Man on the run
"The Oligarch's Daughter" keeps pages flying with tale for the times

In keeping with an ancient, unattributed Chinese curse “May you live in interesting times,” our present way-too-interesting times exhorted me to take a deep breath and wallow in a new spy thriller. This one is by an expert in teaching readers how to bite fingernails that must now be worn to the nub in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. 

Joseph Finder, who has 15 previous nail-biters that have won numerous awards and been made into a number of Hollywood movies, has a new suspense novel that dropped in January, “The Oligarch’s Daughter.” 

The title almost seems as if it could have come from yet another exposé atop the second section of the New York Times. And while I’m not a connoisseur or even a casual fan of espionage thrillers, I am in awe of the writers who can keep all the analytic tradecraft and subtleties in order, only to pull out of the shadows a flawless plot. Finder has pulled the rabbit out of the hat here with “The Oligarch’s Daughter,” and smart money bets that he had every surface of his office plastered with Post-it notes.

Finder’s characters are the strings of his instrument, and with clumsy handling, the tune would fall to pieces. One might even guess that aspiring espionage writers have more rejection letters than writers of all other genres. It’s a locked-room stunt that not every novelist can pull off. Finder pulled it off in “Oligarch’s Daughter,” and I’d guess he’s nearly able to go out in public after three months of learning how to walk again.

How to explain the plot of “Oligarch’s Daughter” without spoiling the spectacle is either a Post-it note absurdity for a reviewer or a study of the characters’ porous personalities that enable recruitment and snooping while blood pressure rises. So here are the principal characters drawn with a pointillist’s thin, sharp brush. 

Paul Brightman is a thirtysomething Wall Street cubicle denizen in the bullpen of a small stock market speculator, Bernie Kovan, moving hundreds of millions of dollars in investment funds. Anything anywhere is game, and backbenchers like Brightman work obscene hours inspecting target companies in volatile industries. He can make fortunes overnight if his research holds water, as cousin Vinny would say.

Paul has cozied up with a lovely and unattached woman by the name of Tatyana. She’s quick to identify as Russian-America, and lives in a modest Manhattan apartment and takes photos of street people as an occupation. Paul is in love. Tatyana is in love. And, after not too long, it comes time to meet Tatyana’s father and his latest wife. They’ve been invited to the traditional Sunday family dinner. And here is when the curtain rises, this story begins in earnest and sleep is lost in increments for the next 350 pages. 

Tatyana’s father’s home is comprised of two elegant Upper East Side neoclassical townhomes put together. For Paul, who weighs observations all day long, the value of combining two century-old homes built for the very wealthy of a hundred years ago is so grandiose as to be self-effacing. And that’s before we go inside to see the gilded trappings and meet Tatyana’s garrulous father, the Russian oligarch Arkady Galkin.  

Arkady, it won’t come as a surprise, is also in the finance business. He surprises Paul with questions about how he likes working for Bernie Kovan. In a short time and with the announcement of Paul and Tatyana’s engagement, Paul ambivalently accepts the clichéd son-in-law job offer, and Tatyana can’t refuse Daddy’s offer to upgrade and furnish the Manhattan townhouse they will move into after their marriage. 

It’s important to understand that Paul is a straight arrow, nearly naive and dependably guileless. All the richness, Russianness, and 500-foot yacht, Lear jet, helicopter and bodyguard ballyhoo plays in Arkady’s favor as he attempts to make Paul a company pet.

And you have to appreciate that Finder has Tatyana recede. She has set the stage and becomes just the wife as Paul’s innocence is exploited by Arkady’s dubious worldwide operations being observed by U.S. and Russian undercover operatives. 

That’s enough of a tease for you to see that these characters will cross lines, play roles and get rich beyond imagination. And you’ll be surprised to see that none of it makes Paul comfortable. Finder has crafted a kaleidoscopic world with “The Oligarch’s Daughter” that will doubtless be made into an expensive motion picture. And if you’re in the mood for a ride in a speeding transport, this book is guaranteed to overshadow the grim news of today for as long as you read it.

And when you go to pick it up, don’t forget to ask Maria’s Bookshop for your 15% Murder Ink discount.