CompWare is in serious trouble after a promised merger falls through, so they do what other businesses have done to bolster their public image: they hire a consulting firm to review and streamline their business practices.
But there’s something strange about the firm they hire—more specifically, the quirky gentleman who arrives to supervise the project: Mr. Patoff, tall and thin and wearing a bow tie and with an odd smile that never quite reaches his eyes.
In his first interactions, the consultant asks inappropriate questions and generally seems a nuisance. Over time, Patoff gains power to the point where he seems to be running the whole company. He enacts arbitrary and invasive changes to office protocol; he places cameras all over the building, causing paranoia among the workers; he calls employees at all hours of the night; and he visits some of their homes and menaces their families. People who defy the consultant get fired … or worse. The employees of CompWare soon realize they’re not just fighting for their jobs: they’re fighting for their lives.
The Consultant is a biting workplace satire with the horrific touches only Bentley Little could provide.
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“Why aren’t more horror novels set in the workplace? Surely few things strike fear into the heart more than the squeak of the boss’ shoes rounding the credenza, a memo about an emergency sales meeting, or an accidental reply-all email…As suicides and ‘accidents’ mount…This is ink-black dark comedy at its chortling, devious best. Bosses who get the joke should be handing this out with the Christmas bonuses.”
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Booklist (starred review)