A Man of Indeterminate Value
by Ron Felber
Copyright: 2013
Pages: 288
Rating: 3.5/5
Read: June 18-25, 2013
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 28
Format: Print
Source: Felicia with Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc.
Blurb: In a world plagued by corrupt corporations and sinister forces that prowl the global landscape, John “Jack” Madson seeks salvation from deep within the man he is today and the man he aspires to be.
In the tradition of Raymond Chandler, John Grisham, and Michael Connelly, this crime fiction series launches with three noir thrillers bristling with authenticity, insight, and social commentary. From the boardrooms of Wall Street, to the steamy backstreets of Bangkok, to the secret Triads of Shanghai, award-winning author Ron Felber, originator of the FOX television series The Mob Doctor, takes his reader into the violent, surreal, and sex-crazed underbelly of 21st century America, the “empire in decline.”
Witty, riveting, and diabolically clever, the heart-pounding pace, exotic locales, and unforgettable characters make the “Jack Madson” series a welcomed innovation within the genre of crime fiction.
A Man of Indeterminate Value (Book 1), introduces ex-cop Jack Madson as a disgraced Wall Street take-over artist and target of a failed suicide scam that leaves him the “most wanted” man in the Garden State of NJ. Madson is on a personal mission to take on corporate forces hell-bent on his destruction as they seek to IPO game-changing bio-medical technology to the Street worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Review: I received this book to review from Felicia with Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc.
Let me just tell you right now that this book has an introduction that hooks you in immediately! I shared it with my readers as part of the First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros meme last week. But let me share it with you guys again (yes, it’s that good!)
The Yellow cab slipped into a parking spot opposite St. Damian’s monastery on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Newark’s Central Ward. I felt remarkably well for a man who’d just been shot. “Hey, mister, you gonna be all right? You don’t look too good,” the Puerto Rican driver said. “Here,” I answered slipping him two $100s for the $60 fare, “you stick to driving. You never saw me.” “Si, senor, no veo nada,” he swore as I crossed the street holding my right hand over the crimson circle of blood expanding on my Tailored Image white shirt, from my left bicep, just above the heart. In my left hand, I clung to a leather briefcase filled with drugs, booze, even some papers.
I mean, hello!? Doesn’t that just suck you in immediately and make you want to find out what on earth is going on here? I know it sure did me!
However, that introduction might have wowed me … well, let me just say that I was not impressed with Jack’s character. Well. I guess I really should say that I was not impressed with what Jack got himself involved with. First, the way his wife is described in the beginning makes her seem psycho. Yeah, you can imagine where all this goes. And let’s not forget about the fact that Jack had to leave college before graduating. The guy gets into financial trouble, you can’t really blame him for trying to stash some money back. But the whole plan he devises, well … yeah, I just can’t imagine it.
The story starts out at the end. Yes, you read that right. You pretty well know what happens in the end before you know how it got there. Personally, I don’t like books set up that way. But I understand why it was written in that format and I have to admit I was quite curious to find out what exactly had happened along the way. So I guess maybe it worked for me in this book more than it has in the past.
Bottom line, this is a really well written book. It held my attention relatively well and I was interested in knowing the whole story. And while I enjoyed it, I don’t think it would be a good book for everyone. I would recommend it, but only if business thrillers are your cup of tea.
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