Buried Secrets: A Nick Heller Novel

By Joseph Finder

Joseph Finder introduced Nick Heller, a "private spy" who finds out things powerful people want to keep hidden, to widespread acclaim from the critics and wild enthusiasm from the readers, in the New York Times bestselling novel Vanished. Now, in Buried Secrets, Nick Heller returns, finding himself in the middle of a life-or-death situation that's both high-profile and intensely personal.

Nick has returned to his old home town of Boston to set up his own shop. There he's urgently summoned by an old family friend. Hedge fund titan Marshall Marcus desperately needs Nick's help. His teenaged daughter, Alexa, has just been kidnapped. Her abduction was clearly a sophisticated professional job, done with extraordinary precision. Alexa, whom Nick has known since she was young, is now buried alive, held prisoner in an underground crypt, a camera trained on her, her suffering streaming live over the internet. She's been left with a limited supply of food and water and, if her father doesn't meet the demands of her shadowy kidnappers, she'll die. And as Nick begins to probe, he discovers that all is not quite right with Marshall Marcus's business. He's being investigated by the FBI, he has a lot of shady investors, his fund is in danger and now he has a lot of powerful enemies who may have the motivation to go after Marcus's daughter. But to find out who's holding Alexa Marcus hostage, Nick has to find out why. Once he does, he uncovers an astonishing conspiracy that reaches far beyond anything he could have imagined. And if he's going to find Alexa in time, he will have to flush out and confront some of his deadliest opponents ever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Jun 21, 2011
• ISBN: 9781429987332

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.

Book preview

1.

If this was what a prison was like, Alexa Marcus thought, I could totally live here. Like, forever.

She and Taylor Armstrong, her best friend, were standing in a long line to get into the hottest bar in Boston. The bar was called Slammer, and it was in a luxury hotel that used to be a jail. They’d even kept the bars in the windows and the huge central rotunda ringed with catwalks, that whole cell-block effect.

She was checking out this bunch of guys behind her who looked like MIT frat boys trying too hard to be cool: the untucked shirts, the cheap blazers, all that product in their hair, the toxic fumes of their Axe body spray. They’d stumble home at two in the morning, puking on the bridge to Cambridge, bitching about how all the girls at Slammer were skanks.

I’m loving the smoky eye, Taylor said, studying Alexa’s eye makeup. See? It looks amazing on you!

It took me like an hour, Alexa said. The fake eyelashes, the black gel eyeliner and charcoal eye shadow: She looked like a hooker who’d been beat up by her pimp.

"Takes me like thirty seconds, Taylor said. Now look at you—you’re this totally hot babe instead of a suburban prepster."

"I’m so not suburban, Alexa protested. She glanced over at a couple of skinny Euro-looking guys smoking and talking on their mobile phones. Cute but maybe gay? Dad lives in Manchester. She’d almost said, I live in Manchester," but she no longer thought of the great rambling house she grew up in as her home, not since Dad had married that gold-digger flight attendant, Belinda. She hadn’t lived at home in almost four years, since going away to Exeter.

Yeah, okay, Taylor said. Alexa caught her tone. Taylor always had to let you know she was a city kid. She’d grown up in a townhouse on Beacon Hill, in Louisburg Square—her dad was a United States senator—and considered herself urban and therefore cooler and more street-smart than anyone else. Plus, the last three years she’d been in rehab, attending the Marston-Lee Academy, the tough-love therapeutic boarding school in Colorado where the senator had sent her to get cleaned up.

Good luck with that.

Every time Taylor came back to Boston on break, she was rocking some different Girls Gone Wild look. Last year she’d dyed her hair jet black and had bangs. Tonight it was the skintight black liquid leggings, the oversized gray sheer tee over the black lace bra, the studded booties. Whereas Alexa, less adventurous, was wearing her ink skinny jeans and her tan Tory Burch leather jacket over a tank top. Okay, not as fashion-forward as Taylor, but no way was it suburban.

Oh God, Alexa murmured as the line drew closer to the bouncer.

"Just relax, okay, Lucia?" Taylor said.

Lucia—? Alexa began, and then she remembered that Lucia was the name on her fake ID. Actually, it was a real ID, just not hers—she was seventeen, and Taylor had just turned eighteen, and the drinking age was twenty-one, which was way stupid. Taylor had bought Alexa’s fake ID off an older girl.

Just look the bouncer in the eye and be casual, Taylor said. "You’re totally fine."

*   *   *

TAYLOR WAS right, of course.

The bouncer didn’t even ask to see their IDs. When they entered the hotel lobby, Alexa followed Taylor to the old-fashioned elevator, the kind that had an arrow that pointed to the floor it was on. The elevator door opened, and an iron accordion gate slid aside. Taylor got in along with a bunch of others. Alexa hesitated, slipped in, shuddered—God, she hated elevators!—and just as the accordion gate was knifing closed, she blurted out, I’ll take the stairs.

They met up on the fourth floor and managed to snag a couple of big cushy chairs. A waitress in a halter top so skimpy you could see the flower tattoo below her armpit took their order: a couple of Ketel One vodka sodas.

Check out the girls on the bar, Taylor shouted. Models in black leather butt-baring shorts and black leather vests were parading around on top of the bar like it was a catwalk.

One of the MIT frat boys tried to mack on them, but Taylor blew the guy off: "Yeah, I’ll give you a call—next time I need tutoring in like differential calculus."

Alexa felt Taylor’s eyes on her.

Hey, what’s wrong, kid? You’ve been acting all depressed since you got here.

I’m fine.

You think maybe you need to change meds or something?

Alexa shook her head. Dad’s just, I don’t know, being all weird.

