I might have had trouble with the idea that an important political figure would leave her password on a Post-it note stuck to the outside of her laptop if I hadn’t watched Hillary mishandle her cell phone for over a year. But knowing of the idiotic things that senators (and such) can do with their technology, the premise of The Switch becomes not only fascinating, but credible.

While going through airport security in Los Angeles, Senator Susan Robbins’ laptop is accidentally picked up by Michael Tanner. It isn’t until he gets home to Boston that he discovers the error and realizes their computers have been switched. Then he sees the Post-it at the bottom of the laptop with the password. The more he tries to find out whose computer he has, the more he realizes that he is in possession of top secret files which the Senator and her aide will do anything to retrieve.

A series of ensuing incidents can only be interpreted as threats. There is an ever encroaching danger on Michael Tanner’s life which is only preserved because he is in possession of the MacBook Air which Robbins’ staff cannot find. His reporter friend has been presumed to have committed suicide; he gets a call that his coffee roasting company has suddenly caught fire in the middle of the night.

As he danger increases, so does an understanding of the underlying premises in this novel. Are we a society so caught up in technology that it has power over us rather than the other way around?

Worse still, is it possible for America to become “a surveillance state, (and) eventually a dictatorship”?

“Forget privacy; what we all really want is convenience. We write private emails that our employer has the legal right to read, am I right? Every time you use your SpeedPass in the turnpike or swipe your debit card at Walmart or buy your meds at CVS, you’re being tracked. You got OnStar in your car, Waze on your phone? You know they track where you went and how fast to got there, and they can sell your data to anyone they want? And if you don’t know all this, you’re not as smart as I thought. You really think you got privacy anymore? Every time you walk down the streets of the city your picture’s being taken by a surveillance camera. There’s automatic license-plate readers all over the place. Google knows everything you’ve ever searched online. We live our lives in public all the time, like it or not.”

This is an extremely satisfying thriller, well written and thought-provoking, making me question on this Independence Day just how independent we really are. Even in America.

This was a fun and fast-paced novel! Michael Tanner went through LAX airport and unfortunately after the TSA check, picked up the wrong laptop. No big deal, right? Just switch back with the original owner. However, the original owner is Susan Robbins, a US Senator with some very confidential information on her laptop, with password protection, encryption… oh, and a sticky note with the password written on it inside of the laptop case! When Will Abbott realizes his mistake, he is frantic to get it back!

Abbott, the chief of staff, is in charge of retrieving the laptop, and there is definitely an intense need to get the laptop back. What exactly is on it that people will die to protect? You’ll have to read to find out.

Tanner’s life turns upside down as Abbott sends people after him and he goes on the run. I thought the story was easy to follow, I loved the suspense and Tanner is a likable character. There are some extreme moments and I love how the author kept the pace fast. If you like government fiction, grab this!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Penguin Publishing Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I appreciate the opportunity to receive an advanced reader copy to do so. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This book starts of innocent enough. Begins to lay the scene and the main characters. It is not until Tanner gets back to his office that he realizes that he has the wrong laptop. His contact information from his business trip cannot be found. It is then that you are in a senator’s office and you are starting to realize what has happened. Thinking as reader that this can be fixed it turns out that other people want the senator’s laptop as well. Now Tanner is in the way and so begins his journey of wanting to stay alive by any means. He also has his family to think about as who he can trust to help him. The man who never thinks this could happen and realizes that he gives away a leverage once the laptop is out of his passion. The writing is very good and keeps you turning page after page. Suspense, mystery, intrigue, even though you know the cast of characters the author does a wonderful job at keeping you as the reader engaged throughout the book. A very good book.

The security line at the airport is not a pleasant experience, even when everything goes well. But when Michael Tanner gets home from a business trip, he learns that he has the wrong laptop and the result may become deadly. The Switch by bestselling author, Joseph Finder, tells the story of Tanner, owner of a fledgling coffee company. He opens the laptop to find that the password is on a sticky note, and that it belongs to a powerful US Senator. He also finds that the laptop has top secret security information. Tanner makes some very bad decisions and doesn’t turn the laptop over to the senator, and as the story evolves, learns just how powerful and unscrupulous politicians and government agencies can be.

