Any story that begins with a disgruntled cubicle dweller has me on page one. I can relate even though those days are behind us. Paranoia by Joseph Finder got me hooked and kept me hanging. It’s a timely corporate espionage story that’s hard to put down.
Adam Cassidy works at Wyatt Telecom, a tech corporation, but like loafers everywhere, his great ambition is to get the least amount of work done without getting caught. You want a better job but you don’t want to work. One day, he reallocates company funds for an unauthorized retirement party, and corporate security doesn’t see it as the harmless joke he intended it to be. Adam is suddenly facing a layoff, a lawsuit, and perhaps even criminal charges. You have a choice: go to jail or infiltrate a rival technology company as a corporate spy. The choice is clear. Adam is given a false employment history, trained, and told what to look for. You go to work for Trion Systems, rise through the ranks, and double your salary. There’s just one problem, Adam likes his new job and he doesn’t want to spy anymore. But he has some powerful enemies and soon he doesn’t know who he can trust.
Paranoia is an intense page turn, a steep and curving roller coaster of a reading. The characters are imperfect and credible. Written in the first person, Finder takes you inside Adam’s head as he struggles with his life, love, and relationships. There is some violence and foul language, there are also intense situations and twists. I loved. Two thumbs up.
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks (December 28, 2004)
ISBN: 978-0312992286
Paperback: 448 pages
Price: $ 6.99