Nothing new about that.

But like he’s all paranoid all of a sudden? He just had these surveillance cameras put in, all around the house?

"Well, he is like the richest guy in Boston. Or one of the richest—"

I know, I know, Alexa interrupted, not wanting to hear it. She’d spent her entire life dealing with being a rich kid: having to play down the money so her friends didn’t feel jealous. But it’s not his normal control-freak mode, you know? It’s more like he’s scared something’s going to happen.

Try living with a father who’s a friggin’ United States senator.

Taylor had started to look uncomfortable. She rolled her eyes, shook her head dismissively, looked around the now-crowded bar. I need another drink, she said. She called the waitress over and asked for a dirty martini. How about you? she asked Alexa.

I’m good. The truth was, she hated hard liquor, especially vodka. And gin was the worst. How could anyone voluntarily drink that stuff? It was like chugging turpentine.

Alexa’s iPhone vibrated, so she took it out and read the text. A friend at some rager in Allston, telling her it was epic and she should come over. Alexa texted back sorry. Then, abruptly, she said, Oh my God, oh my God, did I ever show you this? She flicked through her iPhone applications until she came to one she’d just downloaded, launched it, held the iPhone to her mouth. When she talked into it, her words came out high pitched and weird, like one of the Chipmunks: Hey, babe, wanna come back to my dorm and take off our clothes and do some algebra?

Taylor squealed. "What is that?" She tried to grab the phone, but Alexa yanked it away, swiped the screen and started speaking in the creepy voice of Gollum from The Lord of the Rings: Must have preciousssss!

Taylor shrieked, and they both laughed so hard that tears came to their eyes. See—you’re feeling better already, right? said Taylor.

May I join you? A male voice.

Alexa looked up, saw a guy standing there. Not one of the frat boys, though. Definitely not. This one had dark hair and brown eyes, a day’s growth of beard, and he was totally a babe. Black shirt with white pinstripes, narrow waist, broad shoulders.

Alexa smiled, blushed—she couldn’t help it—and looked at Taylor.

Do we know you? Taylor said.

Not yet, the guy said, flashing a dazzling smile. Late twenties, early thirties, maybe? Hard to tell. My friends ditched me. They went to a party in the South End I don’t feel like going to. He had some kind of Spanish accent.

There’s only two chairs, Taylor said.

He said something to a couple seated next to them, slid a vacant chair over. Extended a hand to shake Taylor’s, then Alexa’s.

I’m Lorenzo, he said.

2.

The bathroom had Molton Brown hand soap (Thai Vert) and real towels, folded into perfect squares. Alexa reapplied her lip gloss while Taylor touched up her eyes.

He’s totally into you, Taylor said.

What are you talking about?

Like you don’t know it. Taylor was outlining her eyes with a kohl pencil.

How old do you think he is?

I don’t know, thirties?

"Thirties? I thought maybe thirty at the oldest. Do you think he knows we’re only…" but another couple of girls entered the bathroom, and she let her sentence trail off.

Go for it, Taylor said. It’s totally cool. I promise.

*   *   *

WHEN THEY finally succeeded in elbowing their way back to their chairs, the Black Eyed Peas blasting so loud her ears hurt, Alexa half-expected Lorenzo to be gone.

But he was still there, slouching a little in his chair, sipping his vodka. Alexa reached for her drink—a Peartini, at Lorenzo’s suggestion—and was surprised it was half gone. Man, she thought, I am truly wasted.

Lorenzo smiled that awesome smile. His eyes weren’t just brown, she noticed. They were light brown. Tiger’s eye, she thought. She had a tiger’s eye choker her mom had given her a couple months before she died. She couldn’t bring herself to wear it, but she loved looking at the stones.

If you kids’ll excuse me, Taylor said, I really need to get going.

Taylor! Alexa said.

Why? said Lorenzo. Please stay.

Can’t, Taylor said. My dad’s waiting up for me. With a conspiratorial sparkle in her eye, Taylor gave a little wave and disappeared into the crowd.

Lorenzo moved to Taylor’s chair, next to Alexa’s. That’s okay. Tell me about you, Lucia. How come I never see you here before?

For a moment she forgot who Lucia was.

*   *   *

NOW SHE was definitely drunk.

She felt like she was floating above the clouds, singing along to Rihanna, smiling like an idiot, while Lorenzo was saying something to her. The room swam. She was finding it hard to separate his voice from everyone else’s, a cacophony of a thousand individual conversations, little snatches, layer upon layer upon layer, none of them making any sense. Her mouth was dry. She reached for her glass of Pellegrino, knocked it over. Smiled sheepishly. She just stared at the spill open-mouthed, amazed that the water glass hadn’t broken, gave Lorenzo a goofy smile, and he gave that spectacular smile back, his brown eyes soft and sexy. He reached over and dropped his napkin over the puddle to blot it up.

She said, I think I need to go home.

I take you, he said.

He tossed a bunch of twenties on the table, stood, reached for her hand. She tried to stand but it felt like her knees were hinged. He took her hand again, his other hand around her waist, half-lifted her up.

My car…

You shouldn’t drive, he said. I drive you home. You can get your car back tomorrow.

But…

It’s not a problem. Come, Lucia. He steered her through the crowd, his arms strong. People were staring at her, leering, laughter echoing, the lights streaky rainbow and glittery, like being underwater and looking up at the sky, everything so distant.

*   *   *

NOW SHE felt the pleasant clear coolness of the late-night air on her face.

Traffic noise, the bleat of car horns, smearing by.

She was lying down on the back seat of a strange car, her cheek pressed against the cold hard cracked leather. The car smelled like stale cigarette smoke and beer. A few beer bottles rolled around on the floor. A Jag, she was pretty sure, but old and skeezy and filthy inside. Definitely not what she imagined a guy like Lorenzo driving.