Reading this novel is similar to reading the headlines of major newspapers where corruption and deception are the norm for politicians and where regular citizens have no recourse against it. The story will grab readers immediately, and the novel will be very difficult to put down. It is reminiscent of some of the political issues in modern-day politics, i.e., unexplained deaths, suicides, and accidents, as well as politicians stopping at nothing to keep their power and save face.

Joseph Finder again shows why he is a bestselling author – he has excellent storytelling abilities and is able to focus on issues that are relevant to what is presently going on in the world, i.e., dirty politics, politicians who are willing to do anything to cover up their lack of ethics and blatant dishonesty, as well as an uncanny ability to twist the truth and fool vulnerable constituents. His characters in The Switch are well-developed and believable.

If you want to read something to make you feel good about politics, you’ll want to skip this one. It is highly recommended, however, for anyone who isn’t living in a dream world where politicians are telling the truth and aren’t dangerously guarding their power.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

This was my first book by Joseph Finder. I found the synopsis of the book intriguing. So after starting the book, I was finding it hard to put down. Couldn't wait til I got a chance to pick it back up. I like the author's writing style and how this was really fast paced. I like seeing how the whole laptop dilemma changed Tanner as a person in the end. He probably is my favorite character because of his way of figuring his way out of the situation. I find it hard to believe that a senator of the united states would be so careless in displaying their laptop password on a post-it if it had top secret files on it! All in all, I look forward to reading some other books from Joseph Finder. Definitely will be recommending this book to patrons and friends.

Not Joseph Finder's best book, but still worth reading.

Michael Tanner accidentally picks up the wrong laptop in a security line--it belongs to a U.S. senator, and yes, it has classified documents on it. The senator has her chief of staff find a "fixer" and things go downhill from there. There are too many unbelievables here. Why doesn't Tanner return the computer; how could the senator have so carelessly lost it, how many people can be victims of this conspiracy. Finder usually writes a good tale, but this is too weak on plausibility.

A simple mix up in the airport has Michael Tanner on the run for his life. When he picks up the wrong MacBook, a U.S. senator's laptop no less, he learns that she will do anything to protect the secrets it contains. One harrowing adventure after another ensues as he tries to evade capture and figure out what mysterious files the laptop contains and what would drive someone to kill in order to get it back.

Published by Dutton on June 13, 2017

The Switch is a fairly typical conspiracy novel, the kind where people do bad things to keep secrets a secret, either in the name of national security or job security. The plot follows the Hitchcock/Ludlum formula: Ordinary guy who stumbles upon a secret relies on resourcefulness and luck to stay a step ahead of the evil forces that want to capture or kill him. The evil forces our hero must elude include the NSA, a Senate staffer, private enforcers, the mob, and a Russian spy. The formula is reliable and Joseph Finder is a good storyteller who creates believable characters, but he can’t disguise the story’s familiarity.

Michael Tanner runs a company that distributes high-end coffee. His business is in trouble and his girlfriend left him. One his way home to Boston from an LA sales meeting, he inadvertently picks up the wrong laptop while going through airport security. The laptop belongs to a senator. Its contents, easily accessed via the password she wrote on a post-it affixed to the laptop, would be disastrous for the senator if they were made public. After all, she’s not supposed to have classified information on her personal laptop. The classified information is disastrous for the public, since it describes one of those ubiquitous government programs that lets the NSA spy on innocent Americans.

Tanner is searching the laptop for information about its owner when he finds top secret documents about the NSA project. He naturally discusses the information with a reporter who warns him that his life is in danger. Meanwhile, Will Abbott, the senator’s staffer, contacts various outside forces in an attempt to get the laptop back before taking the matter into his own hands. The NSA promptly learns that Tanner has the classified information, but doesn’t know how it got leaked. Will is therefore racing against the NSA to see who can recover the laptop first.

