate corporate corruption and mayhem? And how could he know that there would be a job opening in the patsy’s company that he would have any kind of shot at getting. No, it’s too strange. Maybe it’s meant to be that way; showcasing the serendipity of it all. Kurt’s set up of Jason begins after he meets him and is purely coincidental. Kurt just exploits the situation to the maximum.
In the end it was an excellent, if preposterous, mover and a good thriller. I did hate the whole pregnant and ultra vulnerable wife angle though. But what else was Finder going to use, a dog? Have the guy be a single father like the book I’m reading now? Some things are just like writing on the wall and the presence of a preggo wife, darling child or beloved feline always means disaster for said object. I think it’s a rule.
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be taken down a peg or two. And Jason was so horribly, horribly dumb. Not a bad guy and I did kind of like him in a way.No wonder he couldn’t get ahead on his own. He was outgunned and outclassed at just about every turn. He avidly listens to lame sales technique tapes and recites mantras of positive thinking to psyche himself up. He gives in easily and lets things happen to him instead of making them happen. The ability to put two and two together is pretty limited. He has no idea of creative thinking and has to be led. When light dawns, it’s comical. Each time Kurt pulled some shenanigans, Jason was amazed. When it got ugly, he was surprised. Not just at the tactic, but at the escalation itself and the fact that he was outwitted at every turn. Kurt thought of everything and had his moved planned well ahead. He played Jason totally and the dumbass didn’t even know it.
It was fun to watch him realize it though. It took a couple of times for him to be shown that Kurt was taping his conversations for him to remember. And each time he found out, he was amazed and outraged. What a dope. Ditto with some of the escalating tactics and violence. What else did the guy expect? For Kurt to just quietly withdraw? To stand down? To be a good boy and heel?
As if. It was also really interesting to watch Kurt ramp up. From simple almost practical joke level stuff (albeit really cruel practical jokes) to bloodshed and death. Like he was so fond of saying, ‘you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube’. But in the end, Jason learned a thing or two from Kurt and got the better of him. I won’t deconstruct it here, but there is a glaring problem with the final scene/solution. It has to do with timing and the order of events and the likelihood of Jason’s plan working at all simply by the way he went about setting Kurt up. I also didn’t believe that Kurt would leave Jason so unblemished, but I guess it would have been difficult to spend the required time on things if the evidence completely and totally pointed to Jason even after the resolution.
Still, if I were Kurt, I would have certainly planted evidence to hang Jason for my crimes. One other things bothers me, too. The fact of Kurt and Jason meeting at all. I mean how lucky is the guy to happen to meet just the patsy he needs to orchestrate corporate corruption and mayhem? And how could he know that there would be a job opening in the patsy’s company that he would have any kind of shot at getting. No, it’s too strange. Maybe it’s meant to be that way; showcasing the serendipity of it all. Kurt’s set up of Jason begins after he meets him and is purely coincidental. Kurt just exploits the situation to the maximum.
In the end it was an excellent, if preposterous, mover and a good thriller. I did hate the whole pregnant and ultra vulnerable wife angle though. But what else was Finder going to use, a dog? Have the guy be a single father like the book I’m reading now? Some things are just like writing on the wall and the presence of a preggo wife, darling child or beloved feline always means disaster for said object. I think it’s a rule.
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LibraryThing member PermaSwooned
I really enjoyed this book. I think that many could identify with Jason...a person who did well, but just couldn't make that last leap to the upper echelons. By befriending Kurt, he gained someone who would make sure that happened by clearing the way. I do think a lot of readers enjoyed seeing
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things to come more clearly than Jason could, but enjoyed seeing him resolve things. I would definitely seek out other books by this author. Show Less
LibraryThing member debs4jc
The thrills in this book build slowly but then explode with a bang, just like the friendship between Jason and Kurt. Kurt helps Jason out when his car needs a tow and Jason takes note that Kurt, with his army special forces training, seems to have the kind of athletic prowess and assertive
The way this builds to a highly dangerous situation for Jason was wonderful. The scenario of someone you take a liking to at first and invite into your life suddenly surprising you was truly chilling. Fans of thrills and chills and truly creepy bad guys should give this one a read or a listen.
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personality that Jason is lacking but could really use. Jason is a businessman for an electronics company and as he gets to know Kurt he finds that several of Kurt's special forces skills could be useful to him in the cutthroat world of business. He gets Kurt a job as a security officer at his firm and Kurt helps him out with a couple of things and at first Jason really appreciates all the help Kurt has given him. But then he becomes suspicious of some disturbing things going on around the office and he begins to wonder, just how 'safe' is Kurt anyway? The way this builds to a highly dangerous situation for Jason was wonderful. The scenario of someone you take a liking to at first and invite into your life suddenly surprising you was truly chilling. Fans of thrills and chills and truly creepy bad guys should give this one a read or a listen.
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LibraryThing member zhoud2005
This is a great thriller. I really enjoyed it.
LibraryThing member caroren
A fun fast-paced thriller about an ordinary guy who becomes involved with someone at work who seems to be ruthlessly paving the way for him to get ahead.
LibraryThing member thejazzmonger
This is a pretty good read in the thriller category. Since it involves business intrigue, it takes a little longer to get going than the typical "spy" novel. But the wait is worth it. Interesting characters who are nicely fleshed out. Intriguing antagonist, plenty of mystery and surprises
I recommend.
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throughout. I recommend.
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LibraryThing member neddludd
This mass market thriller holds your attention. The twist is that the hero's mid-life crisis consists of his embracing and acting upon corporate ambition, rather than fleeing it. So you are taken inside the executive suite of a SONY-like company. Abetting the hero is his personal soldier of
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fortune, a shady, ex-Special Forces warrior who has fought bravely in Iraq and Afghanistan. He enables our hero to rise in the ranks, but there's always a price to pay, and in this case it could be the executive's life. Show Less
LibraryThing member Gatorhater
Jason Steadman, a District Sales Manager for Entronics Corp. is driving home from thinking about work and while using his cell phone to text, he looses control of his auto and crashes. He reports the accident, calls AAA for a tow, the tow truck driver that shows, Kurt Semko is an ex-Navy Seal with
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a dishonorable discharge. Jason and Kurt hit it off and Jason feels bad over Kurt's hard luck about employment because of his dishonorable discharge, he tells Kurt to call him at work, he has a friend that works in security for his company, he'll call him with a recommendation. After Kurt gets hired, he feels that he owes Jason favors, things rapidly start getting out of control, "I could be your best friend or your worst enemy." Show Less
LibraryThing member Antoncipri
Good level of suspense.
LibraryThing member Cubbyfan99
I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well developed, and the plot had plenty of twists that keep it interesting until the very end. Finder did a great job with this book, and I look forward to reading another.
LibraryThing member LorettaR
Good but not "wow". Interesting enough to finish the book, but I expected it to be more suspenseful from reading the description.
LibraryThing member johnwbeha
Of the Joseph Finder books I have read this is the most disappointing. It starts all right but quickly gets a bit out of hand. Lots of very clever plotting and the usual good writing but weaker than normal in the characterisation.
LibraryThing member buffalogr
I really enjoyed this book. The hero's mid-life crisis consists of his embracing and acting upon corporate ambition. Is this like a big corporation? The author never really says how Kurt and Jason met, other than by chance. Good suspense that kept me coming back.
Subjects
Awards
Barry Award (Nominee — Thriller — 2007)
International Thriller Writers Award (Winner — Novel — 2007)
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
1593978952 / 9781593978952