Joseph Finder has written a number of thrillers, with the most recent focused on corporate settings. In Power Play, a group of top executives of an aerospace company are at an secluded lodge for an off site meeting to build team playing when they find themselves under attack by hunters with a criminal intention. Of course, all is not what it seems. This is especially true of the central character whose background is gradually revealed throughout the book.
Is it a gripping read? Well, I guess so! On Saturday night I picked up at around page 70 and could *not* stop reading until I finished at about 3:30 am Sunday morning. So it sure held my interest.
But I felt that there were a few loose threads that did not get resolved as well as I would have liked. And what held my attention so well? It was more the mini-plots - the constant minor new developments that causes one to say - "oh-oh - now what?" The big picture was the weak part; that did not contribute to the gripping feel of the book. I feel that there was room for editorial comment here, a development on a theme, yet little to none was offered. The overall plot was fairly predictable; it was easy to see, in general where this was going. But probably Paranoia, another Finder book, spoiled me as that was much stronger on surprise twist and ending. So I guess I kept waiting for the twist and never got one.
I recently read and commented on Finder's The Zero Hour. I feel Power Play is a much better book. It is way more plausible and the characters largely more believable than the Zero Hour. I still like Paranoia best.
I'll be reading a Michael Palmer book next.
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