Vanished is the first book in Joe Finder’s new “Nick Heller” series of books. Nick Heller is a “private spy” who works for a private intelligence firm, he’s ex-special forces, tough and doesn’t take any shit. In this first instalment Heller becomes involved in the hunt for his missing brother, a search which sees him embroiled in the goings on of the major defence contractor his brother works for.

Vanished starts off well but I got kind of bored about two thirds of the way through, in fact I don’t really remember much of interest that happened during those middle chapters. The last few chapters picked up my interest again but the ending felt so obvious (and awkward) that I was left feeling pretty disappointed. Vanished is ok, but not a patch on earlier corporate and political romps such as Paranoia or The Moscow Club. Hopefully the next Nick Heller instalment will be better.

5/10