I read this book, however, it turned out that it was not my cup of tea. I don't think there is anything wrong with the book but that it was just not a book for me. I did read Happiness by this author a number of years ago and absolutely loved it and that is why I wanted to try this one, however, because I feel that it is a more "me" than "book" issue, and in respect for the author and publisher, I will not be posting a review on my blog or Goodreads.

The Finder by Will Ferguson
Publication Date: September 1, 2020
.
Description from NetGalley...
“The world is filled with wonders, lost objects—all real—all still out there, waiting to be found:
· the missing Fabergé eggs of the Romanov dynasty, worth millions
· the last reel of Alfred Hitchcock’s first film
· Buddy Holly’s iconic glasses
· Muhammad Ali’s Olympic gold medal
How can such cherished objects simply vanish? Where are they hiding? And who on earth might be compelled to uncover them?

Prepare to meet Gaddy Rhodes, a brittle Interpol agent obsessed with tracking “The Finder”—a shadowy figure she believes is collecting lost objects; Thomas Rafferty, a burnt-out travel writer whose path crosses that of The Finder, to devastating effect; and Tamsin Greene, a swaggering war photographer who is hiding secrets of her own.”
.
Thank you to @NetGalley @simonschusterca for the digital ARC in return for my honest review.
.
My thoughts...
This is my first book from Canadian author Will Ferguson. To begin, I want to point out that the story was written in multiple point of views, back stories and characters’ histories. There were a lot of characters. It could get confusing and convoluted. But, that was not the case for me. I liked the multiple points of view, the story seemed to need that. I really like the style of writing. The tale was intriguing, wild and imaginative of places, people and objects. I loved the journey across different countries from southern Japan, to the Australian Outback and to Christchurch, New Zealand (during and after the earthquake). I wished there were more “Senior Police Inspector Shimada, Hateruma Island Substation, Okinawa Division.” I thought the references to a famous writer were great (don’t want to give it away). Note: read the description well, as it might turn out something you’re not expecting.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the advanced copy of The Finder in exchange for an honest review!

Let me preface this by saying that this was objectively a good book; it was well written, the dialogue was entertaining, and Will Ferguson does an exceptional job of immersing the reader into every country that this novel visits.

However, I found the book's description somewhat... misleading? This might just have been my own (poor) interpretation of the blurb, but the book's description led me to believe that the novel would be some sort of dreamy, fantastical, adventure story about a group of people traveling the world in search of historical artifacts, so I was a little bit disappointed and underwhelmed to find that the actual content of the novel was a little bit more ordinary than I was expecting. At times I felt like the pacing was a bit choppy too... Ferguson explores a lot of different themes in this book (maybe too many?) so I did find myself being bogged down with content that I didn't find entirely necessary to the plot.

I'm sure that other readers will enjoy this book more than I did, and I'm also interested in exploring more of Ferguson's comedic writing because I do think that he's an excellent storyteller! This one was just a miss for me.

A well-done historical fiction of a remote island in Japan that suffered from the attack on Pearl Harbor....or so I thought. Then it changed to New Zealand and Australia. We all want to find that ‘lost’ thing, and realize some have great value, only because they are lost. The book felt choppy...or maybe I am distracted as I read it, but it doesn’t flow. One thing for sure, I was hooked and wanted to read on... but in the end, I’m feeling somewhat lost in the whole experience. That said, Ferguson is a great wordsmith. As this is an ARC, I can’t take quotes...but there are some great visualizations. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I read 67 pages and then gave up as I couldn’t get into the book, The Finder. I found the story disjointed and I became frustrated with the different story lines.

I enjoyed Will Ferguson’s book, 419 and was disappointed with his latest book, The Finder.

Delighted to include this novel in the Fall Fiction spotlight of Zoomer magazine’s September/October print issue, as well as on new digital Books hub Club Zed.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this book. Interesting characters. Mystery, travelogue and social commentary. Worthwhile and recommended.

The Finder-A Novel of Contrasts!

Little is known about The Finder in Will Ferguson’s latest novel of the same title. He lets himself pass as Billy Moore at one point, an ordinary Irish name for a smallish man of indistinguishable features whose appears in the universal attire of a suit. Despite his mundane appearance, he has made a remarkable living at recovering things that are, as his Belfast mum insisted, “not lost, only misplaced.”

