This isn't a book -- it's a short story for the Kindle and other formats -- but you should read it anyway. It's free, and worth every penny.
Joseph Finder is known for his best-selling novels, but occasionally he produces an entertaining piece of short fiction as well. He's done just that with Plan B, an action-packed story featuring his new series character Nick Heller.
Heller is working in Barcelona in Plan B, on a mission to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Ukrainian billionaire. He's staging a raid on the palatial villa of a wealthy Spaniard, but what he finds inside surprises even him.
I don't care for short stories as much as I do novels, even though they can be quite satisfying when done well. This can be a problem especially with the thriller genre, where unfolding a scenario and putting it through the paces in just a short span of words is daunting.
Finder does an excellent job of it, though, telling a fun and fast-paced story that is satisfying on its own accord, and also whets the reader's appetite for more Heller. (Along those lines, this Amazon Single also includes a preview of Finder's new novel featuring Heller, which will be released later this summer.) In the grand tradition of O Henry and Poe, Plan B has a nice twist to keep the reader guessing, something I always enjoy in a short story, and it finishes with an open-ended climax, allowing us to imagine what happens next.
Although Plan B will likely appeal more to readers who have already read Vanished, the first Nick Heller novel, it can certainly be enjoyed on its own. Finder never fails to deliver.
