Paranoia

A Novel

By: Joseph Finder

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Adam Cassidy is twenty-six and a low level employee at a high-tech corporation who hates his job. When he manipulates the system to do something nice for a friend, he finds himself charged with a crime. Corporate Security gives him a choice: prison or become a spy in the headquarters of their chief competitor, Trion Systems. They train him and feed him inside information. Now at Trion, he's a star, skyrocketing to the top. He finds he has talents he never knew he possessed. He's rich, drives a Porsche, lives in a fabulous apartment, and works directly for the CEO. He's dating the girl of his dreams. His life is perfect. All he has to do to keep it that way is betray everyone he cares about and everything he believes in. But when he tries to break off from his controllers, he finds himself in way over his head, where nothing is what it seems and no one can really be trusted. And then the REAL nightmare begins....

©2004 Joseph Finder (P)2004 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic reviews

"Is it too early to declare Finder's fifth novel the most entertaining thriller of 2004?....A first-rate surprise ending packs a wallop. This novel is the real deal: a thriller that actually will keep readers up way past their bedtimes." (Publishers Weekly)

"A twisting, stealthily plotted story...as a savvy genre piece with built-in momentum, it works just fine...the book weaves a tangled and ingeniously enveloping web." (The New York Times)

"What keeps the pages turning isn't the suspense, though, as much as it is Finder's detailed portrayal of the Machiavellian world of the mega-corporation and its high-stakes intrigue." (The New York Times Book Review)

"This thriller is engaging from the opening lines and doesn't let up until the surprising end. Scott Brick narrates flawlessly....This great performance is a perfect fit for the writing." (AudioFile)

Clever and interesting.

I enjoyed this title very much. It's a clever tale of high-tech intrigue, greed and corporate espionage that's well written, fast paced and has well drawn characters. We are not beaten over the head with the moral lessons too severely, yet they are a bit obviously drawn (hard to avoid it, actually). If you are looking for a truly thought provoking book try the new John le Carre novel. If you want a clever, bright and shiny literary romp then this title is the one for you. Recommended.

Paranoia is the perfect title

After 9 years as an Audible member and a library of approximately 700 audiobooks, how did I miss Paranoia? The book is excellent and narration is by Scott Brick who is simply the best.

Young Adam Cassidy, the main character, is caught by two CEOs as a pawn in a high stakes corporate battle. The suspense is terrific. Adam takes apparently huge risks to his personal safety. The ending is not easily predicted. I highly recommend this excellent thriller.

Difficult to stop listening

This is a very enjoyable book. The characters are well thought out and described. Having been in the corporate world for many years, I can relate to the different types of personalities and how people use various methods to deceive or take advantage of others. The ending was good with a bit of a moral. Now I better go listen to Sun Tzu.

Not for those with knowledge of the corporate worl

The story is pretty slow, I didn't find any of it greatly exciting. Compared to The Ice Limit, which is the same style - there are bad guys, good guys, our hero stuck in the middle etc etc - I found this very dull. Why? I think because I have experience in the corporate world I know a lot of the book is just over the top, and it's too mundane to be excited about. Some of the technical side of things were way off, as they always are in these books.

So I can see how it might excite people who haven't had much board room experiences, in the same way Ice Limit excited me, having never been exposed to meteorite excavation, but unless you're after a "meh" book to help get you to sleep at night, I'd save your credits.

Fun read

This was my first Finder book and a wonderful surprise. I throughly enjoyed the fun romp through a fanciful corporate espionage thriller. The protagonist was funny and likable. Two most enjoyable attributes of any novel for me.

I'll most assuredly be downloading many more Finder novels.

Not so good

Some of the circumstances are not believable, and the writing is a bit amateurish. The author loves adverbs ("poutily"?), which, in dialogue tags, are lazy.

Couldn’t stop listening

Best book I’ve read all year. Twists and turns throughout and great suspense. Plus characters very likeable and relatable. Terrific. Wish there was a sequel. Did not want it to end.

Alpha & Omega

One of the very best. I would have given it 5 stars except for the ending. The ending gets zero stars..............It felt like I was dropped off a cliff......

4.5 stars! Not the typical spy thriller

This was a really good book.
The reluctant spy, the ruthless boss, etc.
The twists and turns.
The ending wrapped it up very nice.
The things that seem too easy suddenly make sense in the end.
I'm sorry it didn't turn into a series. Could have been a good corporate thriller.

Great Read

I enjoyed this book very much it was a fun "read" and held my interest. The narrator was very good. Right up to the minute suspense. Well worth your time.