Rating: 
Summary: Weak
Review: I just spent the day reading most of this book and regret it. I wanted a real gripping thriller and this seemed like it was going to be just that, but it got caught up in what I found to be boring character banter and transparent plot maneuvers. I hate not to finish a book so I kept reading thinking I'd get through the weaker parts, but I finally gave up. The book didn't have what it takes to hold me in the fiction, instead I kept finding myself snickering at the writing and attitude, which wasn't exactly what I had in mind for a good read. Try John Grisham, Brad Meltzer or the old realiable Elmore Leonard instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Think "Alias" - for suspense, a light, entertaining read
Review: For a light read, this is a very entertaining novel. It's not supposed to change your life, it's just a lot of suspense and loads of fun. Joseph Finder has done a great job of writing with Paranoia. It is an incredibly fast-paced non-stop action adventure that has you turning pages so fast you can feel the breeze on your face! The suspense throughout the book is so thick you can cut it with a dull butter-knife. Here are some things that will help you make up your own mind about Paranoia:Most novels take a while building up characters before the action begins. Finder grabs you from the first page with Paranoia as the main character finds himself in very hot water after siphoning off company funds for personal use. Rather than fire and prosecute him, the CEO decides to use him as a pawn in a dangerous game of corporate espionage. Close call after close call ensues (think "Alias" the TV show but in a corporate environment) as he tries to balance not getting caught and sent to jail by either company he's involved with. The beauty is that you, the reader, do not know what the reality of the situation is until the last 10 pages of the story. Is the main character paranoid or is everyone really out to get him? If you enjoy suspense thrillers like those of John Grisham or Dan Brown, then you are sure to get caught up in the thrill ride from the beginning. It is one of those books you pick up and just don't want to put down until its exciting (and surprising!) conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: Let's Be Honest Here
Review: This is an odd time we live in. First I've lost faith in movie reviews, now I'm doubting book critics. (And not just from this book's hype.) Based on the reviews, I purchased this book. After reading it, I checked the input here and realized some other readers shared my views, (I should have listened). There was potential in this idea for a novel even though it's been done before. It was the dullness of the writing that bored me and forced me to skim the last half. Maybe the author felt that by using the first-person he could get away with careless writing, that since he was in the voice of the protagonist, he could resort to lazy cliches and nothing original. Here I disagee. For Adam to garner the interest he did from two high-tech companies, and accomplish what he did, he should have been more of a unique interesting thinker. After all, the reader is expected to live in his point of view throughout the entire novel, so his point of view should be interesting, not mundane. That was a problem for me. I just never believed much of it, and felt cheated by the end. Just my thoughts. It is obvious others found it quite different. However, I wouldn't trust this author again, no matter what the reviews were.
Rating:
Summary: A brillant thriller
Review: Paranoia by Joseph Finder is a terrific success. The main character is Adam Cassidy, a twenty-something slacker at a tech company. He prides himself at doing as little work as possible, spending his days surfing the web. He gets carried away, and as a joke sets up a retirement party for a blue-collar worker that costs $76,000 (but as you read the book, you question whether it was really a joke, that Cassidy might not recognize his own motivation). He tries to lie his way out of the mess, but his boss spots the lie and gives him a choice -- become an industrial spy for the company or be prosecuted for embezzlement and other crimes. Of course he becomes a spy. Cassidy is set up to be hired by a competitor of his company, with instructions to find out about a revolutionary new project. He finds that, unlike his old company, the company he's spying on is run by a real pioneer who cares about people. Caught between his growing admiration for his new boss and his fear of what his old boss will do to him, Cassidy tries to satisfy both, something that is clearly impossible and yet emotionally makes sense. Plausibility is something that trips up many thrillers. The author seems to present solutions to the obvious objections that would arise as to how Cassidy pulls off impersonating a highly skilled executive when he's lived his working life as a slacker. Part of the answer is that he gets daily briefings from his old company on how to deal with problems at work. The rest of the answer is that he's smarter than he seems; he's clearly a chronic underachiever. Faced with a real challenge, he becomes in some ways a better person even while he is lying and breaking into people's offices. Many thrillers have become the literary equivalents of action/adventure movies. That is, gunplay and violence are the way tension is generated. Here there is very little violence, and Cassidy engages in no superhuman feats of strength or courage. The most dangerous he does (physically at least) is to use window cleaner equipment to rapel down the outside of a building. He also hides in a closet for several hours, not exactly a heroic act. Finder is such a skilled writer, however, that the efforts of Cassidy to fake skills he really doesn't have generate more suspense than the gunfights that fill most books. Finder wastes nothing. Cassidy has an dying father who was not that great when he was younger, but now as he is dying is almost a monster under the influence of the drugs he must take and his looming death. That Cassidy puts up, as much as possible, with his father humanizes someone who otherwise might be a contemptible character. And it also ties neatly into the ending. The ending of the book is brillant, and avoids (as so much of the rest of the book does) the easy cliches of a typical thriller. While it in no way suggests a sequel, the ending leaves me wanting to know what Cassidy does with his life. Others may disagree, but in some ways his experience should leave with the knowledge that he is a stronger and better person that he first appears. But whether he knows that or not is open to debate. This book is the rare combination of intelligence and suspense. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: My my
Review: I've got to side with the one and two star crew on this baby. The writing was so slick I slipped right off on page 40 - I enjoy a good comic thriller, but this one lacked metal. All gloss, no grip. I recommend Extreme Denial instead.
