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The 500

3.48 of 5 stars 3.48 · rating details · 1,325 ratings · 335 reviews

Mike Ford is a former con artist who's been plucked from his Harvard Law School classroom to be an associate at The Davies Group, Washington's most high-powered and well-respected strategic consulting firm. Their specialty: pulling strings and peddling influence for the five hundred most powerful people inside the Beltway, the men and women who really run Washington -- and...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published June 5th 2012 by Reagan Arthur Books (first published January 1st 2012)

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Jun 15, 2012 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, thriller

This is the definition of a beach book. The perfect book to read when all you want is to empty your mind so you can just relax. At first,The 500 reminded me of early John Grisham, especially The Firm and The Pelican Brief, but the pace is faster and the characters are more complex yet better understood.

Mike Ford is a con artist by blood and inclination. He wants nothing more than to live an honest life with the security that comes from making the right choices. He is running from his past, a chi...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars

Matthew Quirk has written a novel that attempts to take you into a world of Washington DC that the most cynical and skeptical among us believe exists and is in operation today. I won't detail the plot any further here as it has been summarized well by others and to add to their work would only present spoilers. So, we'll move on to my impressions of the novel. Quirk has written a solid if somewhat predictable first effort at a political thriller. His characters in my opinion were little more tha...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Nick rated it 2 of 5 stars

Mike Ford is one of those edgy types - destined to do interesting things. He is either going to go down a path of crime like his dad, or he is going to use his straight As and top degree to end up ruling the world. Middle management is not an option. Hence, it is not a great surprise that he ends up as the youngest ever senior associate (or whatever) at the leading lobbying company in Washington. Company Chairman, Henry Davies, takes Ford under his wing and sets him on the fast track to glory. I...more Mike Ford is one of those edgy types - destined to do interesting things. He is either going to go down a path of crime like his dad, or he is going to use his straight As and top degree to end up ruling the world. Middle management is not an option. Hence, it is not a great surprise that he ends up as the youngest ever senior associate (or whatever) at the leading lobbying company in Washington. Company Chairman, Henry Davies, takes Ford under his wing and sets him on the fast track to glory. In true Bud Fox style, Ford is able to bring his slightly criminal background to good use to get an advantage.

The Davies Group has a mission to get cosy with the 500 most powerful men in Washington. You may think that 500 is rather a lot and that some of them in the lower ranks - the 480s and 490s - might not be very powerful at all. But no matter. Moreover, one wonders just how every one of those 500 would be attainable (e.g. a President with no background in Washington who had been Governor of Arkansas until arriving at the White House), but please don't get caught up on the details. The key point is that there is one of the 500 that they desparately need to get on board. But rather than make this an overt company target it is dealt with as top secret, could-tell-you-but-then-I'd-have-to-kill-you stuff. This lynchpin will be instrumental in getting the law changed to ensure that a Bosnian war criminal is able to go untried at the War Crimes Tribunal, and this will reward Henry Davies with many billions of dollars. We need to take it on trust that the Bosnian war criminal has all these billions to give (Bosnia was never rich) and that the grateful chap would hand it all over to Henry Davies once the law had been changed to give him immunity. It could happen.

So, Mike decides to try to interfere in the plans for no obvious reason. This leads to thrills and spills aplenty - and in each bruising encounter Mike picks up a fresh flesh would which he promptly shrugs off as he prepares for the next brusing encounter. It all ends up with mega-conspiracies, secret tunnels and opening hillsides. Wasn't that the bat cave? Throw in a bit of jet-setting conspicuous consumption and double crossing and triple crossing and you have The 500.

The writing's clunky. It is a first person narration so we get Mike's inane commentary on everything that happens. Matthew Quirk should remember that it is more powerful to show than to tell - because Mike makes his deductive processes so overt and so laboured that it doesn't let the reader think. The characters are cliches, the setting is a film-set. The novel is derivative as anything - throw in a bit of Gordon Gecko, a bit of Primary Colors, a bit of this, a bit of that...

Look, it's easy reading. It's a penny dreadful page turner. But it is still complete nonsense and will make you feel dirty for spending your time reading it. (less)

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Aug 20, 2012 Amorak Huey rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller

There's a blurb on the front cover of this book from James Patterson that says this novel is "The Firm goes to Washington, only with more action."

