INCENTIVIZE - A Corporate Thriller

Geologist Julia McCoy is in her first job, and seems to be the most unlikely person ever to challenge management at Matrix Corporation's Ethiopian mining subsidiary.  Despite the apparent risks during her site visit, she pushes EthioCupro's top two executives too far.  

The company has an unusual relationship with supplier INCENTIVIZE LLC,  and McCoy suspects the managers are using it to rake off profits from the Ethiopian copper mine.  How they are doing it, and the larger scheme, however, are completely unclear.  

After McCoy appeals for help from Matrix lawyer and friend, Randy Esteban, the threatened men arrange for the young woman to have an accident during a weekend get-away.  To everyone's surprise, she eventually ends up in the control of terrorists.  

Esteban has his hands full trying to manage McCoy's over-protective father, the senior executives at Matrix headquarters, and at that same time organize a search for the missing woman.

Meanwhile, the secret of INCENTIVIZE begins to unravel, and the men at risk become willing to take increasingly insane risks in order to keep their secret from being exposed.

INCENTIVIZE is now available for purchase:

Paperback at CreateSpace:  https://www.createspace.com/3691830

Electronic Versions at Smashwords:  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/102306

Audio Version at Cherry Hill Publishing:  

http://www.cherryhillpublishing.com/Bookstore/en/287-incentivize-9781620792933.html 

Here are comments from readers of INCENTIVIZE:

"A winner of a read. The tension surrounding the survival of the protagonist never ends. A well integrated plot with a little surprise at the end. "

"Incentivize was an exciting novel. Julia McCoy is sent to Ethiopia for the yearly audit of a subsidiary to Matrix Corporation, a multinational copper mining company. Something with the audit does not seem right and so she investigates further. Her investigation leads into danger and a race against time to stay alive. Incentivize is a thriller and one of the best novels I have read based in the Horn of Africa. The moment the story moves from Ethiopia into Somalia you can feel the tenseness increase."

"INCENTIVIZE by Tom Spears is a corporate thriller that grabs your attention from the start. The plot is filled with unexpected twists. You find yourself identifying with personalities you may have known in your own career. I found myself not wanting to put the book down once I started. I highly recommend it."

"This is a highly entertaining tale and I am impressed at how you've been able to work your Ethiopian experiences into a thriller without getting sentimental."

"Tom Spears has done it again!  Incentivize is a riveting international corporate espionage thriller reaching into the deserts of Africa. Although fiction, the story line is very believable and should give corporate governance boards an eye opener."

"Much like driving a car in a foreign land and not knowing what is around the next corner, Spears’ Incentivize results in rapid page turning to uncover the next twist in the fast changing plot."

"Spears takes us from the corporate boardroom to the streets of Mogadishu, with equal doses of credible detail, bright description and taut action.  Few thrillers manage to create a business mystery rooted in believable financial and management details as in Incentivize.  But the clincher is to expand the story to East Africa and interweave the lives of highly paid executives, Afar rebels, and Mogadishu king pins.  Incentivize is a great read!"

"I just finished the book and really enjoyed it! It had enough twists and turns to keep me guessing until the end. Plenty of poetic justice moments...Congratulations on another great book."

"Spears does a great job pulling the reader into a country we are not familiar with to experience a story that delivers the concepts of business pressures, unusual politics and human greed. The characters are well developed so that you really feel the pain and victory of the lead character as she moves through her ordeal. Love, anger, hate, family values are all emotions shared with the real people you get to know."

"Many novels claim to be filled with thought provoking detail, capture the grit of covert operations and keep the reader off balance until the very end. Few succeed as Spears has with Incentivize! The plot follows Julia McCoy, an auditor at Matrix Corporation, as she embarks on the most memorable business trip on record. I found myself enjoying each and every character, running the spectrum from despicable to endearing...heartily recommend this novel!"

"Tom Spears' "INCENTIVIZE" is an international corporate thriller that I found very difficult to put down. The story centers on the East African countries of Ethiopia and Somali. While most thrillers are exciting by their very nature, I also found this one to be an educational journey into the rare beauty that is offered up by Ethiopia. In addition, Tom's use of the Navy Seals and the realistic mission in Mogadishu has inspired me to read other books regarding the Seal Teams. Once again Tom has written another page turner."

"tom spears has written another thriller! what a great read. without spoiling any of the story - the characters of copeland and dabir aman truly show how rotten people can be-you will have to read to find out just what i mean-enjoy the roller coaster from start to finish"

"Tom Spears has a knack for taking a corporate story and encompassing it into an intense and colorful adventure which becomes a rapid read. In fact, Incentivize remarkably mimics recent Navy Seal events into Africa.  His writing style is crisp with vivid descriptions of the action and characters. If you like Dan Koontz or James Paterson, you will not be disappointed with Tom Spears & Incentivize."

"Spears does a great job pulling the reader into a country we are not familiar with to experience a story that delivers the concepts of business pressures, unusual politics and human greed. The characters are well developed so that you really feel the pain and victory of the lead character as she moves through her ordeal. Love, anger, hate, family values are all emotions shared with the real people you get to know."

