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Joseph Finder

Goodreads author profile

url

http://www.goodreads.com/JosephFinder

born

in Chicago IL, The United States

gender

male

website

http://www.josephfinder.com

twitter username

joefinder

genre

Mystery & Thrillers

member since

June 2009

About this author

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Joseph Finder’s plan was to become a spy. Or maybe a professor of Russian history. Instead he became a bestselling thriller writer, and winner of the Strand Critics Award for Best Novel for BURIED SECRETS (2011), winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Novel for KILLER INSTINCT (2006) and winner of the Barry and Gumshoe Awards for Best Thriller for COMPANY MAN (2005).

Born in Chicago, Joe spent his early childhood living around the world, including Afghanistan and the Philippines. In fact, Joe’s first language — even before English — was Farsi, which he spoke as a child in Kabul. After a stint in Bellingham, WA, his family finally settled outside of Albany, NY.

After taking a high school seminar on the literature and his...more Joseph Finder’s plan was to become a spy. Or maybe a professor of Russian history. Instead he became a bestselling thriller writer, and winner of the Strand Critics Award for Best Novel for BURIED SECRETS (2011), winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Novel for KILLER INSTINCT (2006) and winner of the Barry and Gumshoe Awards for Best Thriller for COMPANY MAN (2005).

Born in Chicago, Joe spent his early childhood living around the world, including Afghanistan and the Philippines. In fact, Joe’s first language — even before English — was Farsi, which he spoke as a child in Kabul. After a stint in Bellingham, WA, his family finally settled outside of Albany, NY.

After taking a high school seminar on the literature and history of Russia, Joe was hooked. He went on to major in Russian studies at Yale, where he also sang with the school's legendary a cappella group, the Whiffenpoofs (and likes to boast that he sang next to Ella Fitzgerald, an honorary Whiffenpoof). Joe graduated summa cum laude from Yale College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, then completed a master’s degree at the Harvard Russian Research Center, and later taught on the Harvard faculty. He was recruited to the Central Intelligence Agency but eventually decided he preferred writing fiction.

His first book, published in 1983 when Joe was only 24, was RED CARPET: THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE KREMLIN AND AMERICA'S MOST POWERFUL BUSINESSMEN, the first book to reveal that the controversial multi-millionaire Dr. Armand Hammer, the CEO of Occidental Petroleum, had worked for Soviet intelligence in the 1920s and 1930s. (This book is no longer in print.)

But RED CARPET was only part of the story that Joe wanted to tell. So he wrote his first novel – the only way he could legally tell the whole Armand Hammer saga. Published in 1991, THE MOSCOW CLUB described events whose factual truth would only be revealed many years later. THE MOSCOW CLUB was named by Publishers Weekly as one of the ten best spy thrillers of all time and was published in thirty foreign countries.

What followed were three more critically-acclaimed thrillers – EXTRAORDINARY POWERS, THE ZERO HOUR (sold to Twentieth-Century Fox for a record sum) and HIGH CRIMES, which became a 2002 Fox film starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman. Joe was invited on the movie set and even cast for a nonspeaking role as a JAG prosecutor.

Published in 2004, PARANOIA represented a major turning point in Joe’s career, landing on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists, among others. It was his first book to use the ruthless drive, corruption and conspiracy of the corporate world as riveting plotline. PARANOIA was called “fun...movie-ready...[with] twists aplenty...” by Entertainment Weekly. A major motion picture based on PARANOIA is in production now and scheduled for release on August 16, 2013.

Joe’s next three novels – COMPANY MAN, KILLER INSTINCT and POWER PLAY – were all bestsellers in which things were decidedly not business as usual. He was quickly hailed as “the CEO of suspense.”

In VANISHED, published August 2009 by St. Martin's Press and an immediate bestseller, Joe introduced his new continuing character, "private spy" Nick Heller. Trained in the Special Forces, Nick is a high-powered intelligence investigator – exposing secrets that powerful people would rather keep hidden. He's a guy you don't want to mess with. He's also the man you call when you need a problem fixed. The second novel in the series, BURIED SECRETS, was published June 2011.

In addition to his fiction, Joe does occasional work for Hollywood, is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers and Council on Foreign Relations, and has written on espionage and international affairs for a number of publications, including TheDailyBeast.com, Forbes, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Republic. He roots for the Boston Red Sox and (less)

105 posts
Joseph Finder's Blog

FanFest: Be My Guest

The biggest event of the year for thriller writers and fans is ThrillerFest, the annual conference of the International Thriller Writers. This year, for the very first time, we’re including FanFest, a program specifically for fans — and I’d like to offer you a chance to be my guest.