Do you know how to get there? she tried to say. But the words came out slurred.

She felt seasick, hoped she wasn’t going to vomit in the back seat of Lorenzo’s Jaguar. That would be nasty.

She wondered: How did he know where to go?

*   *   *

NOW SHE heard the car door open and close. The engine had been shut off. Why was he stopping so soon?

When she opened her eyes, she noticed it was dark. No streetlights. No traffic sounds, either. Her sluggish brain registered a faint, distant alarm. Was he leaving her here? Where were they? What was he doing?

Someone was walking toward the Jaguar. It was too dark to make out his face. A lean, powerful build, that was all she could see.

The door opened, and the light came on, illuminating the man’s face. Shaved head, piercing blue eyes, sharp jaw, unshaven. Handsome, until he smiled and showed brown rodent’s teeth.

Come with me, please, the new man said.

*   *   *

SHE AWOKE in the back seat of a big new SUV. An Escalade, maybe, or a Navigator.

Very warm in here, almost hot. A smell like cheap air freshener.

She looked at the back of the driver’s head. He had shaved black hair. On the back of his neck, a strange tattoo crawled up from beneath his sweatshirt. Her first thought was: angry eyes. A bird?

What happened to Lorenzo? she tried to say, but she wasn’t sure what came out.

Just stretch out and have yourself a nice rest, Alexa, the man said. He had an accent too, but harsher, more guttural.

That sounded like a good idea. She felt herself drifting off, but then her heart started to race, as if her body realized even before her mind did.

He knew her real name.

3.

Here’s the thing, the short guy said. I always like to know who I’m doing business with.

I nodded, smiled.

What a jerk.

If Short Man’s Disease were recognized by modern medicine as the serious syndrome it is, all the textbooks would use Philip Curtis’s picture, along with those of Mussolini, Stalin, Attila the Hun, and of course the patron saint of all miniature tyrants, Napoléon Bonaparte. Granted, I’m over six feet, but I know tall guys with Short Man’s Disease too.

Philip Curtis, as he called himself, was so small and compact that I was convinced I could pick him up in one hand and hurl him through my office window, and by now I was sorely tempted to. He was maybe an inch or two above five feet, shiny bald, and wore enormous black-framed glasses, which he probably thought made him look more imposing, instead of like a turtle who’d lost his shell and was pissed off about it.

The vintage Patek Philippe watch on his wrist had to be sixty years old. That told me a lot. It was the only flashy object he wore, and it said inherited money. His Patek Philippe had been passed down, probably from his dad.

I checked you out. His brow arched significantly. Did the whole due-diligence thing. Gotta say, you don’t leave a lot of tracks.

So I’m told.

You don’t have a website.

Don’t need one.

You’re not on Facebook.

My teenage nephew’s on it. Does that count?

Barely anything turned up on Google. So I asked around. Seems you’ve got an unusual background. Went to Yale but never graduated. Did a couple of summer internships at McKinsey, huh?

I was young. I didn’t know any better.

His smile was reptilian. But a small reptile. A gecko, maybe. I worked there myself.

And I was almost starting to respect you, I said.

"The part I don’t get is, you dropped out of Yale to join the army. What was that all about? Guys like us don’t do that."

Go to Yale?

He shook his head, annoyed. You know, I thought the name ‘Heller’ sounded familiar. Your dad’s Victor Heller, right?

I shrugged as if to say, You got me.

Your father was a true legend.

Is, I said.

Excuse me?

Is, I repeated. He’s still alive. Doing twenty-some years in prison.

Right, right. Well, he sure got the shaft, didn’t he?

So he tells people. My father, Victor Heller, the so-called Dark Prince of Wall Street, was currently serving a twenty-eight-year sentence for securities fraud. Legend was a polite way of referring to him.

I was always a big admirer of your dad’s. He was a real pioneer. Then again, I bet some potential clients, they hear you’re Victor Heller’s son, they’re gonna think twice about hiring you, huh?

You think?

You know what I mean, the whole… He faltered, then probably decided he didn’t have to. He figured he’d made his point.

But I wasn’t going to let him off so easily. You mean the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, right? Like father, like son?

Well, yeah, sort of. That might bother some guys, but not me. Uh-uh. Way I figure it, that means you’re probably not going to be too finicky about the gray areas.

The gray areas.

All the fussy legal stuff, know what I’m saying?

Ah, gotcha, I said. For a long moment I found myself looking out the window. I’d been doing that a lot lately. I liked the view. You could see right down High Street to the ocean, the waterfront at Rowes Wharf framed by a grand Italianate marble arch.

I’d moved to Boston from Washington a few months ago and was lucky enough to find an office in an old brick-and-beam building in the financial district, a rehabbed nineteenth-century lead-pipe factory. From the outside it looked like a Victorian poorhouse out of Dickens. But on the inside, with its bare brick walls and tall arched windows and exposed ductwork and factory-floor open spaces, you couldn’t forget it was a place where they used to actually make stuff. And I liked that. It had a sort of steampunk vibe. The other tenants in the building were consulting firms, an accounting firm, and several small real-estate offices. On the first floor was an exotic sushi and tapas place that had gone out of business, and the showroom for Derderian Fine Oriental Rugs.

My office had belonged to some high-flying dot-com that made nothing, including money. They’d gone bust suddenly, so I caught a nice break on the price. They’d absconded so quickly they left all their fancy hanging metal-and-glass light fixtures and even some very expensive office chairs.