Rating:
Summary: Must Read!
Review: I read this book starting on a Sat and finishing the next day Sunday. This is a must read! I am in the software develop industry. Joseph Finder did his research for this book. I usually figure out the ending but this time I was fooled! I do not understand how anyone could give this book a 1 star. I would love to see this book made into a movie!
Rating:
Summary: Exciting story told through the eyes of a reluctant spy
Review: The great thing about this book is how thoroughly absorbed you get into the story as it's told by the main character, Adam. You really feel like the guy is telling you this amazing story that happened to him -- and to me, that makes the book riveting and impossible to put down. Adam's voice, as he tells you about how he got himself involved in this corporate espionage scheme, is funny and pitch-perfect and engrossing. It's like your buddy is telling you the story -- and what an exciting ride it is. Adam, the reluctant spy, gets in over his head, and seems always to be on the verge of getting caught, but keeps his wits enough to avoid detection -- getting better at espionage as the story develops. His interactions with his old boss and his new boss are great and even moving. You really get the sense that Adam is trying to figure himself out, and this character development adds depth to a twisty, nerve-wracking plot. This is a great novel with a totally funny and endearing main character. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Duped
Review: All the five-star reviews convinced me to try this one, but I was very let down. I found the book too shallow to enjoy. The writing kept jabbing me with its cliches and tight imagery, and I got bored. After finishing, I felt like I'd spent the evening watching sitcoms or something.
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining corporate thriller
Review: Joseph Finder has found a wide audience with his new novel Paranoia, which is rapidly climbing the bestseller charts. The novel is a very quick and painless read, kind of a less-wooden Michael Crichton meets the movie Wall Street. The narrator of the novel, Adam Cassidy, has a fairly low-level job with Wyatt Technologies, which he jeopardizes by throwing an unauthorized retirement party for a blue collar dock worker to start the action. The party costs about $78,000, and Adam needs to move some money around to surreptitiously pay for it. When company boss Nick Wyatt finds out about it, he threatens Adam with jail for embezzlement, or a dangerous alternative: corporate espionage. Of course Adam chooses the latter, and next thing we know he is being trained as a high-tech whiz kid, with the hopes that he can infiltrate competitor Trion and feed Wyatt secrets about their top-secret projects. The novel moves at a brisk pace, and while some of the situations seem like we have seen them before (including father-son exchanges about the evils of quick wealth in a phony corporate world, right out of Martin Sheen in Wall Street), you find yourself rooting for Adam as he gets deeper and deeper into the Trion braintrust. The heads of the two companies are great foils, as Nick Wyatt is relentless and heartless, chasing down Adam for information regardless of his personal need for time away, while Trion head Jock Goddard exudes a more democratic, fatherly concern for his employees, including Adam. Finder is a member of The Association of Former Intelligence Officers, and for me the most enjoyable parts of the novel described Adam easily hacking into the computers of co-employees, figuring out secret codes and passwords, and effortlessly obtaining top-secret information. As Adam got wealthier, and as his buying habits got a little more outlandish, I thought the author piled on the brand names and goodies a bit, and it struck me that by then Adam could have repaid the $78,000, and paid a decent attorney to get him out of the mess he was in. However, you have to suspend disbelief a little to really enjoy a novel like this, and I did. I never stopped rooting for Adam, and other than some mild disappointment in the very last page of the novel, I have to commend Finder on a very enjoyable and intelligent thriller. You won't want to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Great until the last minute
Review: I would not call this book a thriller, but it was a great read. A little toooooo many adjectives some times, but it was a great book and an easy read. It keeps you guessing until the very end.
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