"Tom Spears hits the ball out of the park with this novel! It really grabs you from the beginning and never lets go. It is a fast moving, fascinating novel, with many things going on concurrently. The mystery often has the reader thinking the story is going to go one way but then, suddenly, an event occurs that totally throws a wrench in the reader's ability to predict what happens next. There's little predictability here and, even to the very last page of the book, the unexpected ultimately becomes the reality. A bonus is that the novel interweaves corporate and personal greed into the story line (in part based upon Spear's professional work experiences). I would love to see this novel made into a movie.... it would be awesome!"

"Tom Spears INCENTIVIZE hooks you right out of the gate, it is hard to put down. You feel like you are on this journey with all the characters and feeling and seeing what they are feeling and seeing. The twists and turns keep you guessing as he winds us though this very strange and interesting country and tale. His interactive decriptions and ability to make you bond with the characters is a testament to his writing capabilities. If you love adventure you will really enjoy this book!"

"Great book! A nice mix of corporate politics, intrigue, exotic location and suspense. You feel the suspense, emotions and events unfolding through the eyes of Julia McCoy...as if you are there. I am looking forward to more works like this from the author, Tom Spears."

"In its first lines, Incentivize immediately puts you into the setting and sets the mood. It then goes on to heighten your expectations on what comes next. It is like an intricate wine that does not reveal everything in the first sip and keeps developing its complexities while it grows on you. Spears is on the way to becoming a corporate John Grisham mixed in with Wilbur Smith's action. I'm looking forward to reading his next novel."

"You know the international intrigue and evil corporate villain novels where you can literally predict the outcome after the first chapter? This book isn't one of them! I found myself completely engrossed in the story and repeatedly surprised at the turn of events throughout the book. Some of the scenes in the book would make for an excellent movie but I won't provide any spoilers. You simply have to read it. Highly recommended."

"From Tom Spears, the author of Leverage, now comes Incentivize. Spears will keep you on the edge of your seat with this most recent corporate thriller. This book draws out your interest with its suspense and ability to intrigue as you follow Julia McCoy through a great plot. I can tell you that this is one of those books you won't be able to put down once you start reading it. Spears masterfully keeps your interest as you continue to read with excitement chapter by chapter. If you like Incentivize, go back and read Leverage if you haven't done so already. Leverage is a great book too."

"I must admit that corporate thrillers are not my preferred genre, however, Tom Spears' Incentivize had me at page one. Tom Spears has a way of getting into the characters' minds and motivations. The bad guys have spun a web of lies to protect their illegal interests, and woe be to the innocents who become tangled in it. The unexpected is the rule, no formulaic Hallmark movie moments here. This is one of Tom's first novels after being in the corporate world himself for many years. I hope many more are to follow."

"Incentivize is a mile a minute read outlining a tale of business corruption and cover up. The action takes place in Ethiopia and Somalia. Vivid characters, keep em' guessing plotline, and continually changing geographical settings mixed together for a literary treat. The landscape descriptions alone will have you using Google Earth to follow along with the adventure. Definitely worth the read!"

"Incentivize is a well-written, fast paced thriller. I couldn't put it down, wondering what would happen next. Set in a business world spanning different cultures, the characters came to life and I found myself invested in them and what would happen to them. I highly recommend Incentivize to anyone who enjoys intelligent, action-packed fiction."

"This is a fast moving business thriller that capture the readers attention from the first pages. The plot was intriguing and the descriptions of the various countries and locales visited by Julie McCoy made the story very real. It was a plot right out of today's headlines, another point that makes this a great read! I enjoyed the fact that the story took several twists and turns right up until the last pages. I was kept guessing what the outcome would be for all of the characters right up until the final page."

"Good premise for a story and believable characters. Nice to see the blend of third world locations and a smattering of corporate world dunderheads."

"Incentivize crossed genres in creative and enlightening ways - business case study, travel log, mystery, history, and more. While I normally find myself sticking to one- or two of these genres, Incentivize made me "stretch". For example, it forced me to read my first first-hand descriptions of intense elements of war, of Ethiopian and Somalian history, etc. In the end, it was the strength characters who helped me focus on their experiences and therefore learn new things. For example, I followed Julia through scenes as intense as water-torture, and now have a sense of first-hand knowledge of this condition. Similarly, Spears makes business financials high-drama and sheds light on details of book keeping that one might otherwise not engage in. I might signal readers that the author provides the history of Ethiopia at the end of the book, and to read that first. As for myself, I am on to read other works by Spears."

"Author Tom Spears steps out of corporate America to bring us Novels that are entertaining, and pulls you into the story within the first 2 pages. Incentivize certainly places the story directly into your minds eye as the author paints such clear pictures with articulate description.  Incentivize fills a niche market in corporate thrillers inhabited by Joseph Finder and Michael Chrichton, I look forward to the next one.  When you find an author like Tom Spears, your next joy should be to read up his already released work, you will be very happy you did."

"This novel was really brought to life via the audio version. I have read other novels by Spears and his ability to capture the listener or reader is very powerful."

"I really like how Tom develops his characters and the intriguing way he weaves the plot together. This book is a non stop thriller and Tom handles the the dicy parts with enough detail to get the point across without all the intense details that may rumble around in your mind and don't need to be explicitly written. For those of you who have a few days of R&R, a long plane trip or a few open nights, I highly recommend this book."

"I have to say this was my first work of fiction I read for my Kindle. Thrilling, captivating, and easy to follow, Incentivize was certainly something I could go back to and read again. I would love for there to be successors to this book that also take place in Ethiopia; what a wonderful choice for setting. The characters are easy to feel for and follow...another huge benefit to this book."