Some of The Switch is predictable, including the lecture about how we’ve sacrificed our privacy for convenience. True enough, but a common thriller theme. And yes, we live in a police state, at least when the police claim they are enforcing laws related to national security, and yes, we live in a post-truth era, but those lectures only have educational value for readers who live with their heads buried in the sand. Much of the rest of the story is also standard thriller fare, as Tanner tries to stay ahead of the various parties who want the information on the Senator’s laptop.

I give credit to Finder for resisting the urge to go over the top. The story seems plausible because Tanner never does anything that requires the skills of Jason Bourne. He doesn’t want to be a hero; he just wants to survive. He’s a believable character, as is Will, the other character who benefits from significant personality development. I'm not sure the ending is entirely plausible (in the real world, ordinary people who get caught passing classified information to reporters go to prison) but happy endings are also standard fare in conspiracy thrillers.

I like the coffee business angle to the story (financial thrillers are really Finder’s strength), but that’s a small component of a novel that doesn’t impart a new twist to an old plot. I can recommend The Switch because it moves quickly and it always held my interest, but I would have given it a stronger recommendation if Finder had found a way to surprise me.

RECOMMENDED

The tendency to imagine how the movie would look plagues me with every Joseph Finder novel I read. The Switch is written like a high-octane thriller that never settles down for that precious thing we call breath. We simply have to strap in and hold on tight.

Michael Tanner's life is turned upside down when he accidentally has his laptop switched with a prominent senator from Illinois at the airport. It's clear from the first page something is awry because the case of the mistaken laptop switch seems almost too perfectly planned... or is it. That's what we grapple with the entire time having limited information that suggests the only two people who want this tablet so badly are Tanner and the senator. Suffice it to say, this laptop has some damning information and Tanner is convinced keeping the laptop and making copies of its files will keep him alive... or so he thinks.

Tanner is forced to deal with having information that would prove Big Brother is watching and would essentially force everyone to consider how much their privacy is worth to them in a world of the Isis and other terrorist groups.

What I enjoyed most about The Switch is that no matter how implausible the plot became, I said to hell with reality and anxiously anticipated the end. I was totally invested in Tanner the whole time. For that matter, I needed to see how the other side would pan out in their quest to obtain the switched laptops. Ultimately, Finder provides us with a likable protagonist as well as a desperate antagonist that I almost felt sorry for.

The Switch will definitely be enjoyed by Finder Fans such as myself. It's a fast paced, engrossing thriller that will have readers debating with what they would do if they had been in this same situation. It's almost like if you found a bag with a million bucks in it. Do you turn it in or do you covet it in the hopes you'll survive long enough to enjoy it.

Copy provided by Penguin Group via Netgalley

Finder is always a "FIND" but I guess you know that. Here is the rarest of rare it seems these days, not only a good read but a STANDALONE novel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Read this today

Michael Tanner is rushing to catch a plane from Los Angeles to Boston when he is pulled out of the security line for additional screening. It doesn’t take long, but he quickly gathers his belongings and races to the gate where he is the last person on the plane. When he gets home, he opens his MacBook only to discover that it does not belong to him but rather to an S. Robbins. When he turns the MacBook over, there is a Post-it note with the password - which he uses and discovers that it belongs to Susan Robbins, U.S. Senator from Illinois. Simultaneously, Senator Robbins figures out that she has Tanner’s computer, so she immediately calls her chief of Staff, Will Abbott, who is tasked with finding the correct Michael Tanner and getting the computers returned to their proper owners. It is what is on Senator Robbins’ MacBook that is the problem - and Will is partially responsible - classified information that should never be taken from a secure facility has been downloaded on to the computer so that the senator could read it on the plane. Once the correct Michael Tanner is located, Will tries several means to get the computer back, but Tanner, fearing for his life, becomes an amateur, but effective, person eluding the authorities. The story does move along at a reasonable pace, although I felt that the main characters were sophomoric in their thoughts and logic. Not as good as other Finder books that I have read.

