The 500 by Matthew Quirk

The 500 (Mike Ford, #1) (Rocabolsillo Criminal)

by Matthew Quirk

Mike Ford turned himself around and worked his way into Harvard Law School. Now he is employed by the Davies Group, Washington's most high-powered and well-respected strategic consulting firm that specializes in pulling strings and peddling influence for the people who really run Washington. Quickly pulled into a seductive, dangerous web of power and corruption, Mike struggles to find his way out. But how does one save his soul when he has made a deal with the devil?

Reviewed by layawaydragon on

2 of 5 stars

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I won a free copy from Big Books Tiny Voices that sadly seems to be defunct now. :(

This was a slow read for me. It took two days and I read it on lunches and breaks at work. Finished the last 60 pages on my Friday night with nothing better to do and no will to pick another book.

Once I started reading it was easy to keep going, but once I put it down, it could've stayed there. I do agree that it’d probably work better on the big screen than a novel.

I wouldn't call it bad. It just took a long time setting everyone and everything up. And I had a hard time caring about the characters.

Plus, I knew where it was going for most of the book and even if I didn’t know exactly, I wasn’t burning to find out. It didn’t just feel like a thriller.

While it’s mostly suit work in the beginning, it focuses on the action. This worked later, but there wasn’t much at first. The characters aren’t fleshed out and brought to life besides Mike, Marcus, and Davies. And those revolve around work.

I definitely understand Mike’s imposter syndrome and his relationship with his fucked up family though. Like other action stars, he does conveniently have the all skills needed to get out of every tight spot.



Most of it revolves around his criminal background, Army, and one random profession that pops out of nowhere. I actually liked all the criminal know-how and details. Made it feel more real and shows how Mike made it all work.

There were periods were it jumped back and forth in time, which felt disjointed but authentic to Mike telling the story after the fact. Smoothing it out would’ve helped, but not the main cause behind my apathetic feeling.

I didn't realize it was series when I started and I don't plan on continuing on.


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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 20 April, 2016: Finished reading
  • 20 April, 2016: Reviewed