Joseph Finder, Killer Instinct

Killer Instinct

Joseph Finder

St. Martin's, May 2006, $24.95

ISBN 0312347472

In the Framingham, Massachusetts area Entronics executive Jason Steadman is driving home reading email on his Blackberry when his cell phone rings. He knows his wife Kate is calling, so he answers only to hear her crying as once again Dr. DeMarco of Boston IVF tells her they failed again. Distracted, Jason sends his Acura into a ditch bruising a few ribs, but he is otherwise okay.

Tow truck driver Kurt Semko arrives to take the vehicle away and give Jason a lift. Jason and Kurt become friends, and the former recommends the latter for a job at Entronics. Soon the former Special Forces operative begins doing assignments for Kurt that dramatically increase his sales making him look good. However, soon Kurt apparently goes the extra mile for his buddy and starts killing business adversaries off, and rivals of Jason. Unable to figure out how to expedite himself from this mess, Jason soon realizes that even his beloved Kate is at risk, so he must confront and stop the invincible killing Kurt.

Joseph Finder provides a fun business serial killer thriller starring an amiable salesman and his new friend a killing machine. The storyline is action-packed from the moment Kurt does his first special favor, and never slows down until the final stimulating encounter. The villains (yes more than one) seem more like caricatures of their particular role, but no one will care, as the audience will be hooked to learn how the COMPANY MAN survives (or not) dealing with a PARANOIA trained killer.