Honestly, if I'd noticed that the blurb was from James Patterson, I might never have picked it up. But it turns out Patterson, or whoever ghostwrote the blurb for him, is pretty much right about The 500.

This book relies on the voice of its first-person narrator and main character, who's a street-smart poor boy turned Ivy League law dude, trying to mak...more There's a blurb on the front cover of this book from James Patterson that says this novel is "The Firm goes to Washington, only with more action."

Honestly, if I'd noticed that the blurb was from James Patterson, I might never have picked it up. But it turns out Patterson, or whoever ghostwrote the blurb for him, is pretty much right about The 500.

This book relies on the voice of its first-person narrator and main character, who's a street-smart poor boy turned Ivy League law dude, trying to make it in the secretive halls of power in D.C. Mike Ford is savvy and charismatic enough, and the writing is strong enough to make this a fast, pleasurable enough read. I wouldn't say it's exactly memorable, but yeah, it mostly works.

Does require some suspension of disbelief in terms of the plot, which gets needlessly convoluted and relies on some silly mistakes by the bad guys and a serious A-Team/MacGyver moment by the hero (you know, the bad guys leave him locked in a room with exactly the right makeshift tools he needs to make a spectacular escape), plus a deus ex machina gun-and-burglar-tool supplier, plus some stupidly unbelievable coincidences from the characters' pasts. What all this means is the books starts out stronger than it finishes; Quirk sets up more than he can follow through on here, so the final third or so of the book is an extended chase scene that you're just kind of flipping through waiting for our hero to (view spoiler), because of course he's going to.

You think plot is the easy part of writing a novel, right? Especially a thriller. The hard part is character and voice and all that, you know, writing stuff. And, yeah, setting up a plot pretty much is the easy part. But following through? Making sure things come together, making sure the outcome makes sense? Weaving together all the threads and maintaining the rules of the world you established? That is difficult indeed. It's about chewing what you bite off, or something. (less)

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Jun 20, 2012 Dan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Pass the popcorn, a book that would be better as a movie
Promo material for “The 500” says the novel is now under development as a major motion picture. I’m glad to read that. As written, I think the book would be better as a movie.

Tom Cruise would be a natural to play the part of Michael Ford, except Cruise is now too long in the tooth to play the twenty-something hero.

I see the book being better as a movie because all the fast action, coincidences that are too pat and dialogue that’s too glib...more Pass the popcorn, a book that would be better as a movie
Promo material for “The 500” says the novel is now under development as a major motion picture. I’m glad to read that. As written, I think the book would be better as a movie.

Tom Cruise would be a natural to play the part of Michael Ford, except Cruise is now too long in the tooth to play the twenty-something hero.

I see the book being better as a movie because all the fast action, coincidences that are too pat and dialogue that’s too glib would be more plausible, more pleasurable rushing at you on the big screen. Up there on the screen the story might take off. On the page, the narrative feels a little flat, the banter more often than not, tends toward the flip.

The narrative, a story about how Washington power brokers abuse power, too often felt manufactured rather than organic, forced instead of naturally unfolding, constructed by a formula only loosely connected to reality.

Michael Ford is a recent Harvard grad who didn’t have an easy life growing up. Now he’s been hired by the Davies Group, Washington’s most prestigious consulting firm, an enterprise operated more as a secret society, a shadow government run by the world’s most powerful and dangerous men. Soon Ford is ensnarled by a past he can’t outrun, caught in circumstances as perilous as anyone could imagine and relentlessly pursued by people obsessively trying to control the future.

Ford tells his own story. It’s a story too full of too-fortunate coincidences for my taste: For example, it looks at one point that Ford is trapped in an office with no way to escape. But wait, as a kid he worked as a carpenter so he knows how and where to kick and punch his way through drywall.

Later he’s subjected to excruciating torture, enough to force anyone to give up the truth. But wait, just a couple hours ago he happened to take some powerful painkillers. The pain meds help him endure. And then later, it appears his pursuers have him cornered, this time for real. But wait, there’s a new Audi parked at the curb and as Ford suspects, the German automaker has taped a spare ignition key to the back page of the car’s owner’s manual. Off he drives. Neat.

