Killer Instinct: A Novel

Written by Joseph Finder

Narrated by Scott Brick

The latest "high octane thrill ride"* from the international bestselling "CEO of Suspense"— hailed by critics as "perhaps the finest of the contemporary thriller novelists"**

Jason Steadman is a thirty-year-old sales executive living in Boston ands working for an electronics giant, a competitors to Sony and Panasonic. He's a witty, charismatic guy who's well liked at the office, but he lacks the "killer instinct" necessary to move up the corporate ladder. To the chagrin of his ambitious wife, it looks as if his career has hit a ceiling. Jason's been sidelined.

But all that will change one evening when Jason meets Kurt Semko, a former Special Forces officer just back from Iraq. Looking for a decent pitcher for the company softball team, Jason gets Kurt, who was once drafted by the majors, a job in Corporate Security. Soon, good things start to happen for Jason—and bad things start to happen to Jason's rivals. His career suddenly takes off. He's an overnight success. Only too late does Jason discover that his friend Kurt has been secretly paving his path to the top by the most "efficient"—and ruthless— means available. After all, as Kurt says, "Business is war, right?"

But when Jason tries to put a stop to it, he finds that his new best friend has become the most dangerous enemy imaginable. And now it's far more than just his career that lies in the balance. A riveting tale of ambition, intrigue, and the price of success, Killer Instinct is Joseph Finder at his best.

*San Francisco Chronicle
** Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Audio edition includes an exclusive bonus interview with Joseph Finder and Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of Blink and The Tipping Point!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: May 16, 2006
• ISBN: 9781593979072

Joseph Finder

Joseph Finder is the author of several New York Times bestselling thrillers, including Buried Secrets, High Crimes, Paranoia and the first Nick Heller novel, Vanished. Killer Instinct won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Thriller, and Company Man won the Barry and Gumshoe Awards for Best Thriller. High Crimes was the basis of the Morgan Freeman/Ashley Judd movie, and Paranoia was the basis for 2013 film with Liam Hemsworth, Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman. Born in Chicago, Finder studied Russian at Yale and Harvard. He was recruited by the CIA, but decided he preferred writing fiction. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Association for Former Intelligence Officers, he lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Reviews for Killer Instinct

[buffalogr · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book. The hero's mid-life crisis consists of his embracing and acting upon corporate ambition. Is this like a big corporation? The author never really says how Kurt and Jason met, other than by chance. Good suspense that kept me coming back.

[johnwbeha · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Of the Joseph Finder books I have read this is the most disappointing. It starts all right but quickly gets a bit out of hand. Lots of very clever plotting and the usual good writing but weaker than normal in the characterisation.

[lorettar-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Good but not "wow". Interesting enough to finish the book, but I expected it to be more suspenseful from reading the description.

[cubbyfan99 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well developed, and the plot had plenty of twists that keep it interesting until the very end. Finder did a great job with this book, and I look forward to reading another.

[gatorhater · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jason Steadman, a District Sales Manager for Entronics Corp. is driving home from thinking about work and while using his cell phone to text, he looses control of his auto and crashes. He reports the accident, calls AAA for a tow, the tow truck driver that shows, Kurt Semko is an ex-Navy Seal with a dishonorable discharge. Jason and Kurt hit it off and Jason feels bad over Kurt's hard luck about employment because of his dishonorable discharge, he tells Kurt to call him at work, he has a friend that works in security for his company, he'll call him with a recommendation. After Kurt gets hired, he feels that he owes Jason favors, things rapidly start getting out of control, "I could be your best friend or your worst enemy."

[neddludd · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This mass market thriller holds your attention. The twist is that the hero's mid-life crisis consists of his embracing and acting upon corporate ambition, rather than fleeing it. So you are taken inside the executive suite of a SONY-like company. Abetting the hero is his personal soldier of fortune, a shady, ex-Special Forces warrior who has fought bravely in Iraq and Afghanistan. He enables our hero to rise in the ranks, but there's always a price to pay, and in this case it could be the executive's life.

[thejazzmonger · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a pretty good read in the thriller category. Since it involves business intrigue, it takes a little longer to get going than the typical "spy" novel. But the wait is worth it. Interesting characters who are nicely fleshed out. Intriguing antagonist, plenty of mystery and surprises throughout. I recommend.

[caroren_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A fun fast-paced thriller about an ordinary guy who becomes involved with someone at work who seems to be ruthlessly paving the way for him to get ahead.

[zhoud2005 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great thriller. I really enjoyed it.

[debs4jc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The thrills in this book build slowly but then explode with a bang, just like the friendship between Jason and Kurt. Kurt helps Jason out when his car needs a tow and Jason takes note that Kurt, with his army special forces training, seems to have the kind of athletic prowess and assertive personality that Jason is lacking but could really use. Jason is a businessman for an electronics company and as he gets to know Kurt he finds that several of Kurt's special forces skills could be useful to him in the cutthroat world of business. He gets Kurt a job as a security officer at his firm and Kurt helps him out with a couple of things and at first Jason really appreciates all the help Kurt has given him. But then he becomes suspicious of some disturbing things going on around the office and he begins to wonder, just how 'safe' is Kurt anyway? The way this builds to a highly dangerous situation for Jason was wonderful. The scenario of someone you take a liking to at first and invite into your life suddenly surprising you was truly chilling. Fans of thrills and chills and truly creepy bad guys should give this one a read or a listen.

[permaswooned · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book. I think that many could identify with Jason...a person who did well, but just couldn't make that last leap to the upper echelons. By befriending Kurt, he gained someone who would make sure that happened by clearing the way. I do think a lot of readers enjoyed seeing things to come more clearly than Jason could, but enjoyed seeing him resolve things. I would definitely seek out other books by this author.

[librarylady23 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jason Steadman befriends a War veteran, recruits him for the company softball team and offers him a job in corporate security.The vet helps him advance in his sales but at what cost?

[antoncipri · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good level of suspense.