Vanished

By: Joseph Finder

Narrated by: Holter Graham

Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Nick Heller is tough, smart, and stubborn. And in his line of work, it's essential. Trained in the Special Forces, Nick is a high-powered intelligence investigator - exposing secrets that powerful people would rather keep hidden. He's a guy you don't want to mess with. He's also the man you call when you need a problem fixed.

Desperate, with nowhere else to run, Nick's nephew, Gabe makes that call one night. After being attacked in Georgetown, his mother lies in a coma, and his step-dad, Roger, Nick's brother, has vanished without a trace. Nick and Roger have been on the outs since the arrest, trial, and conviction of their father, the notorious "fugitive financier" Victor Heller. Where Nick strayed from the path, Roger followed their father's footsteps into the corporate world. Now, as Nick searches for his brother, he's on a collision course with one of the most powerful corporations in the world - and they will stop at nothing to protect their secrets, in Joseph Finder's thrilling Vanished.

©2009 Joseph Finder (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

annoying reading

finder's excellence was neutralized by a very annoying reading focused on the perpetual whinning of both the wife and her son, Gabe . hard to listen to Gabe's puberty voice cracking combined with the whinning...

Thriller/mystery for today's news

VANISHED by Joseph Finder is the first thrilling Nick Heller mystery. Nick is former Special Services turned corporate intelligence specialist. He's also, one of two sons of a ruthless white collar, money maker spending the final years of his life in jail. Nick was working on a case involving billions of dollars of stolen illegal money, when his 14 year old nephew, Gabe, called asking for help. Gabe's Mom has been attacked and is in the hospital, and Gabe's Dad is missing. Nick flys immediately to Washington, D.C., to help his brother's family.

As I've found Joseph Finder's other books to be, there are a number of seemingly unrelated paths being investigated at the same time, that keep his readers thoroughly involved in the story. This story is deeply immersed in companies and government issues that fit right into our present national and international history, Greed, lies, misplaced trust, misused intelligence, and family loyalties drive this mystery deep, hard and fast. Finder definitely knows how to develop scenes with descriptions that push the thrills of his novels into heart racing reading!

Fast paced, thoroughly enjoyable

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and, despite what others have said, thought the narrator was superb. I haven't particularly enjoyed Joseph Finder's last couple of novels, which were only so-so. However, Vanished represents a return to the action-packed, rough and tumble novel that I like so much from Finder, novels like Paranoia! Great book... I can't wait for the next Nick Heller novel.

My only complaint is that at the end of the book, we are told that there is a PDF containing Gabe's graphic novel on the CD. But there appears to be no way to obtain this PDF with the Audible version, much to my disappointment.

Great narrator!

I give the narrator a 4.5 but the story is a 3. It had all the makings of a great read but the plot miss-fires a bit to much and is difficult to follow. It's just not very plausable and the author doesn't really explain how the villian tries to pull it off. Still a good read though.

Vanished

I was always impressed with Finder's novels. This one did not trip my trigger.

Twists right to the end!

Any additional comments?

I liked the pacing, the plot twists, the character development...Nick Heller is a hero for today. The voice actor is really good and an easy listen. I recommend this for a drive, a lazy sunny day, a sleepless night...anytime you can devote some hours to it. I couldn't put it down.

Fun

This was a fun read. interested in continuing the series. Hope it gets better as it goes

Not Finder's best

I've come to really enjoy Joseph Finder's books - he always captures the language of the industry he is writing about. In this book, however, I think he tries too hard to dazzle us with his insider knowledge of spyware and Special Forces lingo. By the end of the book, I really had lost interest. Too bad, because I usually like his stuff. The one highlight? Good narration.

Annoying Narrator

I was half way through the book and I thought I would check out the reviews by other listeners. I could not agree more with the other reviewers on the annoying voice of the narrator. I thought it was just me losing my patience, but apparently others thought so too!

Major disappointed...

I'm a HUGE fan of Finder, a fan who always eagerly awaits his next, but this one is weak. The mother and son are so whiny and bratty and obnoxious that they're unsympathetic. The protag also has major flaws; a prime example is when he visits his father in prison. He desperately needs info from his father, but engages in childish sarcasm and obfuscation for far too long.

Then there's the narrator. OH. MY. GOSH. I wish I had read this one with my eyes instead of ears because this guy is one of the most annoying narrators I've ever heard. The whiny, nasally, trembling voices grate on my spine like fingernails on a chalkboard. How does a major release like this get to market without SOMEONE saying, "Whoa, we have a problem?"

Audible seriously needs to bust up the review process into separate components for content and narration.