A number of dead bodies end up lying around and when it serves the writer’s purposes the bodies stay dead. But if it’s more convenient, a body can and does come back to life.

All those quick escapes and neat reversals are fine for the movies, especially one that’s edited for quick cuts and limited attention spans. But readers usually are looking for more substance and nuance, a better reason to care about the characters and what happens to them. All that doesn’t mean it’s not a good read, exactly. It’s just that I hoped “The 500” would be better, a story with more depth, more of an emotional core and less occupied with being self-consciously clever.

At one point Michael says he felt that fatigue weighed down his body “like a dentist’s lead blanket.” That’s sort of how I felt sometimes while reading the novel.

[3.5 stars]
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Jun 16, 2012 Kelly Hager rated it 5 of 5 stars

Michael Ford is not doing well. His dad is in prison, his mom has died from cancer and he doesn't speak to his brother. Due to his mom's medical bills, he is also almost $900,000 in debt (well, between the medical bills and the college tuition fees). He'd be willing to do just about anything to make that debt go away.

Enter The Davies Group. They're sort of a consulting firm in DC and they recruit Mike. They pay off his debt, get him a nice apartment and a huge salary. Best of all, Mike quickly f...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Larry Hoffer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mike Ford has struggled for most of his life. After his father went to prison, he tried to support his mother, but found himself quickly drawn into the same criminal world that attracted both his father and his brother. A stint in the military helps point him in the right direction, and he is pursuing two degrees at Harvard Law School while working to pay off all of his debts. When he is tapped by a visiting lecturer to join The Davies Group, a high-powered lobbying and consulting firm in Washin...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Katie Kenig rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction, suspense

No one has an equal shot in life. Some kids have it particularly tough. When your dad loses his business and turns to the life of a con man to try to keep a roof over your family's head, only to wind up in prison when you're still young. When your older brother follows in his footsteps and winds up so heartless he's only interested in using his little brother for what he can get out of him. When your mom dies of cancer when you're still young, and you don't have insurance to get her proper care,...more No one has an equal shot in life. Some kids have it particularly tough. When your dad loses his business and turns to the life of a con man to try to keep a roof over your family's head, only to wind up in prison when you're still young. When your older brother follows in his footsteps and winds up so heartless he's only interested in using his little brother for what he can get out of him. When your mom dies of cancer when you're still young, and you don't have insurance to get her proper care, and she still leaves behind such a mountain of hospital bills that it seems like you'll never be able to scale that mountain. When you're smart and determined enough to work your way through Harvard law as a bartender only to get rejected by potential employers because of your checkered past.

When you've got all of that hanging over your head, is it any wonder that when someone comes along and promises you the good life that you've always wanted, you'd jump at the chance? You wouldn't investigate too closely the job you'll be doing or the man you'll be working for, because the promises are so incredibly dear - the high class job that gets you respect, the home in the nice neighbourhood, the beautiful, intelligent, upper-class girlfriend, the chance to rebuild a relationship with your dad by getting him a wished-for parole after 16 years in prison. You wouldn't worry about what goes on behind the curtain, until it reaches that point where you just can't ignore it any more.

And when it gets to be too much for your newly minted morality and you cross that powerful boss of yours? You'd better get ready to fight, and run. You'd better be ready to not trust anyone in your life and you'd better be ready to lose everything you had, and more.

The 500 refers to the 500 most powerful people in Washington, D.C. - the men who wield the power that actually runs the country. The ones with the dirtiest secrets and the most to lose, who have the power to bury you if you cross them. This book takes you on a full-throttle action ride through navigating through those people, and trying to come out the other side alive.

