When I first picked up The Finisher, I didn’t really think that it would be something I would enjoy, mainly because I hadn’t read many books from that genre. However I now know that its one of my favourite books, and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

It makes lots of subtle points on sexism and politics. The first example of this is on the second page, “I was fleet of foot for a female” which is implying that all females are slower than all males. Also, there is only one female in the whole council of the village, who is only there because of her father. The council there have also decided to use fear to keep everyone in the village. They did this by saying that if you leave, horrific monstrosities will eat you within minutes of leaving. And because everyone there has heard it since they were born, everyone there believes that it means certain death if you leave.

Baldacci decided to change some words, like minute, to sliver, or day to light. This is to remind you that you’re not in the same world as them, and people think quite differently to us. It is slightly confusing at first, but you quickly get used to the changes, as they get used throughout the story.

When I read The Finisher, I felt like I was almost at the end about half the time, which was good because it made me want to read on. He did this through how much stuff was going on, as it always felt like it was nearing the climax, and then something would happen that added a whole new dimension to it. Although it made me want to read on, I became quite irritated, because I still didn’t understand most of the events fully.

In conclusion, I would recommend The Finisher to anyone who likes a good mystery and a little confusion.