After the Optelligence debacle that almost collapsed the company in the previous book, Will Evans, Anna Reed, and their motley communications crew are knee-deep in another corporate crisis. Operation Wanderlust, known sarcastically as Operation Clusterpuck, represents Business Solutions, Inc.’s first international foray—a joint venture with the Canadian outfit Total Business Warehouse. Will is sent to Vancouver frequently to make sure the communications teams of both companies are on top of every little change and keeping investors optimistic. The frequent travel is putting a stress on not only his work relationship with Anna, to whom he must delegate nearly every responsibility back in Minnesota, but also their romantic relationship. When one disaster after another befalls the joint venture, however, Anna starts to suspect that there’s more than just coincidence to it and also begins to develop a conspiracy theory about the potentially shady deal.

Not picking up immediately after the first book in the series but allowing for some months to pass, the story of this sequel is able to reflect the attitude of so many corporate workers: things haven’t necessarily been wonderful at the company, but the lack of a major crisis is viewed as an improvement. Just like its predecessor, this book is full of biting business jokes, workplace camaraderie, and plenty of cheeky pop culture references. Everything that made the first book wonderful is present in the sequel, in addition to new antagonists and a high-stakes plot that makes the second half of the story impossible to put down. It doesn’t take a history working in corporate America to appreciate the workplace humor of BSI, but those who have will identify all too well with the bureaucratic headaches and miscommunications that beleaguer the characters day after day.

RECOMMENDED by the US Review

Return to USR Home