Joseph FInder's newest book, The Switch, if a frightening story about an honest man who mistakenly picks up the wrong computer at the airport. He opens it up and discovers some top secret government information. What follows is his attempts to link the information to the press and his various adventures with the NSA and the government agent who is responsible for putting the classified information on the computer in the first place. The world FInder is describing has not privacy and government watches us. Part of the book reads like a science fiction story which might really be true today or tomorrow.

Michael Tanner is returning home from an important business trip – so the only thing on his mind is getting home. After going through an airport security checkpoint and in danger of missing his flight – he grabs the wrong laptop while he’s in a rush to make his flight. It’s after he gets home that he notices that he took the wrong laptop. At that moment, he could care less because he has more pressing business to take care of.

Michael Tanner is the owner of Tanner Cold Brew, a coffee concentrate that’s used in nitro, iced coffee, hot coffee, and etc. Unbeknownst to his friends & family (including his wife) – Tanner Cold Brew has been losing money and clients. Speaking of his wife, they are going through their own troubles. His wife, Sarah has moved out and doesn’t have any intentions of returning home.

After having the laptop in his possessions for a few days, curiosity gets the best of him. He comes across some highly classified information that could end up turning into Snowden 2.0. He shares the information with his friend who informs him of the danger he is in having that laptop in his possession.

“And do you know what happens to people who find out deep-cover intelligence secrets in this country? They commit suicide. Or they get into convenient car accidents.

Michael still has his reservations but when his friend is found dead from a possible “suicide” – he soon realizes that returning the laptop won’t be as simple as he thought it would be.

Author Joseph Finder delivers another fast-paced read with The Switch. When reading a Joseph Finder novel – you never know what direction that story will take you. Michael Tanner isn’t a high-profile spy – he’s an everyday guy and knowing that readers will ask themselves – What would I do if I were in this situation? One of the reasons Joseph Finder is one of my favorite authors is his ability to have readers connect with the characters he writes about. Once a reader is connected – the words on the page come alive.

An Average Guy Caught in a Political Scandal

Mike Tanner rushes to catch his flight from Los Angeles to Boston. Caught in a security check, he’s afraid of missing his flight and grabs his laptop when released by security. Mike is having a tough time. His business, selling gourmet coffee to restaurants and coffee shops, is on the brink of bankruptcy. His wife has left him and may want a divorce. If that isn’t bad enough, when he get home he can’t open his laptop. Then he sees a pink Post-It note with a password. This is definitely not his computer.

Senator Susan Robbins also discovers that she can’t open her laptop. There’s no Post-It note. This is not her computer and to make matters worse it’s loaded with top secret documents. If the person who has her laptop opens it, and spreads the information around, it could end her career.

The setup in this novel is good. You can almost imagine the headlines in the newspaper: secret documents, misuse of classified information, the Russians. This story has everything. After the opening scenes where we meet Mike, Senator Robbins, and Will, her right-hand man, the book devolves into a chase scene. Mike is the prey and several forces are in pursuit of the laptop.

The characters are good, but not great. Mike is an average guy. He just wants to run his business and get his wife back. Will loves the admiration he gets from his work for the senator, but his decision making ability isn’t up to the challenge of retrieving the laptop without serious complications.

I enjoyed the book. It’s a thriller that addresses some of the issues we all see in the news such as the electronic surveillance of private citizens. It you want a fast paced read that echoes the current political situation, you’ll enjoy this book.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

From the beginning to when the last page is turned you are waiting for the last shoe to drop. The author kept me on the edge of my seat, and you will be wondering to the end of this book whom will end up surviving, if any.
Tanner innocently takes the wrong computer at the LAX airport, and because of this his life is about to change forever. Two families, one with a young baby and the other still waiting to have children, parallel lives, but oh so different. Now to what length will someone or many go to get this computer back?
With what has happened in our country I had little doubt that this could really be a true story, names and dates changed. Yes a truly believable tale and once you start you won’t be able to put this one down, I couldn’t it kept me looking for answers.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Penguin Group, and was not required to give a positive review.

