Review: House on Fire by Joseph Finder

I intended to finish House on Fire before the New Year and was totally on track to do that but I my best friend decided it was time to break my New Year's tradition of sleeping in and having an impromptu party/double date at my house. Once that happened, I knew that life would resume to normalcy including work and school with Finder's novel being its first victim. Ultimately, I finished House on Fire a week ago. In traditional fashion, I am now finally able to share my thoughts.
So...

Let's go!

House on Fire is Joseph Finder's fourth Nick Heller installment. For those unfamiliar with Nick Heller, you will not get a recap here. Pick up a damn book! Just kidding...

Heller is a bad-ass private eye who runs his own firm that specializes in getting things done. In this title, Heller is hired to expunge secrets about a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company that develops a drug that is highly addictive and has caused the deaths of its many users. The catch with this employment opportunity is that the one financing Heller's investigative prowess is the daughter of the company who's hellbent on seeing the demise of the company.

Nick Heller's personal attachment to the case doesn't hurt either. Actually, he has a few personal attachments to seeing this case through... regardless... Heller's a bad-ass and that's all you need to know.

Not convinced?

Fine then...

Let's start by putting aside any reservations one may have of reading House on Fire before any of the other Heller titles. It's OK. I've been a longstanding fan of Finder's work and I've missed a couple here and there including other Heller novels. In the interest of full disclosure, I have read a Heller novel or two, bu that's neither here or there. There's enough backstory that Finder includes without pulling readers from the story at hand.

That's why I love Joseph Finder titles (and the fact that he's tweeted me once... so cool). I digress...

Finder writes novels that are draw readers in with a momentum that never slows long enough for boredom. That's why I thought I would easily finish this novel by New Year's. At 60%, I was well on my way if it had not been for my best friend and the promise of tequila shots.

What I loved most about House on Fire is Nick Heller's honest narrative that accounted for his aging body when faced with situations that require that he go all "Mission Impossible" on someone. Along with the realistic and descriptive fight scenes, Finder's novels are well researched. House on Fire capitalizes on the Opioid crisis that's "ravaging" America.

Sidenote: I placed ravaging in quotes because the crack epidemic was used as a means to incarcerate those who sold the drug as well as abusers of the drug. Once opioids began to kill white Americans, addiction was suddenly something that needed to be treated as opposed to being a tool used to RAVAGE families. That's not what this novel is about... I just saw an opportunity to get on my soapbox. As a black female my family wasn't torn apart due to a my father having a crack addiction or selling it. But a year and a half ago, my ex-boyfriend was a victim of this crisis. It's just unfortunate that a bunch of white people had to die before anyone could see the parallels.

Sorry! Sorry! My sincere apologies.

Joseph Finder remains one of my favorite writers and kept me guessing until the end with House on Fire. Cleverly placed red herrings sent me off in the wrong direction plenty of times. Those unfamiliar with the Nick Heller series do not need to binge read the proceeding novels to feel caught up. It won't hurt but also not necessary. Overall, House on Fire lights a match under the reader to finish the novel like none other. I highly recommend this suspenseful mystery to those looking for an intriguing, fast read that is hard to put down... unless there's tequila involved of course. ****

Copy provided by Penguin Group via Netgalley