Big recommend - a fast read and a fun, nicely-paced adventure to lose yourself in.(less)

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Jul 21, 2012 Matt rated it 2 of 5 stars

The 500 has frequently been compared to The Firm. I get it. The villains in both books are shadowy organizations whose all-seeing, all-reaching power require a taffy pull of your disbelief. Where they differ (as best as I recall...it's been 20 years since I read The Firm) is that Michael Ford (the protagonist and narrator of The 500) is no Mitch McDeere (The Firm's hero). Ford, in fact, barely resembles a human based on his motivations and mental faculties under duress. Throughout the book, Ford...more The 500 has frequently been compared to The Firm. I get it. The villains in both books are shadowy organizations whose all-seeing, all-reaching power require a taffy pull of your disbelief. Where they differ (as best as I recall...it's been 20 years since I read The Firm) is that Michael Ford (the protagonist and narrator of The 500) is no Mitch McDeere (The Firm's hero). Ford, in fact, barely resembles a human based on his motivations and mental faculties under duress. Throughout the book, Ford's repeated pursuit of danger makes no sense. There are several times when he could have just let a matter drop, hang out with his dream girl and enjoy his newfound wealth (Ford's family history is borrowed liberally from the McDeere clan, poverty prison, parental death). In fact, several times the author has Ford saying that he himself can't explain why he's doing something--oh, like walking into a surefire gunfight--that he doesn't need to and which even he doesn't know what outcome he wants to affect by intervening. This happens in the central plot pivot. Quirk, in fact, has the narrator explain that he doesn't know why he's approaching the house even as he's doing it: he has no idea what he hopes to accomplish and no idea if what he's doing will have any positive outcome but DOES know that he's putting himself in serious immediate and long-term danger (the from all-powerful shadow villain organization). The *story* requires that he gets passed some vital information in this encounter before the violent showdown. However Ford didn't *know* he was there to get this informtion. This alien motivation drives many of Ford's actions: he does things for no other (for any logical, human) reason except the plot requires it.

If this weren't enough, our hero gets repeatedly beaten, tortured, sliced, stabbed, and contorted and while these are happening, he maintains a narrative tone that can only be classified as "flip" (or, possibly "glib" if you were Mr. McDeere[film version]). On at least two occasions, he explains he took some pain killers before he went to the current encounter, you know, just in case his shoulder were to get ripped out of it's socket and his faace stepped on. Who doesn't? Michael Ford isn't Jason Bourne or his ilk--he's a 28-year old guy right out of Harvard Law. No Special Forces training, no Mr. Miyagi, no radioactive spiders. Just a guy.

Quirk chose a first-person narration framed in past tense. In terms of the story, I can't really find a reason for telling it in the past tense. Quirk's choice could potentiall provide a narrative distance that enables breezy asides and flip comment during moments of torture and duress. If that were Quirk's choice, then his oh-by-the-way manner of explaining that taking painkillers allow Ford to function after getting his wrist broken and skin flayed seem to kneecap this author's choice. Michael Ford does things humans do, but his decision-making process and pain threshold are alien.

All this said, it was a not altogether unpleasant read. Good narrative pace, some interesting back story details...this book's not without its pleasures.
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May 03, 2012 Sharon Thomson rated it 2 of 5 stars

Not a bad attempt for a debut novel

In his debut novel, Matthew Quirk introduces us to Mike Ford, a bad boy trying to be good. After a criminal childhood, Mike tries to go straight. He studies at Harvard where he is brought to the attention of Henry Davies, head of a political consulting firm. It looks like Mike has it made, but there is a fly in the ointment. Henry Davies is crooked and by foul means is blackmailing most of the influential people in Washington. Does Mike want to become part of t...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook

A great debut novel by an author bursting onto the scene with much vigour. Quirk pens, if you will pardon the pun, a quirky novel that lights up the charts and presents his own spin on a plot type that I am used to seeing by Joseph FInder or Jesse Kellerman; main character is down and out, finds his path crossing with someone influential, hired on and works for them, discovers they are not what they seem (with influence in the wrong direction) and tries to claw their way out. Quirk does this in...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Jason rated it 2 of 5 stars

Lots of reviews are mentioning how this would make a great movie. Huh? Just because it has a lot of action, doesn't make it movie-worthy. The major problem is with main character's implausible motivation. He gets the dream job, the girl, and the boss tells him to take a seat on a major project that's in the works because of the danger involved. Does Mitch heed boss's advice to keep his nose clean and keep collecting his 6 figure salary? Of course not, because otherwise there would be no story. B...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Mo Shah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

After I read it I thought I'd give it three stars - now that's its been a few hours, my generosity is cooling.