So you say someone on your board of directors is leaking derogatory information about your company, I said, turning around slowly, and you want us to—how’d you put it?—‘plug the leak.’ Right?

Exactly.

I gave him my finest conspiratorial grin. Meaning you want their phones tapped and their e-mails accessed.

Hey, you’re a pro, he said with a quick, smarmy wink. I’d never tell you how to do your job.

Better not to know the details, right? How we work our magic?

He nodded, a couple of sharp up-and-downs. Plausible deniability and all that. You got it.

Of course. Obviously you know that what you’re asking me to do is basically illegal.

We’re both big boys, he said.

I had to bite my lip. One of us was, anyway.

Just then my phone buzzed—an internal line—and I picked it up. Yeah?

Okay, you were right. The smoky voice of my forensic data tech, Dorothy Duval. His name isn’t Philip Curtis.

Of course, I said.

Don’t rub it in.

Not at all, I said. It’s a teachable moment. You should know by now not to question me.

Yeah, yeah. Well, I’m stuck. If you have any ideas, just IM me, and I’ll check them out.

Thanks, I said, and I hung up.

The man who wasn’t Philip Curtis had a strong Chicago accent. Wherever he lived now, he was raised in Chicago. He had a rich dad: The hand-me-down Patek Philippe confirmed that.

Then there was the black luggage tag on his Louis Vuitton briefcase. A fractional jet card. He leased a private jet for some limited number of hours per year. Which meant he wanted a private jet but couldn’t afford one.

I had a vague recollection of an item I’d seen on BizWire about troubles in a family-held business in Chicago. Will you excuse me for just one more minute? I said. I have to put out a fire. Then I typed out an instant message and sent it to Dorothy.

The answer came back less than a minute later: a Wall Street Journal article she’d pulled up on ProQuest. I skimmed it, and I knew I’d guessed right. I remembered hearing the whole sordid story not too long ago.

Then I leaned back in my chair. So here’s the problem, I said.

Problem?

I’m not interested in your business.

Stunned, he whirled around to look at me. What did you just say?

If you really did your homework, you’d know that I do intelligence work for private clients. I’m not a private investigator, I don’t tap phones, and I don’t do divorces. And I’m sure as hell not a family therapist.

Family…?

This is clearly a family squabble, Sam.

Small round pink spots had formed high on his cheeks. I told you my name is—

Don’t even bother, I said wearily. This has nothing to do with plugging a leak. Your family troubles aren’t exactly a secret. You were supposed to take over Daddy’s company until he heard you were talking to the private equity guys about taking Richter private and cashing out.

I have no idea what you’re referring to.

His father, Jacob Richter, had gone from owning a parking lot in Chicago to creating the largest luxury hotel chain in the world. Over a hundred five-star hotels in forty countries, plus a couple of cruise lines, shopping malls, office buildings, and a hell of a lot of real estate. A company valued at ten billion dollars.

So Dad gets pissed off, I went on, and squeezes you out and appoints Big Sis chief executive officer and heir apparent instead of you. Didn’t expect that, did you? You figured you were a shoo-in. But you’re not gonna put up with that, are you? Since you know all of Dad’s dirty laundry, you figure you’ll get him on tape making one of his shady real estate deals, offering kickbacks and bribes, and you’ll be able to blackmail your way back in. I guess that’s called winning ugly, right?

Sam Richter’s face had gone dark red, almost purple. A couple of bulging veins on top of his scalp were throbbing so hard I thought he was going to have a coronary right in the middle of my office. Who did you talk to? he demanded.

Nobody. Just did the whole due-diligence thing. I always like to know who I’m doing business with. And I really don’t like being lied to.

As Richter lurched to his feet, he shoved the chair—one of the expensive Humanscale office chairs left by the dot-com—and it crashed to the floor, leaving a visible dent in the old wood. From the doorway, he said, "You know, for a guy whose father’s in prison for fraud, you sure act all high and mighty."

You’ve got a point, I conceded. Sorry to waste your time. Mind showing yourself out? Behind him Dorothy was standing, arms folded.

"Victor Heller was … the scum of the earth!" he sputtered.

Is, I corrected him.

4.

You don’t tap phones, Dorothy said, arms folded, moving into my office.

I smiled, shrugged. I always forget you can hear. Someday that’s gonna get me in trouble. Our standard arrangement was for her to listen in on all client meetings via the IP video camera built into the huge desktop monitor on my desk.

You don’t tap phones, she said again. Her lips were pressed into a smirk. Mm-hmm.

As a general rule, I said.

Please, she said. "You hire guys to do it."

Exactly.

"What the hell was that all about?" she snapped with a fierce glare.

Dorothy and I had worked together at Stoddard Associates in D.C. before I moved to Boston and stole her away. She wasn’t really a computer genius—there were certainly more knowledgeable ones around—but she knew digital forensics inside and out. She’d worked at the National Security Agency for nine years, and they don’t hire just anyone. As much as she detested working there, they’d trained her well. More important, no one was as stubborn as Dorothy. She simply did not give up. And there was no one more loyal.

She was feisty and blunt-spoken and didn’t play well with others, which was why she and the NSA were a lousy fit, but it was one of the things I liked about her. She never held back. She loved telling me off and showing me up and proving me wrong, and I enjoyed that too. You did not want to mess with her.

You heard me. I don’t like liars.

Get over it. We need the business, and you’ve turned down more work than you’ve taken on.

I appreciate your concern, I said, but you don’t need to worry about the firm’s cash flow. Your salary’s guaranteed.

Until Heller Associates goes bust because the overhead’s too high and you got no income. I am not slinking back to Jay Stoddard, and I am not moving back to Washington.

Don’t worry about it.