Here’s the deal: I can invite five lucky fans to the FanFest reception, which will feature international bestsell...

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Joseph Finder's Books

Average rating: 3.76 · 15,513 ratings · 1,914 reviews · 26 distinct works · Similar authors

	Paranoia 3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 avg rating — 2,860 ratings — published 2003 — 43 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Vanished (Nick Heller, #1) 3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 2,486 ratings — published 2009 — 23 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Buried Secrets (Nick Heller, #2) 3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 1,889 ratings — published 2011 — 15 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Power Play 3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 1,831 ratings — published 2007 — 26 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Company Man 3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 1,832 ratings — published 2005 — 30 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Killer Instinct 3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 1,382 ratings — published 2006 — 32 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	High Crimes 3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 787 ratings — published 1998 — 30 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Zero Hour 3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 avg rating — 430 ratings — published 1996 — 19 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Extraordinary Powers 3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 276 ratings — published 1994 — 15 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Plan B: A Nick Heller Story (Nick Heller, #3) 3.26 of 5 stars 3.26 avg rating — 266 ratings — published 2011 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by Joseph Finder

Nick Heller (3 books)
by Joseph Finder (Goodreads Author)
3.821551724137931 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 4,640 ratings

Upcoming Events

ThrillerFest
Author appearance, July 10, 2013 12:00AM
Grand Hyatt, New York, NY, US
http://www.thrillerfest.com/

The annual meeting of the International Thriller Writers.

Joseph’s Writing

Other Writing (Nonfiction)

1 chapters — updated Sep 30, 2009 03:21pm

Description: Joseph has written extensively on corporate corruption, espionage, international affairs, and writing in general.

Joseph is Currently Reading

Joseph Finder is currently reading

The Queen's Gambit

by Walter Tevis

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jun 10, 2011 06:15am

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Joseph's Recent Updates

Joseph Finder said "yes" to attending ThrillerFest date: July 10, 2013 12:00AM location: Grand Hyatt, New York, NY, The United States description: The annual meeting of the International Thriller Writers.
May 23, 2013 10:18am · like
Joseph Finder said "yes" to attending Grub Street's "The Muse & the Marketplace" date: May 05, 2013 08:00AM location: The Park Plaza Hotel , Boston, MA, The United States description: The Muse and the Marketplace is a three-day literary conference designed to give aspiring writers a better understanding about the craft of writing fiction and non-fiction, inside information about the world of publishing, and thoughtful networking opportunities. On all three days, prominent and nationally-recognized established and emerging authors lead sessions on the craft of writing-- the "muse" side of things-- while editors, literary agents, and publicists lead sessions on the business sid...more
Feb 11, 2013 06:33am · like
Joseph Finder rated a book 5 of 5 stars Love Is Murder by Sandra Brown (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I was fortunate enough to read an early copy of this book, and said at the time that it was like a box of chocolates–each one is different, but they’re all great. A terrific introduction to some writers thriller fans may not have encountered before,...more
May 31, 2012 06:33am · see review
Joseph Finder is currently reading The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 10, 2011 06:15am
Joseph Finder rated a book 5 of 5 stars Love You More (Detective D.D. Warren, #5) by Lisa Gardner	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
One of the best books I've read this year. This was my Amazon review: I've been a fan of Lisa's D.D. Warren series for some time, but she's truly outdone herself with this one. It grabs you on the first page and keeps you guessing until the final chap...more
May 27, 2011 08:08am · see review
Joseph Finder rated a book 5 of 5 stars The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Loved this book. Here's what I told BOOKLIST: What is it about British spy novelists? From Graham Greene and Geoffrey Household and Eric Ambler to Ian Fleming, Len Deighton, and John le Carre—for some reason, when it comes to writing about espionage...more
May 27, 2011 08:04am · see review
Joseph Finder rated a book 5 of 5 stars Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Hits on all cylinders: plot, pacing, love story, narrative momentum, and characters — especially a great, interesting villain. This is a book I've used to teach the art of the thriller.
May 27, 2011 08:02am · see review
Joseph Finder rated a book 5 of 5 stars The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
One of my favorites. More of a straight “novel” than a thriller, but this, along with all of DeMille’s books since then, is a model of how to incorporate humor and attitude into your storytelling without diminishing the suspense.
May 27, 2011 07:58am · see review
Joseph Finder rated a book 5 of 5 stars Tell No One by Harlan Coben	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Irresistible hook, great voice, twist after twist after twist.
May 27, 2011 07:58am · see review
Joseph Finder rated a book 5 of 5 stars Disclosure by Michael Crichton	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Another book that shows the corporate boardroom can be every bit as dangerous as any jungle. Great mix of realistic details with action.
May 27, 2011 07:56am · see review