Author: Joseph Finder

Title: Buried Secrets: A Nick Heller Novel

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Teenager Alexa Marcus stood in line with her best friend Taylor Armstrong to get into a bar called the Slammer, a luxury hotel that had formally been used as a jail.

She procured a fake ID to get into the popular club, but some of those on the inside already knew her real identity—that she was the daughter of Marshall Marcus, a billionaire hedge-fund genius. Before the night was through she was whisked away by a handsome gentleman with a Spanish accent.

Instead of taking her home as promised he transferred Alexa to the back seat of a new, black SUV with a sinister looking driver. As she passes out from the drugs they had earlier slipped in her drinks she wonders how this new driver knows her real name.

When she awakens the next morning she finds herself lying on her back in a small, dark, enclosed space. In horror she pieces together that she has been kidnapped and is being held inside a buried coffin.

Nick Heller is a former Army Special Forces operative who has set up his own detective agency in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts for wealthy corporations and individuals.

When he is contacted by Marshall Marcus, an old friend of his parents, about Alexa not coming home the previous evening he drives out to their mansion out of courtesy. Having a track record of acting out against her wealthy father and step mother, Nick's first impression is that Alexa is still be out with friends after partying hard the night before.

What he begins to deduce upon arriving at the Marcus manor suggests a more sinister scenario. Nick agrees to help Marshall find his daughter.

Once the kidnapper makes his demands known the case develops into a complicated affair. Marcus denies he has the data being requested from the kidnapper, the FBI is reluctant to get involved, and Nick finds himself crossing lines of legality in order to find the buried teenager before it is too late.

As the case proceeds many hidden secrets risk being unearthed, exposing important people to unwanted attention. They will do anything it takes to stop Nick from succeeding, even at the expense of young Alexa.

Joseph Finder introduced his character Nick Heller in the New York Times bestselling novel Vanished in 2009.  In this second book we learn more of Nick's family background as well as a rekindling of a romance with Diana Madigan, an FBI Special Agent that Nick dated when they both were stationed in Washington D.C. But as much as we want to know more of Heller's personal life and understand what makes him tick, the case in front of him takes center stage.

The private detective gets very little sleep as the plot continues to race around twists and turns as he attempts to get over the roadblocks others put in his way. The final showdown will leave the reader with few hours of sleep themselves so they can finish the riveting story.

Finder has found his stride with his new hero and will no doubt produce future heart pumping stories in this series. If you enjoy white-knuckle thrillers and are looking for a new adventure series scoop up Vanished and Buried Secrets from your local book seller.

*This review first published 7/6/2011