I’d worked closely with Dorothy, even intimately, but I knew almost nothing about her. She never talked about her love life, and I never asked. I wasn’t even sure whether she preferred men or women. Everyone’s entitled to their zone of privacy.

She was an attractive, striking woman with mocha skin, liquid brown eyes, and an incandescent smile. She always dressed elegantly, even though she didn’t need to, since she rarely met with clients. Today she was wearing a shimmering lilac silk blouse and a black pencil skirt and some kind of strappy heels. She wore her hair extremely short—almost bald, in fact. On most women that might look bizarre, but on her it somehow worked. Attached to her earlobes were turquoise copper-enamel discs the size of Frisbees.

Dorothy was a mass of contradictions, which was another thing I liked about her. She was a regular churchgoer—even before she’d found an apartment, she’d joined an AME Zion church in the South End—but she was no church lady. The opposite, in fact: She had an almost profane sense of humor about her faith. She’d put a plaque on her cubicle wall that said JESUS LOVES YOU—EVERYONE ELSE THINKS YOU’RE AN ASSHOLE, right next to one that said I LOVE MARY’S

Reviews for Buried Secrets

[californiagardener · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fast paced mystery that draws you in! The night I received it in the mail, I had to force myself to put it down at one in the morning! Luckily, I was able to finish it the next day. The story of a teenage girl who is kidnapped and the related search for her. A great summer read! I was forunate to receive an ARC- thank you to St. Martin's Press.

[bwhitson_4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thought I would need to have read Finder's first book "Vanished", but found it wasn't necessary. Buried Secrets centers on Nick Heller, who has been hired to find a billionaire’s kidnapped daughter. The FBI is investigating Alexa’s father, the Russian mafia is involved, billions have disappeared from an offshore account and secret information called Mercury is at the heart of the case. Nick is an ex-Army "private spy". He is smart, tough, and has a well defined ethical and moral center. The other thing that Finder adds to Heller is realism; he is not "superman," he gets tired, he loses blood, he does not totally recover by the next page. Quite simply, he is human. Adding to the enjoyment of the novel is the dialogue, which confirms that Finder actually listens to how real people talk to one another and is able to transfer that knowledge to the page. The characters are interesting, the plot tight with excellent pacing, and this novel will hold your interest until the last page is turned. It is a book that will make you uncomfortable, as Finder describes what it is like for kidnapped Alexa to be buried alive. I do plan to acquire "Vanished" because I enjoyed "Buried Secrets" so much.

[souleswanderer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Buried Secrets by Joseph Finder (2011 St Martin's Press) ARC via goodreads.comMay 28, 2011 With an introduction quoting Edgar Allan Poe, a master of the macabre, Joseph Finder sets the tone for his newest Nick Heller novel, Buried Secrets. Alexa Marcus and her best friend, Taylor Armstrong set out for a night of partying at the hottest bar in Boston called the Slammer. It doesn't matter that the two young girls are underage, they're out to have a good time, and what could possibly go wrong? They've got each other. Until suave, sophisticated, and slightly older Lorenzo introduces himself to the pair. A few drinks, a little conversation later and Taylor excuses herself to allow Lorenzo and Alexa time alone. Alexa never makes it home.Nick Heller, owns and operates Heller's Associates, having discovered his investigative research methods were more suited to a broader spectrum then that allowed by previous employers. And still trying to escape the shadow of his father hanging over him when he receives a call for help from Alexa's father, Marshall, an old friend of the family, and one the of nation's wealthiest men. A live video feed of Alexa is played, via a social networking site, and the only ransom demand is for Mercury. What appears at first to be a simple kidnapping, soon becomes a maze of tangled lies and motives, with plenty of obstacles to thwart and misdirect Nick in his pursuit of finding and freeing Alexa. The FBI states their displeasure at his interference, his home is broken into, her parents lie to him, and he continually runs into dead-ends. Through it all Nick manages to hang on to a few close contacts to aid and assist him. Even an old ex is back in town, working for the Feds.Nothing is what it seems as Finder deftly twists the thrill dial up a few notches, never quite letting the reader catch their breath before grasping their hand and pulling them along on Nick's race against time. I started this book thinking it would be easy to put down in an hour or so, and then found myself staying up much too late to finish reading it. But I had to know the ending.The one word I would use to describe Nick Heller is dogged. He is akin to a pit bull when he gets his teeth into something and only discovering the answer will he possibly be persuaded to let go. Like his employee Dorothy, he refuses to give up and has a deep-seeded sense of family along with strong morals. Nick's a character I can't wait to read more of.

[crazybatcow · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn't read the first in the series but had absolutely no sense of having missed something important in this story because of that. It is completely stand alone, and the characters behave as you'd expect even without knowing the events of an earlier point in their lives.It's a great detective/investigation novel. However, it is not (as someone suggested) anything like Lee Child's Jack Reacher series - it's not nearly violent enough. Heller kinda works just outside the rules, but not really and he doesn't use the toe of his boot to deliver any justice.The story was suspenseful for the most part, but it did get quite political and Heller had a lot of help from characters who popped into the story just in time and just long enough to provide the skill that was needed at that moment to do the next miraculous thing that drove the plot forward. It was all a bit too convenient. All in all it was a decent read - not fantastic, but decent enough.

[theloopylibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book had my heart racing almost from the very beginning. From the victim’s horrifying ordeal to the frantic pace of the story, I was hooked. It is more than just action-packed though. It is filled with political intrigue and mystery. The author keeps the reader guessing and anxiety ridden, but he also manages to throw in sardonic humor and romance. Some parts are a bit cliché, but the exciting ride makes up for that. If you’re into thrills and chills, I recommend Buried Secrets.

