Rating: 
Summary: A well written thriller
Review: "The Job" of course echoes John Grisham's "The Firm", as earlier reviewers have correctly pointed out, but I found Mr. Kennedy's book to be a shade darker and more sinister than the Grisham novel, and it is also a notch above Grisham's prose quality-wise.The main character, Ned Allen, comes across as very human and believable, even though the over-the-top ending spoiled a lot of that credibility for me. Ned stumbles through the twists and turns of the book, barely reacting to all the massive blows aimed at him (which does make the character so sympathetic), and suddenly, in the bleakest of moments, he comes up with the grand scheme and brings down a whole network of big-money thugs? Hmmm... Otherwise, "The Job" is a very exciting read, a novel that for once really deserves the phrase "hard to put down".
Rating:
Summary: A well written thriller
Review: "The Job" of course echoes John Grisham?s "The Firm", as earlier reviewers have correctly pointed out, but I found Mr. Kennedy?s book to be a shade darker and more sinister than the Grisham novel, and it is also a notch above Grisham?s prose quality-wise. The main character, Ned Allen, comes across as very human and believable, even though the over-the-top ending spoiled a lot of that credibility for me. Ned stumbles through the twists and turns of the book, barely reacting to all the massive blows aimed at him (which does make the character so sympathetic), and suddenly, in the bleakest of moments, he comes up with the grand scheme and brings down a whole network of big-money thugs? Hmmm... Otherwise, "The Job" is a very exciting read, a novel that for once really deserves the phrase "hard to put down".
Rating: 
Summary: A Fun Read, If You Try Not to Think Too Much
Review: Douglas Kennedy is great a taking an arrogant yuppie, and bringing him down a few pegs, and does a great job here. For some reason, it's fun to see Ned Allen's high-style life fall apart, and then watch him try to hold it together. One big quibble: Any time the protagonist or anyone else flew somewhere (South or East or out of the Country) Kennedy would always mention in the book that it was an American Airlines flight. Even a flight to Cayman is on American Eagle. It was so distracting, at one point, for no reason, Ned is asked, "Are you flying Delta" and he says, "no, American." I thought maybe the airline figured into the plot later, but now, having finished the book, I'm wondering if Kennedy received a stipend from the airline! Otherwise, it was a quick, fun, page-turning read, and ironically, I finished the book while flying an American flight from Boston to LA, so maybe the subliminal messages worked!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Fans of Steven Frey (The Takeover) will love this book! It starts out centering on the daily highly pressured business of selling advertising in the computer magazine business. It then progresses to corporate takeovers, off-shore investment funds, and money laundering. The main character, Ned Allen, is one of the best salesmen there is because of his "closing" ability. His decision to follow ethical rules leads him to lose his job, his wife, and be literally thrown out to the street with no future prospects. Desperate for anything to keep him going he meets up with Jerry Schubert, a friend from his old hometown. Jerry seems to be a godsend, taking Ned in and helping with many of his prior problems (credit card debts, etc.) with ready cash and a fairly well-paying job. As usual, what seems too good to be true, is in fact that. As Ned finds out he is sucked into being a "slave" for Jerry and his shady dealings. A situation, which seems there is no way out of. I read this book in half the time it normally takes me to read a book. It is one of those difficult to put down books. I found myself stopping at the end of a chapter but being so intrigued that I needed to look ahead to the next chapter. The only distraction is that the book is written in first person. When dealing with thriller type fiction I usually don't like this technique because you know right up front that the storyteller is not going to die so some of the suspense is lost. I recently read another Kennedy book called "The Big Picture." As much as I liked that one, I think this book is superior overall.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Fans of Steven Frey (The Takeover) will love this book! It starts out centering on the daily highly pressured business of selling advertising in the computer magazine business. It then progresses to corporate takeovers, off-shore investment funds, and money laundering. The main character, Ned Allen, is one of the best salesmen there is because of his "closing" ability. His decision to follow ethical rules leads him to lose his job, his wife, and be literally thrown out to the street with no future prospects. Desperate for anything to keep him going he meets up with Jerry Schubert, a friend from his old hometown. Jerry seems to be a godsend, taking Ned in and helping with many of his prior problems (credit card debts, etc.) with ready cash and a fairly well-paying job. As usual, what seems too good to be true, is in fact that. As Ned finds out he is sucked into being a "slave" for Jerry and his shady dealings. A situation, which seems there is no way out of. I read this book in half the time it normally takes me to read a book. It is one of those difficult to put down books. I found myself stopping at the end of a chapter but being so intrigued that I needed to look ahead to the next chapter. The only distraction is that the book is written in first person. When dealing with thriller type fiction I usually don't like this technique because you know right up front that the storyteller is not going to die so some of the suspense is lost. I recently read another Kennedy book called "The Big Picture." As much as I liked that one, I think this book is superior overall.
Rating: 
Summary: Fast read marred by cliches and sloppy plotting
Review: Gotta hand it to Douglas Kennedy. Somehow he pumps life into the minute details of the business and personal life of a salesman for a computer magazine. There is real drama in how this character wheels and deals. And it is interesting how the salesman gets over his head financially and how he screws up his career and marraige. It's not all black and white. There's a lot of gray. In other words, it's a lot like real life. The problem is that the dialogue is trite salesman-speak. That almost derails the first half of the book. The second half of the book turns into a mostly unplausible thriller as the now down-on-his luck salesman is blackmailed into being a courier for an unsavory businessman laundering money in the Bahamas. Several of the plot developments make no sense and strain belief. Kennedy has the potential to become a big time commercial author. But unless he pays more attention to critical details like realistic dialogue and fleshed out plot developments, he'll fall just short of his mark.