A self-made and intriguing career, one in which he is told by his shadowy boss (or himself, it’s not clear, he’s something of an ureliable narrator) “You will make a lot of money and you will disappear.” However, in the pursuit of the such various objects as dog tags and a one-cent magenta stamp, The Finder was compelled to deal summarily with those who intended to cross him.

His murders put him on the radar of a pitbull in the form of an anemic blonde, Gaddy Rhodes. A senior investigator with Interpol’s International Crimes Agency, the ICA, she tracks him down to Okinawa Island in Japan. Within miles and minutes of capturing him, he eludes her, leaving behind his body and suicide note. Her superiors believe that it is a suicide; she doesn’t. Her banshee protestations land her a desk job.

But even as she subsides under a mound of paper in London, Ferguson populated the story with other peculiarly disparate characters, all misplaced in one way or another, all who get caught in the threadings of The Finder who is presently on the hunt for a Hitchcock reel. (By the way, readers, turn to the Acknowledgements first. Ferguson has turned his novel into a landscape for lost Hitchcock titles which he only divulges after the story is done. Grrr.) There’s Thomas Rafferty, a travel writer determined to maintain his mediocrity, plagued by memories of a failed marriage and the horrors of Rwanda, the latter of which he shares with photojournalist, Tasmin Greene, who has forgotten who she is until she meets herself again out past Uluru in Australia. Catherine Anne Butler has the privilege of meeting The Finder during his period of weakness following the earthquake at Christchurch in New Zealand. Earthquakes kill and unearth, simultaneously. She is the dutiful daughter of her Fayther who is determined to breed a line of bolder sheep in the hills above Christchurch, New Zealand on a farm called Erewhon (Nowhere spelled incorrectly backwards). The comedic pretext sets the stage for the most tender relationship in the novel in which both reveal their vulnerabilities. The Finder’s ultimate gift to Catherine is an act of thievery, and to Thomas Rafferty, an act of deception. Even to Gabby Rhodes, he delivers a gift she’d thought lost forever through illegal means. And therein lies his cunning and Ferguson’s. Could we forgive a murderer if in taking the lives of others, he also gave us back our own misplaced lives?

Ferguson boings the reader through disparate locales in Rwanda, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, all of which he claims to have visited during his stint as a travel writer. It shows. There’s a quality of detail—the dust of the outback, the blood of Rwanda, the orderliness of Hateruma Island—that smacks of the experienced.

All in all, Ferguson’s latest is a novel not to be missed. Or misplaced.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. I'm left a little confused by this book. It feels very much like a love letter to travel and to the world's places - the renowned and the remote. I particularly liked what was set in New Zealand and Australia, having spent time and having people there.

Place and history feel like the main characters and drivers of this book. The actual people/characters don't. They're not two-dimensional, and almost all could anchor another novel. I just... found myself wondering at times why they're there. I didn't quite get many of their motivations, including the big one ostensibly driving the story along. The premise of the book is super interesting – lost objects of great significance (at least to some) – and who might be the person to recover them. And who doesn't love the romance and drama of an almost Carmen Sandiego-esque international chase? Or chases in this case.

I think this novel could actually have been a gorgeous collection of short stories. I suspect as it settles with me that's more the shape it will take in my brain, each character/plot line/vignette taking up its own space, texture, and colouration.

I also think that having an evening of drinks with Will Ferguson and hearing his stories would provide a great deal of context and drive behind writing the book, which are hinted at at the end. But he's a travel writer, c'mon, you know there are SO many more tales and additional easter eggs he didn't really reveal but for those who'd privately recognize them.

Having started reading Ferguson a million years ago with his Canadian-centric humour work, it's always interesting and surprising to see where he goes now with his novels. This one just didn't really hit for me.