[juniperjungle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have heard great things about the first Nick Heller book, Vanished, so when I got the chance to review Buried Secrets I jumped at it. I was a little unsure of whether not having read Vanished would put me at a disadvantage for enjoying Buried Secrets, but it certainly didn’t seem to. Whilst I’m sure there may have been little references that I missed but I never felt confused or as if I’d missed anything.

The plot is pretty gripping, we’re introduced to Alexa first and get to know her a little before she is kidnapped and buried alive. Her story is narrated in the third person, and I think this works well – reading the descriptions of both what is happening to her and what her kidnapper is doing lends itself to the narration. I found some of the passages describing her situation challenging to read, it really felt tense and claustrophobic.

Nick is introduced after Alexa is kidnapped, we get to see him dealing with a client before he gets the call about her case. I liked this, it meant I got a feel for him before he was thrown into the kidnapping case. In contrast to Alexa’s story the Nick thread is narrated in the first person. I sometimes find shifts in storytelling like this a bit clunky and awkward, but Finder pulls it off brilliantly. I think again that it works well for the type of narrative, I liked being able to follow Nick’s thoughts as he progressed through the case.

The plot is pretty involved, Nick has to uncover layer upon layer of lies and cover ups. I think Finder just about gets away with some of the more extreme plot points, though a couple did make me shake my head a little. It certainly felt like Nick had some convenient contacts and inside knowledge. That said, the reveal at the end of who was behind everything did work for me.

The need at times to suspend belief didn’t affect my enjoyment of this book at all, once I’d started reading it I found it very hard to put down and finished it in two sittings. I loved the occasional mentions of comic books, I always enjoy geeky references in the books I read. I’m certainly going to be going back and reading Vanished, and I’m sure I’ll probably give some of Joseph Finder’s other books a go too.

[macabr_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

At first look, BURIED SECRETS is the sort of book I generally don’t read. There are people with too much money, the children of people with too much money who are held captive because of it, the FBI, some very, very bad people whose cruelty makes the Mafia seem childish, government skulduggery, the FBI, and it is the second in a series and I like to read series from the beginning.In its favor is the setting, Boston, my hometown, and it was a Goodreads giveaway. These two pros outweighed the six cons (I only counted the FBI once). Happily, it turns out that everything about BURIED SECRETS is really, really good.Nick Heller has set himself up in business as a private spy. Nick had been the real thing in secret organizations in Washington, DC and in the military and now offers his services to rich people who need information that even they can’t access. Nick doesn’t expect that one of his first jobs is going to be something very close to home. Marshall Marcus is a billionaire financier who was a close friend of Nick’s father’s until Victor Heller ends up in prison for doing the same kind of thing Bernie Madoff did. Marshall calls Nick in a panic. Someone has kidnapped Alexa, his seventeen year-old daughter and is holding her for ransom. Problem for Alexa and her father is that he has also managed to lose billions of dollars that didn’t belong to him and he has made some very nasty enemies. Nick knows that Marshall isn’t telling him the truth but when streaming video of Alexa is sent to Marshall’s computer, Nick has no choice but to do what he can to rescue the girl.Almost everything about this book is right. Nick Heller is not superman. He has skills most people do not have but he doesn’t have superpowers. His relationship with his assistant, Dorothy, rings true. She has skills that complement his and Dorothy is not young and not in his bed. The dialog sounds right, not silly; there are acronyms and computer-speak but it isn’t irritating. Nick connects with a former girlfriend who works with the FBI but their mutual attempts to deal reasonably with their former relationship is grown-up.Finder knows Boston. One scene that locals will understand is a meeting between Heller and Senator Armstrong, the junior senator from Massachusetts, who lives on Louisberg Square, the ritziest address in the old money section of Boston, Beacon Hill. Finder didn’t need to use much imagination for the scene; he just needed to substitute senior senator for junior senator and he is describing a morning in the life of John Kerry. Joseph Finder is as good as the late William Tappley and Robert Parker in bringing the city to life.The only thing I did not like is the graphic violence that comes in toward the end of the book. I hope that the weapon used is the product of the author’s imagination. I read BURIED SECRETS in a day. I will read VANISHED in order to meet Nick Heller at the beginning of the series and then I will likely move on to the other books Finder has written.

[bitsy08_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don't believe in telling all the secrets so I'll just say I really enjoyed this one. It was a quick read and one that will lead me to his next book. I recommend it highly.

[nebraska_girl1971 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I first was told that I would be receiving this book, I sought out the Vanished, the first book in the series. I find it helpful to have read both, but not necessary - this book could hold its own as a stand alone. In this book, Nick Heller has has to track down a teenager that has been kidnapped, but there is a complicated political sub-plot behind the kidnapping. I really enjoyed the suspense and action, but this book was a little bit more political and technical then Vanished, which did not quite make it a beach read.

[dbower_21 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is my first book by Joseph Finder but it will definately not be my last. I received a copy of the book through early reviewers and thank you, thank you, thank you! He does a fantastic job of character development - the characters are quite complex which makes them very real to the reader. Mr. Heller also does an amazing job in setting the context making you feel part of the story which at times is quite unsettling. Finally the pace of the book is such that it is impossible to put down. If you like PI mysteries with great characters and fast paced action READ THIS BOOK! I look forward to reading all of Mr. Finder's other books.

