Book Review: BURIED SECRETS by Joseph Finder

BOOK DESCRIPTION:  Joseph Finder introduced Nick Heller, a "private spy" who finds out things powerful people want to keep hidden, to widespread acclaim from the critics and wild enthusiasm from the readers, in the New York Timesbestselling novel Vanished. Now, in Buried Secrets, Nick Heller returns, finding himself in the middle of a life-or-death situation that's both high-profile and intensely personal.

Nick has returned to his old home town of Boston to set up his own shop. There he's urgently summoned by an old family friend. Hedge fund titan Marshall Marcus desperately needs Nick's help. His teenaged daughter, Alexa, has just been kidnapped. Her abduction was clearly a sophisticated professional job, done with extraordinary precision. Alexa, whom Nick has known since she was young, is now buried alive, held prisoner in an underground crypt, a camera trained on her, her suffering streaming live over the internet. She's been left with a limited supply of food and water and, if her father doesn't meet the demands of her shadowy kidnappers, she'll die. And as Nick begins to probe, he discovers that all is not quite right with Marshall Marcus's business. He's being investigated by the FBI, he has a lot of shady investors, his fund is in danger and now he has a lot of powerful enemies who may have the motivation to go after Marcus's daughter. But to find out who's holding Alexa Marcus hostage, Nick has to find out why. Once he does, he uncovers an astonishing conspiracy that reaches far beyond anything he could have imagined. And if he's going to find Alexa in time, he will have to flush out and confront some of his deadliest opponents ever.

I have been a fan of Joseph Finder's for many years, appreciating his action-a-minute books, complete with mystery, intrigue and characters you can really root for.  I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review Buried Secrets and it did not disappoint.  

Fair warning - - if you are claustrophobic or have anxiety thinking about being entrapped in some fashion, Buried Secrets at the least will make you squirm and, at worst, will be downright unreadable.  The mental and emotional torture depicted on the pages is so intense that it's painfully disturbing.  And yet I wasn't able to put the book down.  

Nick Heller, the private investigator in the midst of all the action, is a terrific character this reader quickly and easily warmed up to and wanted to succeed.  He's smart, he's wily and determined and he's not going to give up until he gets what he wants.  He also has a delicious sense of humor that brings some much needed lighter moments to the book.  

Finder is an adept and skilled writer, one of the best thriller novelists out there.  If you haven't read one of his books, I cannot encourage you enough to give him a try.  He knows how to pen tension like no other and some of his scenes will literally make your skin crawl.  He does not waste a page, a paragraph or a word.  You will find some of the tightest, taunt writing out there in a Joseph Finder novel.  

Finder places plot twists throughout like indiscriminate land mines, making the book unpredictable, explosive and swiftly paced.  Reading Buried Secrets is like running a mad dash or being involved in a high speed chase - - your heart will pound, you will be moving on adrenaline and when it's over you will be physically spent.  But the exertion is well worth it.

Reading Buried Secrets, like reading any Finder novel, is an event, plain and simple.  And one you won't want to miss.

This is the second book in a series featuring Nick Heller (Vanished being the first) and I look forward to Finder's next outing with the intrepid PI.  Even if you haven't read Vanished, Buried Secrets will be an addiction you won't be able to shake.

Buried Secrets is available for purchase now at major booksellers including Amazon.  I am an Amazon affiliate. If you make a purchase through my link, I will receive a small commission.

Review copy of this book provided by Amazon Vine in exchange for a fair and honest review. In no way did the provision of the book affect the outcome of my review.