The Zero Hour

By: Joseph Finder

Narrated by: Jeff Gurner

FBI Special Agent and counterterrorism expert Sarah Cahill doesn't know the man she's tracking. But the so-called "Prince of Darkness" knows her—intimately. So when Sarah is summoned to Wall Street to investigate, little does she know that she's the one under surveillance… until the terrorist infiltrates himself into the deepest, most desperate corners of her life.

Soon Sarah is plunged into a deep labyrinth of intrigue and catastrophe as she races to uncover a diabolically clever conspiracy…before time runs out…and the clock strikes THE ZERO HOUR... from bestselling author Joseph Finder.

Critic reviews

<p>“Thrilling.” —<i>The New Yorker</i><br><br>“Breathlessly exciting.” —<i>Kirkus Reviews (starred review)</i><br><br>“A labyrinth of suspense…brilliant…a master storyteller.” —<i>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</i><br><br>“A thinking person's thriller with bite.” —<i>Publishers Weekly (starred review)</i><br><br>“Fast and furious.” —<i>The New York Times Book Review on HIGH CRIMES</i><br><br>“Exciting . . . deliciously absorbing . . . full of hair-pin turns.” —<i>The Washington Post on HIGH CRIMES</i><br><br>“A powerhouse tale.” —<i>Chicago Tribune on HIGH CRIMES</i><br><br>“Provocative and chilling.” —<i>Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on HIGH CRIMES</i><br><br>“Rattling good entertainment.” —<i>Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) on HIGH CRIMES</i><br><br>“Financial thriller whiz Joe Finder has fully and seamlessly entered the world of Lee Child and James Rollins. A rousing, lightning-paced thriller from the first page to the last. ” —<i>Providence Journal on VANISHED</i><br><br>“If Jack Reacher met Nick Heller in a dark alley, my money's on Reacher. But it would be ugly. Or would it? Actually, I think they'd go for a beer together and set the world to rights--because Joseph Finder has given me a terrific new hero to root for. This is an action-packed, full-throttle, buy-it-today-read-it-tonight series that you definitely shouldn't miss.” —<i>Lee Child on VANISHED</i><br><br>“A humdinger....a thriller to enjoy for its Washington locales, convincing familiarity with cutting-edge spy gadgetry, and taut action scenes.” —<i>Washington Post on VANISHED</i><br><br>“Cliffhangers galore, the fascinating tradecraft of corporate espionage, and an engrossing story will propel readers through this outstanding thriller. Highly recommended as a great summer read.” —<i>Library Journal (starred review) on VANISHED</i></p>

Readers are more savvy than the investigator

The prison break that opens the book, and the final take down at the end are the most exciting parts of the story.

Between those you have to suspend a lot of your own knowledge of terrorism, bad guys, and super investigators to get through this. You have to accept a weak, naive, vulnerable person as the lead (best) investigator. You also have to be willing to sit through lots of long, dull detailed tech descriptions, like how everyday things work such as the NYC phone system, airport airspace and what a pilot must do in that space, the fact that handcuffs have universal keys, the numbering system of the relative strengths of various explosives, DHL deliveries, and detonators (maybe not all this is so everyday, but still), as well as repeated explanations of what a computer LAN is and what AFIS stands for. Okay, this was written in 2010, so we need to make some allowances. The tech seems at times modern and at times ancient; for example, it is not until far into the book that the bad guy uses a cell phone rather than a sat phone.

Other disappointments in the story:
1) This hardened, world's best, terrorist criminal has only one way of killing. He also has a soft spot for the kid.
2) The big shocking surprise reveal was not; we figured it out from the very beginning, long before Sarah did. How did she ever get the position she has? She's not a strong character.
3) Without DHL's Edna Mae, the bad guys might have won.
4) Several other characters were far more experienced and interesting than Sarah. Officer Roth and cracker (not hacker) Krasner were capable, daring, and brilliant. Roth deserves his own books.

And then there is the unforgivable:
Chapter 15 about 1 minute in, the author commits a cardinal sin. He inserts himself into the story with a lecture on the vulnerabilities of the US financial system to cyber attacks, and then even uses "in my opinion." Star-losing big tisk-tisk there.

Despite all these many disadvantages, the story mostly kept my interest throughout. However, it is not one I would listen to again, nor keep in my library. People say that Finder's other books are pretty good.