[virginiagill · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was really excited when I learned I'd get "Buried Secrets" by Joseph Finder as an advance reader. The temptation to go track down and read Mr. Finders entitled "Vanished" where he first introduced the Nick Heller character was huge. Then because I have such a huge pet peeve about series and serial characters that do not stand independant of each other within the larger framework the author envisions I forced myself to wait and dive into "Buried Secrets" without any other knowledge of this author or his character. I'm so glad I did. This book passed all my tests with flying colors! Readers are not left with gaps in knowledge by not having read the first book and I trust that will remain the case as the character moves forward into more stories. Nor is the reader stuck with annoying story breaks where awkward chunks of background are tossed. The characters in this book are all interesting and have enough depth that it pulls you in and makes you want to get better acquainted. The story itself is action packed and full of suspence, I read the entire book in a day because I simply couldnt walk away.I will be watching for more of Nick Heller's adventures...thank you Mr Finder!

[melaniehope · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I only occasionally read suspense novels. I'm glad that I had a chance to read this one. It is the second in the Nick Heller series, but the first one I have read. That was not an issue at all, only now I want to read the first.Nick Heller is a private spy for hire. A very wealthy acquaintance of his seeks his help in the disappearance of his daughter, Alexa. Nick immediately senses that he is not getting the full story from his friend and soon uncovers a bigger plot than he can imagine involving government and high level conspiracies. When the kidnapper reveals that Alexa is buried alive with a limited amount of air and water, the race to find her becomes desperate.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. The character of Nick leaves you wanting to find out more about his past. There's plenty of plot twists, a slight touch of romance, and lots going on in the plot to keep you from figuring out how this one is going to end. Well done!

[tabitha6_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a very easy read and a comfort book for me. I like Finder's writing style and simplicity and Heller's character is easy to connect with. I did not read Vanished but I wasn't lost with Buried Secrets because of it. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery or just wants a quick read.

[lyn21_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book - an exciting read that kept my interest... I can't wait to pass this book on to others so they can enjoy the ride.

[kappadeemom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book by Joseph Finder. A surly teenage girl, Alexa, has been kidnapped. The question is why and by whom? If you read VANISHED, Nick Heller is back in this book. Nick is a family friend with Alexa's dad and is called in to find Alexa and rescue her. Lots of shady characters and twists and turns. Great read for my weekend!

[no1bookaddict · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I tried reading another of Joseph Finder's books and couldn't get into it, but I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It grabbed my attention from the very beginning and kept it through all the twists and turns. I like the character of Nick Heller, as well as some of the peripheral ones. I will definitely be picking up the next in the series.

[imjustmea · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nick Heller is back! I read Buried Secrets within a couple of weeks of finishing Vanished and I have to say that this second book in the Nick Heller series is much more intense. In this instalment, Nick Heller is searching for Alexa, the kidnapped daughter of billionaire and family friend Marshall Marcus. The reasons for the kidnapping are not clear and Nick is not getting the information he should from Alexa’s father.Nick’s characteristic sense of humour (I got strange looks on the bus because I kept snickering as I read) is still present in this novel but the overall feeling of urgency makes you want to plow through the remaining pages to find out what happens. Alexa is being kept under some pretty horrific conditions which allows for some pretty gruesome scenes. In Buried Secrets, Nick Heller’s is conflicted as ever as he deals with some pretty nasty characters and a woman from his past and, like in Vanished, some of Nick’s investigative efforts lead him to uncover some questionable government deals.Buried Secrets is another fast-paced, enjoyable thriller full of suspense from Joseph Finder. I’m looking forward to reading his other stand alone books.

[iddrazin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is Joseph Finder’s second well-written, exciting, clever, and frequently humorous Nick Heller novel. Finder is the author of ten other books, all fiction, except for one. Two novels were award winners and one was made into a movie. Nick Heller is an ex-US Army Special Forces operative and former intelligence operative, who was recognized as one of the most proficient soldiers, but was fired by his general when he disagreed with him. Beside a wealth of skills, Heller has high-placed friends in the US, Russia, and other governments that he developed during his military career and whom he helped and who owe him favors, assets he can and does use in his current work as a private eye helping people in need. Heller has two somewhat quirky but highly competent women who work in his office and an ex-girl friend who is an FBI officer who is able to give him information.Alexa, the seventeen-year-old daughter of a flaky billionaire who lives with his fourth wife, was drinking in a bar with her girl friend. The two are approached by a handsome seemingly Spanish man. The girl friend leaves and the man drugs Alexa, takes her out of the bar, and hands her to another man. She is buried in a coffin ten feet underground, but is kept alive by a pipe that feeds in air. Alexa is claustrophobic and suffers greatly. The kidnapper demands that her father give him the Mercury file. Although he loves his daughter, her father doesn’t want to release the file. He had been acting strangely before the kidnapping, including installing a large security system in his house and hiring a guard to protect him. He requests Heller to find and save his daughter. Heller soon finds out that everyone is lying to him, things are not what they seem, and the senior FBI official has taken unlawful actions against him. He needs to discover what is going on, who is the kidnapper or kidnappers, and what is in the Mercury file. The novel moves like a race car, starting somewhat leisurely, but soon sprinting at breakneck, spectator entrancing, and award-wining speed.

[yonitdm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great action, good mystery, definitely suspenseful!

[stanski_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Nick Heller is one Hell of a PI, except he doesn't always act like one. For instance, the door to his office bears the legend "Heller Associates-Actuarial Consulting Services", whatever that means. On the other hand, Heller has sources from his days in government service, as well as his former work for Stoddard and Associates, as well as Dorothy, a computer expert who almost always anticipates Nick's next step. Every Lone Ranger needs a Tonto!Nick Heller has been hired by Marshall Marcus, to find his daughter Alexa who has disappeared. As the title suggests, Alexa is being held in a place so terrifying for someone suffering from claustrophobia, that the overwhelming terror is unbearable. Finder's writing makes the pain palpableJoseph Finder does an excellent job in characterization, plot twisting, and a fabulous job of pacing. If this one doesn't keep you turning the pages, looking for the next development, few books will. Hopefully, there will be many more Heller books to come.