The book review I read compared this to John Grisham's "The Firm", but the similarities are only on the surface. The protagonist is no Mitchell McDeere, and there's little mystery about The Firm since the first chapter reveals who the bad guys are, and then you spend 3/4 of the book in flashback getting back to that point. It's an interesting device, but you immediately know where the li...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Joe Orozco rated it 1 of 5 stars

Set in DC? Always a promising sign. Legal thriller of lawyer fresh out of law school? Now we're cooking, but wait, something went way wrong.

The 500 was a prime example of the book jacket reading much better than the book. I hate leaving negative reviews. I'm proud of anyone who gets something published, but I never understood the criticism of clichés until I picked up this novel. The writing is high school at best, and I almost expected the author to pull out tired phrases like, "it was raining...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Kari rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, audiobook

I enjoyed The 500. I was pleasantly surprised by the book. I was afraid it was going to be like The Firm (which I didn't care for) and I was happy to say that it wasn't like that at all. The story is filled with intrigue, paranoia and lots of secrets. The plot of the book was well fleshed out. I enjoyed some of the twists that the author threw into the story to throw the reader off. I don't want to give too much away, because it would ruin it. While I don't really know much about lobbyists and t...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Joe rated it 1 of 5 stars

Being a Harvard grad is indeed impressive. Probably impressive enough to get a book publishing deal and have decent reviews. All that being said, someone stirs in the crowd and says, "the Emperor has no clothes!" But unlike the story where everyone said, you are right, reviewers opinions are not fact and are vastly different as I have so often noticed on Goodreads. This author can tell a story but his characters are hollow and lack any substance whatsoever. The plot is silly. It's like reading a...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Jayne Giesler rated it 5 of 5 stars

I enjoy a good suspense so I decided to give it a go for my summer reading. Once I started, I could not put it down-carrying it with me everywhere-searching, creating and stealing moments to soak up another paragraph or two. The downside was those paragraphs always left me wanting more.

Written in first person, the reader experiences everything through the protoganist, a young attorney, Mike Ford; a very likeable character that has not been dealt an easy hand in life. Past familial relationships...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Tony Nielsen rated it 3 of 5 stars

A fast paced thriller was a pretty good place to go after the intenssity of John Irving's "In One Person". This was pretty good actually, one of those "wham bam, thank you Ma'am" quick reads, great for whiling away a cold winter's night. Its all about Mike Ford who gets recruited into what is on the surface a super-lobby organisation in Washington. In reality its a no-holds-barred company whioch will do anything to deliver the goods to its clients. And I mean anything. Their files hold the dirt...more

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Jul 25, 2012 Tom Tischler rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mike Ford former con artist is plucked from his Harvard Law School to
join the Davies Group. This is Washingtons most high powered and influencial
consulting firms. Their specialty is pulling strings and peddeling influence
for the 500 most powerful people in the Beltway. The namesake of the firm is
Henry Davies who knows everyone and their secrets. His experience goes back
40 years and he worked for Lyndon Johnson and Nixon, then he put out his own
shingle as the Hills most expensive fixer. Now he'...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Jonathan Tomes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller, suspense

The 500, a first novel by Matthew Quirk, is a good read. It has been compared to John Grisham’s The Firm but is about a lobbying firm in Washington, DC, rather than a law firm in Memphis. After reading it, one has to wonder whether Washington is as corrupt as portrayed in the very readable novel. The “hero,” using the term loosely, is a former con man who has gotten a law degree and gotten hired by the big lobbying firm, which apparently will use just about any tactic to satisfy its clients’ nee...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Jill Manske rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you like John Grisham books, you'll probably like "The 500". It's full of intrigue, Washington politics, and scoundrels. We follow the career of Mike Ford, as he completes law and business degrees and is wooed into a prestigious but mysterious Washington consulting firm, all the while trying to put his less-than-law abiding adolescence behind him. Quirk paints a flawed but likable character who really struggles with the straight and narrow. You're never quite sure if he's going to cave in and...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Chelsea rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don't normally read action/political suspense books, but this one was really good. I was shocked multiple times throughout the story and was completely drawn in to the life of Michael Ford. The book starts at the end, just before the final con is played out and I like knowing that at some point in the book the obvious has to happen. I was on the edge of my seat during the harrowing escapes that Mike is forced into. I thought he was a very good main character, smart, funny, and most of all he k...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Mella Ann rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read this book within a day. It moved quickly because the plot was engaging and the narrator's voice was clear. However, the prologue was definitely too overwritten and melodramatic, trying too hard to hook the read, overusing phrases like "selling my soul to the devil." Likewise, whenever the narrator discusses his love interest, the prose was weak. Writers should no longer be able to use the phrase "girl of my dreams." Lastly, the writer included last minute details as the plot unfolded that...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Autumn added it

