Power Play

By: Joseph Finder

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

An off-site corporate event gone disastrously wrong. The largest ransom in history. The price-tag: dead or alive. Now, in Joseph Finder's explosive thriller Power Play, it's up to Jake Landry—a modest, steady guy with a dark, hidden past—to save them all...

It was the perfect retreat for a troubled company. No cell phones. No BlackBerrys. No cars. Just a deluxe lodge surrounded by thousands of miles of wilderness and a desolate seacoast.

Jake Landry is a junior executive at the Hammond Aerospace Corporation, a steady, modest, and taciturn guy with a gift for keeping his head down—and a turbulent past he prays he's put behind him. Ordered to fill in for his boss at the annual offsite, he's out of his element. He's uncomfortable with the lavish accommodations and especially with the arrogant, swaggering men who run the company and the only person he knows there is the new special assistant to the CEO—who happens to be Jake's ex.

Then a band of hunters, apparently lost in the woods, crash the opening-night festivities. Soon the execs of a billion-dollar company, cut off from the rest of the world, find themselves at the mercy of a group of men with guns...and a cunning plan to take Hammond Aerospace for all it's worth.

But the hostage takers aren't who they appear to be and neither is Jake Landry. The high flyers hadn't wanted Jake to come along. Now he's the only one who can save them.

©2007 Joseph Finder (P)2007 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

Critic reviews

"[This is Finder's] most entertaining and compelling novel of adventure and intrigue yet." (Boston Globe)

a suggestion well taken

i recieved this book as a recommendation from audible to listen to. i was a little tired of the same ol' authors, so i decided what the hec. i purchased it and put it in queue for my next listen.

i was pleasantly suprised. i really enjoy readers who will attempt to make differences in their voice when doing different characters. sometimes readers can take it too far, but when they don't do it at all, i really have a tough time listening.

i felt this book was extrememly easy to listen to. the plot was very interesting and not expected. being in the corporate world, there was a sense of relation that i felt.

if you are looking for a quick listen that has a good plot and keeps your attention, this is a good choice. if you've never "read" this author.......give him a chance. i'm now looking at some of this other books.

Slow Start--Fine Finish

Power Play fails to deliver the same thrills as Joseph Finder did in Paranoia, Company Man and Killer Instinct. The first half of the book spends too much time focused on the corporate background, which is marred by having too many power players for the reader to untangle or care about. The female CEO is a particulary bland character, who never really steps off the page as more than a stereotype. It's not until the bad guys arrive that the tale begins to gather momentum. The hero, Jake Landry, though, does not disappoint and brings the book to a rip roaring finish. A good read for people patient enough to wade through the corporate dribble that ruins the first half of the book.

good corporate thrilleer.

Would you consider the audio edition of Power Play to be better than the print version?

never read the book. only the audiobook.

Who was your favorite character and why?

russell. he added excitement. he was not a nice person tho.

Which scene was your favorite?

the whole kidnap scene.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

when russell was scaring everyone (several scenes)

Any additional comments?

the book wrapped up too quickly. i wish it ended differently, not so predictably. it would make a great movie and was very enjoyable.

Shallow, shallow, shallow

I usually like books "published" by Audible. They are well done with some great narrators. This book was clearly an exception. After about 40 minutes I knew what the outcome would be. The story was predictable with the standard cast of characters. Shallow indeed.

Dennis Boutsikaris has a style of narrating that is usually engaging. In this story it seemed that he had not previewed the book before narrating it. His style was almost comical and did not fit the story. Dennis did this book a great disfavor. As a matter of fact, the book did itself a great disfavor.

Not as well developed

This was a fast and enjoyable read, but I felt like it was rushed - especially at the end. It was much shorter than Finder's other books. He spent quite a bit of time in the beginning on the corporate executives and then they sort of disappeared. Some of the concepts (like the jet crash) never got developed. I even checked back to make sure I didn't have the abridged version. It was almost like -"Let's hurry up and get this over." I missed Scott Brick, who narrated Finder's other books. Dennis Boutsikaris made the characters seem like snotty-nosed brats on many occasions. Out of all of Finder's books, this was my least favorite - although still well worth the listen.

I would listen again...

A little slow to develop but enjoyed the listen. The book takes interesting plot changes but at times is predictable.

Great Listening on the Road

If you could sum up Power Play in three words, what would they be?

excellent plot and captivating

What was one of the most memorable moments of Power Play?

When I found out the real reason the criminals were there.

What does Dennis Boutsikaris bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

I thought he reading was good. He brought character and style to the story. He seemed to bring it alive in some instances.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did not cry, but it made me laugh in a few instances.

Any additional comments?

This was a great listen while driving from Rapid City, South Dakota to Salt Lake City, Utah. the book kept my attention. I couldn't wait to get back in the car and conitnue listening after stopping for gas or a bathroom break.

Incredible story, remarkably narration, beautiful writing

One of the few mystery/thrillers I listen to at least once a year. I can think of only 3 novels in the genre that grabbed me in the first chapter and only got better from there.

Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow
Bombproof by Michael Robotham
Power Play by Joseph Finder.

Two of them share the same narrator, actor Dennis Boutsikaris. Frankie Machine and Power Play are both masterpieces of narration.

Well done and exciting mystery suspense thriller.

The beginning reminded me of Die Hard and Deliverance. A group of top executives are held hostage by five military types with guns in a remote location. Ordinary guy Jake is willing to take risks to do things against the hostage takers. He does unexpected things. Jake is not the military type. What he does have comes partly from surviving 18 months in jail as a teenager. The characters and plot are well developed. Dialogue is good. A couple lines I liked follow.

He: “I owe you one.”
She (Zoe): “One? One squared more like.”
He: “That’s still one Zoe.”

A judge tells Jake he has a good wolf and a bad wolf inside him. He asks which one will win. She says the one you feed.

There is a happy ending for the good guys which I liked.

I have a few complaints, which are minor.

1. I don’t like first person books. But this is one of the better ones.

2. There were many interruptions in the current story to tell Jake’s back story – about his time in juvenile prison and his abusive father. I would have preferred it done in fewer larger pieces – not many small pieces.

3. The back stories needed an intro/title or something. One sentence is the last sentence of the current scene. The next sentence is in the back story and I was confused – not knowing we had moved to the back story. If there was a line or symbol in the book, the audiobook narrator did not say so.

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Dennis Boutsikaris was very good, except he should have paused longer between the back stories and the current story.

Genre: mystery suspense thriller.

Good thriller with an interesting premise.

The plot setup involves a junior executive who is reluctantly invited to attend a senior corporate leadership retreat. The new CEO is a woman leading an up-and-coming aerospace company. Things go horribly wrong and the leadership team members show their true colors.

I was kept guessing until the end.

Highly recommended!