“The Switch” by Joseph Finder is a political thriller that starts simply enough with an “accident” that could happen to anyone. Michael Tanner is going through the hassles of the TSA checkpoint at LAX. He grabs his laptop and rushes to his gate. When he returns to his coffee business in Boston, he discovers that his laptop, the one that contains his important coffee business information, is gone, and he has picked up someone else’s laptop; they all do look alike after all. While the laptop is password protected, he finds the password written on a sticky note. I think many of us can relate to that as well. Unfortunately, when he powers on the laptop and types in the password, he finds that this laptop belongs to a U.S. Senator.

The senator is extremely distressed about misplacing her laptop because she has unauthorized copies of top-secret documents on it. She has to quietly and quickly get it back. The action for the rest of the book moves back and forth between the two computer owners, each trying to find the other and get his or her own laptop back. One has way more motivation and way more resources than the other does.

Whom does the average citizen call when he finds top-secret information? The press, of course. And whom does someone in government call when top-secret information is missing? The Russians, and the mob of course. (If you don’t believe me, just read the newspaper.)

This book is filled with lots of characters, all of whom are self-serving, arrogant, shortsighted, egotistical, power-hungry, crazy people. Why couldn’t they just trade laptops like normal people would? (Of course, then there wouldn’t be this great novel. ) I recognize all these people immediately from newspapers and TV. I can identify them because Finder developed their personalities in such a complete and complex way, that I really could pick out several of each of them in “real” life.

Finder overlaps chapters throughout the book, beginning one chapter a short time before the previous one ends and continuing the action from another participant’s point of view. This puts every action into question. One never really knows who is telling the truth and who is not. The “good guys” and the “bad guys” switch places several times as the body count grows and tensions rise. It is a dance where little slip-ups can be fatal. Even the end is really not the end.

The book is summed up in this quote early in the book from a woman at a D.C. party:
“The difference between God and a U.S. senator? God doesn’t think he is a senator”

I was given a copy of “The Switch” book by Joseph Finder, Penguin Publishing Group, and NetGalley. I usually don’t read political thrillers because I get that every night on TV, but this one was compelling, electrifying, and oh so realistic. I couldn’t put it down.

Big Brother is watching...YOU.

Michael "Tanner" Tanner is the founder and CEO of Tanner Roast, a small specialty coffee company. Tanner travels a lot from his home base in Boston - to exotic locales picking out just the right coffee and across the country marketing his product. He usually went the TSA Precheck route to avoid the long lines and hassles of the security checkpoints but for some reason his boarding pass didn't print correctly and he was stuck in the long lines trying to get home from L.A.

During the check-in process he ends up picking up someone else's laptop and doesn't discover the mistake until he's back at home.

He then finds out that one small mistake can snowball into an avalanche of epic proportions.

I am a Joseph Finder fan and this book just helped cement that opinion. I loved this story. In some ways it reminded me of a couple of John Grisham books I've read - and that is meant as a huge compliment.

I thought Tanner's character was portrayed perfectly. Here is a GOOD man, a kind man, someone who is willing to bend over backwards for his family and his many friends. And he is faced with impossible situations.

Characters, storyline, painting Tanner's world with words - all done perfectly. This book comes with my highest recommendations for lovers of darned good reading material.

I received this book from Dutton Books through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.

Joseph Finder has done it again - kept me up all night reading his page turning thriller. When coffee company CEO, Michael Tanner, accidentally picks up the wrong MacBook at LAX he discovers classified documents illegally downloaded onto a US senator's computer. A deadly game of cat and mouse with the senator's fixer and the NSA ensues.. Well written with great characters. Highly recommended.

I am a big fan of Joseph Finder but I found this book a bit disappointing. I felt disconnected from the subplot about the heros' coffee business.

Too much about this rang incredibly false. Will Abbott's role was confusing as were many of the other characters.

This was simply not Finder at his best.