I checked out Matthew Quirk's website before I started writing this. I was surprised to learn this was his debut novel. The 500 was a fantastic thriller. I was not too surprised to learn it was already optioned by Twentieth Century Fox for film. The 500 would have great big screen sucess. It was full of criminals, thugs, and politicians...sometimes all rolled into one. Two scenes I'd love to see in the movies is when he was in the locker at the club and when he goes with the politician to see hi...more

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Sep 21, 2012 Allison rated it 5 of 5 stars

Gripping, edge-of-your seat thriller. Loved it. Definitely like The Firm but that's a good thing!
I learned about this book from a summer issue of Entertainment Weekly which should give you an idea of the number of brain cells required to read it. They compared it to John Grisham's The Firm and certainly that is the book that comes to mind while you are caught up in the drama. I have to say I loved the character of Mike Ford because his background of criminal behavior gave him abilities that kept...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Joe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Joe by: SHELF AWARENESS

Shelves: mystery-thriller

WOW!!! Talk about getting you HOOKED on a story! THIS book will do it to you! You might think its another young lawyer getting started in a one of the huge DC law firms, overworked, trying to make partner but trust me, you will be in for a SURPRISE!
The main character, Mike, yes, he is a Harvard Law School graduate, and yes, he does get a job at one of the most prestigious law firms in DC but nothing is as it seems!
Mike's father is a con man and Mike has learned a few things growing up that wil...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is one helluva breakout novel for Quirk. The story was believeable, suspensful, great characters, and sub-zero villains. I enjoyed this book a lot. The pace was great as some legal/political thrillers are a bit of a snooze fest and formulaic in the story/plot 'set up.' I also like the fact that it wasn't predictable and did a good job adding a few twists with 'information' and 'actions' that weren't as obvious as its predecessors. And it also did not 'try too hard,' which is refreshing. I d...more

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Jun 15, 2012 Karen & Gerard rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, suspense, thriller

I give The 500 by Matthew Quirk 5 stars!

Mike Ford lands a dream job at a high ranking D.C. law firm. He befriends a pretty girl there and they hook up. Things are going good and Mike's stock rises in the firm to the point where he is being with the big boys of the firm. Life is good, but may be too good to be true. The 500 by Matthew Quirk is a good book, but the last 100 pages lifts it into the REAL GOOD box! I was glad to hear it is going to be a movie. There was some hype around this book whi...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Joyce rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

Volgens de cover van het boek, "voor de fans van Grisham en Baldacci". Meer Grisham in mijn ogen als Baldacci, de qoute van James Patterson: "Dit is de firm van John Grisham, maar dan in Washington met meer actie". Inderdaad meer actie als de Firm, maar toch staat dit Grisham boek nog op eenzame hoogte en komt Matthew Quirk helaas niet in de buurt.

Het boek bestaat in feite uit 2 delen, het eerste deel vertelt het verhaal van Mike en de activiteiten van de Davies Group. Matthew Quirk heeft hier h...more

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Jun 18, 2012 Mike Tueros rated it 2 of 5 stars

Debut novel from Quirk and compared to Grisham's "The Firm" in many reviews, however this plot is not nearly as smart, nor the characters developed. Michael Ford is an ex-con, now Harvard graduate who begins working for the Davies Group, a DC powerhouse that essentially controls some of the most powerful people in government. This influence is gained through knowing thier targets and exploiting weakness or scandal. Too much in this book simply falls into place, whether it be the perfect getaway...more

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