My tough lesson for the day is that "not everything that is free is good... including books". I have read this author, and while I didn't rave about those books, they didn't profoundly disappoint me like this one. An interesting premise falls apart because of a meandering and aimless plot that jumps all over the place, and either makes no sense or is too "high-brow" for my reading tastes. I didn't gravitate to any of the characters; forgetting what they did from one section to another and, at time even forgetting who they were and why they were even in the story. Maybe there is a higher literary purpose or "plane" for this book.... if there is, it's way too over my head. A very solid "skip this one, even it it's free", recommendation here.

This one felt like it was going to be great and then didn't live up to my expectations. It is 100% a good book. Likely many people will really enjoy it. The motion of it, how quickly it moved around the world, was great for the days we are currently living in. For me, though, I was looking for something that stayed a little more rooted. I always hate to give a book a less than stellar review because I believed it would be one thing and it was something else. That's on me, not the book.
It's well written, interesting, and moves fantastically quickly. I would like to take another read of this sometime, maybe a few years from now, while I'm on a plane. Then this read will be a memory and I imagine I would enjoy it much more.

The small, almost invisible man travels the world finding objects that most people don't even realize are missing. Combining fiction with travelogue "The Finder" takes you around the globe from Japan to New Zealand, Austrailia, New York Scotland and beyond. As you engage with some characters descriptive writing takes over and stories become bogged down. For those who want to relax and travel from their couches a good read. For those who are looking for mystery and clean, crisp writing not as enjoyable.

A whirlwind mystery and travelogue of sorts, full of exotic locations and characters that weave the various stories and locales together. Each setting and cast of characters, some tragic, unforgettably portrayed and told in a uniquely poetic language.

The small man, mysterious, dangerous, and his existence uncertain, The Finder, a weaver of historical information and finder of lost items.

I enjoyed the author's use of language and the flow of the story. A few times I notated a sentence, thinking, I need to remember that.

Early in the story on the island on the edge of Japan, I was enraptured by the character, a local police officer. I was disappointed when the story moved so quickly to other locales with other characters. I hung in there and really enjoyed the story.

Pleasantly surprised by each book I have read so far: 419, The Shoe on the Roof. When Michael Crichton put our a new book, I would wonder, why do I care about this story. Will Ferguson, I look forward to your books in the same way!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really wanted to like this novel. The summary was full of the things that usually pull me into a story: a mystery, an interesting cast of characters and things lost and found.

The novel itself was disjointed. It seemed to randomly switch perspectives and often made no sense to me. I felt I was finally enjoying and getting drawn into a piece of the puzzle only to move on. The pace was slow and I had a lot of trouble getting going in this. The author seems to have done this on purpose. I assume it was supposed to lead to a lightbulb moment when all the sections converge. It didn’t feel like that. It felt obscure instead.

The pace finally picked up near the end, but still felt unfinished. The ending also seemed strangely unrelated or unimportant.

The best thing about this novel was the characters. There are many and varied and almost none of them likeable. They are full, living and beautifully articulated. I wanted to know about them. I wanted to read their stories and see what happened to them.

There were also a lot of locations described here. The author says he’s been to all of them he didn’t conjure. They were interesting too but not enough to make me really enjoy this story.

Three stars for a mildly interesting plot, less than wonderfully articulated and fascinating characters.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy via netgalley!

This book brings you on a world tour of beautiful described places. It also teaches you about some of the historical features of these places and about its mysterious sought after treasures. The storyline is an it hard to follow at first, but then with the flow of the book you get intertwined with the characters. Man...what I wouldn’t do to have the little old man caught!!

Will Ferguson definitely has a way with words and in this mysterious adventure the reader gets drawn in to each character’s development / story. My favourite thing about this book is the author’s sense of humour that weaves throughout the various stories. Although I struggled to finish the book I kept with it as I wanted to solve the mystery of the finder. I found myself confused during certain sections of the book, making it a frustrating read. However, I was intrigued by all the stories within a story and loved the vivid descriptions of each geographical setting,

The Finder is filled with many interesting vignettes, amusing dialogue, and a range of exotic locales – all brought to breathing life. And the overall plot – that there's a shadowy figure out there collecting forgotten items (Buddy Holly’s horn-rimmed glasses, Muhammad Ali’s Olympic gold medal, Alfred Hitchcock's first film) and presumably retrieving these items on demand and leaving mayhem in his wake – makes for a mystery full of uncertainty and tension; and especially with an obsessed Interpol agent on his trail. But despite all these good parts, the whole just didn't add up for me – and in particular because none of the many story threads ended credibly for me. I will say that the mystery kept me totally engaged (mostly because I couldn't figure out what was supposed to be going on behind the scenes), and I did enjoy the small, evocative bits, but when I finished The Finder, all I could say was, “That's it?”