[kevinjoseph_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Buried Secrets features Nick Heller, the spy-for-hire that Joseph Finder first intoduced us to in Vanished. As with the previous Heller plot, Finder uses a disappearing person as the hook. This time it's the teenage daughter of one of Heller's old friends, a man whose Wall Street maneuvering has the same shady qualities as those of Heller's own father. While this conspiracy thriller retreads the ground of others in the genre, it achieves a distinctly creepy level of suspense by employing a nasty, buried-alive device. Throw in a fittingly twisted villian and a rekindling of an old Heller romance and you have a solidly entertaining read. For me, though, I would rather see Finder return to writing corporate-centered thrillers like Paranoia that stand apart as a fresh thought-provoking subgenre.-Kevin Joseph, author of The Champion Maker

[draak_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In Buried Secrets, Joseph Finder brings back Nick Heller, ex-Army special ops turned private investigator. Nick has relocated from Washington to Boston and brought some friends with him to work in his office. When he gets a phone call from his mothers former boss telling him that his daughter, Alexa, is missing Nick kicks it into high gear to find her. He soon discovers that it goes deeper than just kidnapping and ransom of a rich girl. For one thing they don't want money, the FBI is investigating her father, there are Russians, assassins, and plenty of secrets to go around. Time is of the essense as they discover that Alexa has been buried alive. There is not a dull spot in this book. The characters are very likable and Nick is written as an ordinary man, meaning he makes mistakes, gets tired, and when he gets hurt he needs time to recouperate. I loved Vanished and Buried Secrets is even better. This is a must read and I cannot wait for the next installment of Nick Heller and friends.

[tomwheaton · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another good read by this author. The storyline was a bit different than other books that I have read by this author. It was a page-turne,r even though the storyline was a bit creepy, as the reader wants to know how or if the kidnapped girl will get rescued.

[tallydi · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The characters grabbed me and it was very readable but a little predictable.

[fredb_48 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A taut thriller. Nick Heller is a PI charged with finding Alexa, the teenage daughter of a friend who has been kidnapped. The bad guys who have her put her in a very frightening place described graphically. The story alternates between Heller trying to locate the child and Alexa's torment.The ending is a bit trite and predictable. But otherwise I could not put this one down.

[coker74 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is my first book by Joseph Finder. Maybe, I should have started with the first book in the series, Vanished, but LibrayThing was kind enough to send Buried Secrets to me. People talk about pace in a book, the smoothness of the story, the meshing of characters and action. I'm no expert on these things, but I enjoyed the book and the way the story unfolded, the flow of the first page to the last. I love a book that "calls" my name when I'm not reading it. You're anxious to get back to it, see what happens next. Since I work part-time in a library I'm always looking for authors to recommend to patrons. Think I've found a good one.

[lehack · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This could be a stand-alone book if you haven't read any of Finder's other Joseph Heller books. I think it is his best.A friend's daughter, Alexa, is abducted, but the motive doesn't seem to be money. The friend isn't telling Heller the complete truth. The investigation has many turns, but the tension builds throughout the book. The description of Alexa being buried alive is terrifying. This is a definite "stay up all night reading" book.

[dyarington_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this book in two days. That speaks volumes for its page-turner quality. It is a fast paced, tight plot about the seventeen year old daughter of a wealthy friend of Nick Heller, our hero. Nick has known the girl as well and when she is kidnapped the plot begins. After many exciting twists and turns, the story ends with many of Joseph Finder's surprises along the way. This is the second book of what appears to be a string of several Nick Heller series books yet to come. I have read Vanished, the first Nick Heller book, but one of nine previous Joseph Finder books. I've read them all and as a matter of fact I collect his books. There is much up to date technology in the book and honestly portrayed. So many thrillers lead the reader to believe computers and handhelds can do wonders-like immediately trace a cell call to its location and owner. Finder portrays technology as it really is and uses it most deftly. Nick Heller is not Lee Child's Jack Reacher, nor is he any of the other thriller heroes in Coben, Connelly, Crais, Parker, Silva, Flynn and others. Nick is evolving to be his own spy, with his" boxy Land Rover Defender 110" and his faithful assistant, Dorothy.. This is a great book and it promises many more like it. The book is not without shortcomings, however. Nick has too many expert friends around the world. Like Jack Reacher's Army buddies, Nick has a government official in Belize, an ex girlfriend in the FBI, a cyber-investigator and PI in New Jersey, a former special forces buddy, Tolya, a former KGB Major general, and, my favorite, Devlin, a disfigured cyber spy, and another former special forces buddy, all who help him get out of jams and find information for him. There are just too many of these "helpers" which stretches the believability quotient at this stage of Heller's development. There's not a lot of violence in the book and the one knock down drag out fight in the book goes on a bit too long and agonizingly detailed with knife almost in the eye for ten pages--too long. All in all a great book, however, and I expect many more Nick Heller thrillers down the pike.

[livelylady · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A kidnapped teen leads a former intelligence agent to uncovering the reason he was harassed in his job. It is suspenseful and exciting. Good to listen to in the car.

[gatorhater · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a enjoyable novel about the kidnapping of a multimillionaire's daughter, Alexa Marcus, who gets upducted from a bar in Boston with the help of her friend, Taylor Armstrong which is the daughter of a Mass. state senator. Marshall Marcus hires a old friend, Nick Heller to try to locate and return his daughter, the upductors have buried her alive, information and time are the only things that might bring her back alive. The clock is ticking, will they find her in time !