The Downside
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The acclaimed author of the Silas Cade Thrillers introduces Finn, a thief who’s about to learn that when you steal big, there’s always a downside.
In an age of cybercrime, Finn is the last hardhat. He’s a professional thief with a unique specialty: He only steals big things—autoracks, factory lines, machinery. You might call what he does “heavy lifting.” And he’s no stranger to the downside of his chosen profession; he’s done seven years’ hard time to prove it.
Fresh out of prison and flat broke, Finn has a line on his biggest job ever. A beautiful woman with her own agenda has put him back in touch with a shady Wall Street billionaire. The job? Breaking into a private commodities vault and hauling out fifty million dollars worth of the precious metal rhodium. It’s big, it’s heavy, and it’ll pull a lot of exposure. In other words, it’s right up Finn’s alley.
The vault is located underground in a high-security rail yard in New Jersey. The plan? Tunnel in. But there’s only one group that can get it done, and Finn will have to call in the crackerjack team that landed him in prison in the first place: Asher, a cranky oilfield driller; Corman, a bearlike railway man; and Jake, a charismatic machinery expert—joined by Nicola, a female hacker who alternates between white and black hats.
Cracking the most heavily guarded private vault in North America? No problem. Hauling fifty million dollars in precious metal out past guards, dozens of policemen, and an armored SWAT battalion? Even easier. But navigating the betrayals of double-crossing partners, the machinations of a hedge-fund billionaire gone bad, and the ambiguous proposals of a woman with her own agenda? That’s when things get twisty. This is the heist that will truly test Finn’s mettle, and he’ll need nerves of steel just to get out alive. But he’s sure of one thing: This time, there’s got to be an upside.
Says Brad Thor, “If you like Nelson DeMille, you will love Mike Cooper.” From the author of Clawback—hailed by Library Journal as “a fast-moving thriller leavened by wit” and starring an unforgettable blue-collar antihero—The Downside hurtles along at a breakneck speed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Finn, the star of this wildly inventive caper novel from Thriller Award finalist Cooper (Full Ratchet), specializes in thefts of large, heavy objects, such as an autorack of Mercedes S-Coupes. Fresh out of prison after seven years, Finn is met by Emily Hale, an employee of Wes Schiller, the Wall Street investor who hired Finn and his team for the job that got them all busted. Wes now wants Finn to break into the New Jersey railyard vault where his commodities firm is storing $50 million worth of rhodium ingots some of which are counterfeit and switch them with those in a neighboring vault belonging to another commodities firm. Finn reluctantly agrees and assembles the same three-man team, despite knowing that one of them (or maybe Wes) was the person who ratted out the earlier heist. The operation requires heavy drilling equipment, impressive hacking skills, and delicate timing, and betrayal is almost guaranteed. The railroad yard's formidable security complicates the task. Fans of Donald Westlake's Dortmunder novels will find a lot to like.