This really should have been more exciting than it was – the danger was explained but just not palpable – yet with Will Ferguson's strong writing scene-by-scene, I'm not overall disappointed

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In a way, The Finder combines Will Ferguson’s two main writing genres—novels and travelogues. It ranges from Belfast to Japan to New York to New Zealand and Australia, following a few main characters and many others along the way.

As the title suggests, the main character is the one referred to as The Finder—a character who searches the world for lost treasures. be they famous and valuable, or simply valuable to an individual but who is he really? He seems to have an ability to blend into the background while still showing up at all the times of disaster, natural or man made because this is a time of distraction, allowing him to pick up the items he is looking for.

Agent Rhodes of Interpol certainly has her ideas on the Finder’s identity. She has chased him for years and when she encounters an apparent suicide with his face obliterated and a suicide note in the firm of a diary (that includes shots at her) on Hateruma Island in Japan, she is convinced it is mocking her. But when she brings out the extent of her theories, she is quietly reassigned to desk duty in New York. But even there she continues her search for him while lamenting her own lost thing—a wedding ring that was lost on her honeymoon—was that an omen that foretold how that marriage would end?

Interspersed with the main characters are a group of travel writers and journalists who arrive in Christchurch New Zealand just in time for the major earthquake. Included in this group is Tom Rafferty, who is also searching for something of value to him. Rafferty is a veteran among the travel writers whose tag line seems to be A Land of Contrasts.

The Finder is also in certain ways a study in contrasts. The main character grew up poor, but he is able to jet in and out of places quickly and almost unseen. He has no problem disposing of people who get in his way and yet he can show kindness to certain individuals who attract his attention. There are many side stories but essentially there is a strong narrative running through and things tie up in a satisfying conclusion.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. Thank you.

In The Finder, Ferguson brings us the story of a mysterious outlaw who travels the world looking for items that time has forgotten.  Hot on his heels is Gaddy Rhodes, a determined Interpol agent looking to bring him down.  Elsewhere, the novel connects with a travel writer and a photojournalist stationed in Christchurch, New Zealand during the 2011 destructive earthquake.

I had a hard time with this one.  I really loved the idea of a person who seeks out and retrieves items like Buddy Holly’s glasses to turn around and sell to the highest bidder, but I thought that the story itself was like a pot that boiled over in that there was just too much going on.  I appreciate Ferguson’s drive to create this massive cat-and-mouse saga that spans decades and continents, but it just didn’t do it for me.  The only character I really found myself identifying with and rooting for was Gaddy and when Ferguson would shift from her to the events in New Zealand, I had a hard time staying focused.  I would have rather just had a story about her and her alone.

I will say that Ferguson has a gift for writing compelling dialogue.  Even though I didn’t much care for his storyline, I thought Thomas Rafferty was an interesting character and would have liked a story on him alone.  Basically, it seems like The Finder is two stories that would have been better served as one or the other.  I understand their connection and why it had to be written this way, but I would have preferred more of a focus if I’m being honest.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The first part of the novel was so captivating! It had all the right elements of great suspense. Will Ferguson, who is a former travel writer, brilliantly captured the essence of the culture and people that is uniquely Okinawa. I was especially drawn to the story of Detective Shimada. Unfortunately, the story then took a drastic turn to focus on the personal stories of the main characters Thomas Rafferty, Gaddy Rhoedes, Catherine, and Tamsin Greene. The author went on in length to describe these characters, the scenery and cultural background of where they were. and their experiences and struggles. So much so that it felt totally disconnected with the first part of the story. I did not particularly enjoy any of the stories of the main characters and found myself skimming through the pages. Even when all the stories came together at the end, it felt forced and bland.
Overall it is an interesting read, but don't be fooled by the suspenseful setup of the first part of the novel ;)