THE SWITCH is a showcase of what “Joseph Finder enjoying himself” looks like. It is a stand-alone work, complete in itself, and is driven by one of those occurrences that could happen to anyone who subjects himself or herself to the modern-day equivalent of the Spanish Inquisition known as “flying.” The result is a story that is impossible to put down for any reason and is as memorable as anything the author has ever written.

Finder does not waste any time getting things rolling. The reader is almost immediately introduced to Michael Tanner, the founder and CEO of Tanner Roast, a gourmet coffee company based in Boston. Both Tanners --- the company and its owner --- are still in the hustle stages of business, which is why Michael, as THE SWITCH opens, has just met with a high-profile potential client in Los Angeles and is in a serpentine security line that he may or may not clear before his flight departs.

"THE SWITCH is a serious book (and a timely one) that never takes itself too seriously. Perhaps the most intriguing part is watching Tanner try to keep his business from going bottoms up while evading pursuers from several sides who all seem to want that MacBook..."

In the haste and confusion of gathering his belongings, Tanner accidentally picks up the wrong MacBook. He quickly learns that the one he has belongs to Susan Robbins, a U.S. Senator who, against all rules, laws and regulations, has some top-secret and classified documents on her laptop. Tanner realizes soon enough that a mistake has been made, primarily because his MacBook does not have an adorable little sticky note on it with the machine’s password. He, of course, uses it to access the contents to see who the rightful owner is, and in due course realizes that he has a hot commodity.

Meanwhile, Robbins is in full panic mode over the loss, and for good reason. She dispatches her right hand man, Will Abbott, to get her MacBook back, by persuasion if possible and by force if necessary. The narrative mostly alternates between the points of view of Abbott and Tanner. Finder is a master at demonstrating the similarities and differences between the two men, and doing so with an extremely subtle touch. They both have strong motivations for what they do. Tanner is willing to cooperate, at least initially, but soon changes his mind. Abbott finds himself at sea, torn between his own moral core --- which slips and slides --- the Senator’s manipulation and domestic stresses.

Something has to give, and does eventually, a process that begins when an unexpected party with its own agenda interjects itself into the proceedings. There are any number of twists and turns as Abbott and Tanner attempt to save their respective careers and, yes, their own lives, as the laptop --- at heart, a machine, but nonetheless a dangerous one --- hangs in the balance.

THE SWITCH is a serious book (and a timely one) that never takes itself too seriously. Perhaps the most intriguing part is watching Tanner try to keep his business from going bottoms up while evading pursuers from several sides who all seem to want that MacBook, which is not his. Tanner eventually learns how to solve one problem by what he observes from the other.

As with all of Finder’s books, there are many other fascinating things to learn here, particularly about coffee. Most of us don’t think much about that first cup (or second, or third, or fourth) until it isn’t there. Finder goes into the nuts and bolts of the coffee bean from tree to table, delving into what happens in between the source and the cup, and what a cutthroat world the manufacturing, marketing and sale of coffee truly is. He also touches on such things as VPNs, VolPs and the like, and a search engine called DuckDuckGo that you may not be aware of but should be using. Oh, and there’s a bit about a side element of the real estate business that many readers will find quite interesting.

Even with all of the above, Finder never loses track of his story or disappoints his readers. He may have written better books, but THE SWITCH ranks as my favorite thus far.