Rating:
Summary: Top writing, great story
Review: It is always a pleasure to read a novel that is crafted so well, where the author's skill at story telling is so blatantly evident, that it literally immerses the reader into its world and will not let go until the last page is turned.
The Job is an excellent tale about a Ned Allen, a magazine advertising salesman who loves the thrill of the deal, closing the sale is his ultimate adrenalin rush, and he's good at it. He's living the Manhattan dream: high fliers, exclusive restaurants, a downtown apartment and a beautiful wife. Ned is also a nice guy, generally an ethical man, which is a dangerous thing to be in a world of the "cut throat" deal. One could say that life is a series of choices, and the choice we make determine who we are in the end. Ned wants to do the right thing, he cares about his employees, but sometimes the pressures of the deal, and the stress of the moment can push one to make decisions that can turn one's life upside down. Ned is confronted with an ethical dilemma - he makes a decision, moving into that ethical `grey' area, that sets off a chain of circumstances which changes his ideal Manhattan life into a nightmare.
Kennedy ensures we have great sympathy for Ned Allen. The mistakes he makes, his dubious ethical choices, most would agree are minor compared to some of the stories we hear about in the world of big business and high finance. But for some people it doesn't take much to topple our house of cards on simply a whim or seemingly insignificant choice. While some get away with murder or move through life stepping on people on a daily basis without a second thought of consequences, some of us can make one little mistake, and the world changes forever. Ned is that type of person that must follow his own values or pay the price. And, unfortunately, he pays the price.
The job is a convincing piece of story telling, compelling in its content, a compulsive experience that wouldn't let go until it was finally finished in the dark early morning hours. A perfect weekend read that has prompted me to seek out further novels by Douglas Kennedy. A great performance.
Rating:
Summary: Moral Dilemnas Abound
Review: Moral Dilemnas Abound in this fast-paced read about an average New Yorker trapped in a bizzare situation far beyond anything even he could imagine. A likable protagonist, even though at times you want to thump him on the head and say, "Ned!! Ned!!" "Ned, WHAT are you doing?" I enjoyed this book and would reccomend it to anyone who wants to read pure entertainment...with a twist. Also, an FYI to my fellow reviewer, 'Martina,' American Airlines just happens to own 85% of all gates in the Carribean market, as well as many places the character Ned traveled to throughout the novel. As an frequent traveler, I was actually thrilled to see an author be very accurate in his information and not simply create flights that do not exist in real life.
Rating:
Summary: entertaining pop fiction
Review: The formula of this story is pretty much identical to the one used in his earlier book The Big Picture: begin the story with an introduction of the upper middleclass guy who seems to have a stable, mundane life, throw in an event or a series of events that makes him lose everything/ends his life as he knew it, & tell the tale of how he manages to find a new life. Both books seem to be written with a movie adaptation in mind. Nonetheless, this book was thoroughly enjoyable and a fast read.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: The main character in this book is from the get-go, tough to like. As the novel continues, he screws up by the numbers and gets himself into deeper trouble. He is one of those men who really doesn't stop to smell the flowers and in the process, misses all the details of life that are important to him. As the book opens, Ned Allen is a Regional Sales Manager for a computer magazine. He is living the yuppie dream without the ability to pay the bill. He has a beautiful young wife who loves him, but who also accuses him of not communicating or sharing his fears, hopes and aspirations. As we get to know Ned, it seems that the only redeeming character trait that he has is his loyalty to the people who work for him. As the book continues, Ned plans on becoming a bigwig at his magazine after a German conglomerate takes over. However, plans don't work out, the Germans flip the company quickly (to the competition, no less) and the new buyer decides to quickly close the magazine. Ned is out of work and almost as quickly, out of his home and marriage, when a night of drunken carelessness leaves him with the telltale marks of illicit sex. Within hours, it seems Ned is not only jobless and homeless, but penniless as well. As he grows desperate, an old high school friend seems to step in to the rescue. But just remember, when things appear to be too good to be true, they generally are. Ned is hired to market a private equity fund. He quickly comes to realize that all is not as it appears to be. Just as quickly, he finds that his high school buddy is more sinister than altruistic and Ned realizes that his friend has him in a deadly and vice-like grip. The author Douglas Kennedy, has done a very fine job of capturing all of the tension, fear and emotion that Ned feels as he realizes that his predicament may be inescapable. But as other readers of this finely plotted and paced thriller will tell you, Ned Allen, not always likeable as a person, is more resourceful than we would suspect. Kennedy paces this story at just the right speed to move Ned along from one predicament to another. The reader finds himself beginning to sympathize with Ned and hope that he finds a way out. Because, despite his failings as an employee and a husband, Ned Allen has really done nothing to merit the problems that have been heaped on his plate. I enjoyed this book. Mr. Kennedy does a very effective job of fleshing out his characters and although I did not like Ned too much at the beginning of the book, he reminded me of John Grisham's main character in THE FIRM by book's end. This is a fast read that gets faster as the story progresses. To be sure, it is not Tolstoy, but it is an entertaining look at the world of magazine publishing, sales, and some of the shadier and more sordid sides of investment banking and high finance. There is also a well wrought description of the money laundering process and how Ned is sucked into it as an unwitting dupe. All in all, an entertaining, quick read. Give it a try.
| 
