The Insiders: A Thriller

by Craig Hickman

Book Overview

*The Insiders* was recently named a Finalist in the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller category of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1439216045
• ISBN13: 9781439216040
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Booksurge Publishing
• Length: 590 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A must read

A Must Read Hickman has created a first class thriller with the intrigue, action, plot twists and characters you would expect from Ludlum or Grisham, but he didn't follow the typical formula. I love both these authors, and with this book, Craig Hickman has proven to be in the same league. The characters are delicious and woven into a complex story told masterfully. The Insiders plot is very realistic, and timely. In fact, in many ways this story and the characters are more realistic than the heroes in many other best sellers. The twists of plot provide surprises and first-rate mystery, but good foreshadowing is there, if you are good enough to catch the clues. (I missed some, and contemplated other clues) There are no absurd character changes of mild mannered hero to instant Rambo, yet the thrills and action are very much a part of the story. The ending is strong, and wraps up in a way to satisfy the reader with realism and solid finish, but leaves just enough trail for the next in the franchise. Having just read Grisham's latest I couldn't help but compare. The Insiders is better, and I love Grisham's work. Bravo Mr. Hickman. Keep them coming. Fred Ashman, Writer-Director

The Insiders

Hickman has hit another home run with this novel. He has written some great business management books but I think this is his first novel. It is a story of manipulating the stock market to create huge monetary gains for the ruthless corporate executives on the inside. It was very thought provoking, and made me wonder who the real insiders are today. It makes me wonder who really controls our economy and to what lengths the insiders will go to realize their own purposes. I was amazed at the knowledge and understanding of Corporate America and espionage that Hickman must have, to have written something like this. If a novel is not exciting right from the first I don't usually finish the book, but I couldn't put this one down. It kept me wondering what was coming next and it kept coming and coming. I loved the twists and turns, the violence, intrigue and even the romance. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to think a little and be completely entertained.

Thrill Ride

Fasten your seatbelts. The Insiders is a wild ride, but a thrilling one that is well worth taking. I'm a long-time fan of Craig Hickman's non-fiction business writing, so I was very anxious to read his fiction debut. Although many authors struggle heartily with the move from non-fiction to fiction, Hickman's transition is seamless. With The Insiders, Craig Hickman emerges onto the fiction scene with a vengeance. I hope that we'll be reading much more fiction from Hickman in the (very near) future. The Insiders grabs you in its opening scene and won't release you until its final pages. This thriller has it all - the suspense, the romance, and the plot twists that provoke and surprise throughout. Although I read it in just a few sittings (it was very hard to put down), its themes run deep. You'll continue to ponder its messages long after the book is retired to your bookshelf. Although the book jacket says that this novel was in the making for a decade, The Insiders couldn't be more relevant in today's troubled times. As we watch financial markets crumble around us, we're searching for answers and insight - how could this all happen? In these uncertain times, The Insiders reveals what can happen when the financial elite are allowed to usurp disproportionate power and play it to their personal advantage. Hickman creates a consistently compelling, thoroughly convincing, and ultimately frightening portrayal of what happens when greed, pride, and revenge become all consuming. To avoid spoiling the plot, suffice it to say that the personal toll is exceptional. Although fictional, his story clearly tests the boundaries of fact and fiction; one can't help but believe that the scenario Hickman creates might actually unfold in the real world. Hickman's debut engages both head and heart. Hickman's extensive business experience enables him to create a convincing foundation for his thriller. But what makes The Insiders stand head-and-shoulders above the crowded field of thriller novels is a superior, suspenseful plot and rich, well-developed set of characters that engage your heart. It is rare to accomplish this. It is especially exciting and surprising to see this achieved in a writer's fiction debut.

Exciting and Relevant!

The Insiders is the kind of book that will have you pondering for weeks after you finish reading. The plot and the characters are dynamic and entertaining, with all of the mystery and complexity one could ask for in a mid-sized novel. But the substance of the tale, and the reason it was written, I am guessing, is something of a call to arms. This is a story about exposing the elusive, entrenched, corrupt vested interests at the very top of our economic system. This task presents a tremendous challenge for the heroes in the book, with every sort of evil means being employed by the insiders conspiracy to to dissuade and destroy them. The unfolding process is fun and exciting because it's fiction, but it also lays bare the true-to-life methods and motives of these evil manipulators. The book is therefore a sort of indictment of our broken financial system, which rapes the producing classes and rewards the conspiring financiers. The reality of this problem is something that is pressing and relevant, and will remain to be dealt with long after the last page is turned. This awareness will stay with you and keep you in thought, and it will also make you yearn for the sequel. I read the book in one sitting as I couldn't put it down. It has a sort of Brad Thor, Tom Clancy feel to it, as the anatgonist behave at times like greedy businessmen, at other times as the mafia or as domestic terrorists. What else can I say? Buy it and read it.

Unrestrained greed

A group of the super wealthy are willing to ruin companies in order to manipulate stock prices to their own advantage. It is not a matter of a company making a profit, it is a matter of how much they can walk away with from mergers, IPOs, and running up the price before they sell. Anything goes. They will destroy anyone who gets in their way. There is a plot. The gang will turn on any member who gets religion. The band of thieves must stick together, and there is a convenient assassin for hire if someone shows a sign of weakness. A son inherits a fortune and finds himself and the people around him in danger. This is a good novel on contemporary issues. The author sums it up when he says, "As long as they stay out of court, their money making activities remain incomprehensible, beyond scrutiny and criticism." The tax structure favors the rich, especially with a reduced capital gains tax, and money trickles up to the wealthy. While someone working hard for their money may pay over 40 percent in income and social security taxes, the members of the gang and associated drones may pay 10 percent, provided they don't hide the money offshore and escape taxes. I was left with a feeling that I should get a pitchfork and a torch, and join a mob hunting down the villains. One can understand the Paris mob circa 1789, just before they rolled out the guillotine.