I typically try to avoid referencing or even being influenced by blurbs from writers or reviewers for the books that I read. However, when I come across praise from such a well-respected author like Linwood Barclay, my ears are wide open. Barclay calls THE OLIGARCH’S DAUGHTER by Joseph Finder “THE FIRM on steroids,” and I could not agree more. Add in the fact that the novel jumps between the US and Russia, and you have something truly special on your hands.

"The suspense level is literally at the heart-in-your-throat range, and the pages feel like they are turning themselves. Joseph Finder has another classic on his hands..."

In the opening pages, we are introduced to an unassuming individual named Grant. He works off a dock in a boat shop and seeks a quiet kind of life. But all of that changes when a man who first appears under the guise of a prospective new client reveals himself to be someone from Grant’s past. Grant becomes aware of what’s going on when the visitor refers to him by his previous name, Paul Brightman. At this point, the intrigue meter is on high as the expected flashback chapter is sure to come and explain exactly what is going on.

It is during the first flashback, set six years earlier, when we find out that Paul is an extremely bright Wall Street trader who is on the rise. He also is madly in love with his new girlfriend, Tatyana, a sultry young Russian. We then return to the present after enjoying this burgeoning romance that seems destined for marriage to find Paul on the run and referring to paperback books with titles like How to Change Your Identity and Disappear Forever.

The next trip to the past fills in more of the blanks on the numerous questions that every reader should have at this point. The now-engaged Paul and Tatyana are looking forward to a life together, but she is insistent that he leave his current job and work for her father’s firm. Arkady Galkin is not only in the same high-finance industry but also happens to be a Russian oligarch straight out of Moscow. His firm, which not surprisingly may not be on the up-and-up, will make Paul a target of the FBI. Not only will Paul’s life be forever changed, it will be in quite a bit of danger.

Paul first signs a prenuptial agreement with Tatyana to prove that the marriage is not just about money. Then he is flown to Moscow to meet up with his soon-to-be father-in-law and boss. Paul is contacted by an FBI agent operating in Moscow who needs him to take on the role of deep-cover agent and inform the feds who Arkady is meeting in Moscow and why. As expected, this is easier said than done, and the danger he finds himself in is off the charts.

Not to give anything away, but the book’s title should give some indication that Tatyana is more than just a loving fiancée. The suspense level is literally at the heart-in-your-throat range, and the pages feel like they are turning themselves. Joseph Finder has another classic on his hands and once again proves that he still has his finger on the pulse of Russian-infused thrillers.