Author: King Hurley

ISBN: 0977418804

King Hurley’s debut novel, The Interview focuses on Michael King, the CEO of a public company, Peak Pharmaceuticals. Hurley is not exactly ecstatic about his job as he states, “the life of a CEO slugging it out in the public arena was neither glamorous nor fun, but you can count on it aging the hell out of you.”

Peak Pharmaceuticals is quite successful with yearly sales in the range of five hundred million, however, shareholders are always clamoring for more, like a pack of hound dogs nipping at King’s heels. As a result of this constant pressure, King begins to self-examine himself and his job and why he continues to work for a public company, constantly beholden to the shareholders. One evening, he receives a phone call from Karin Baxter, a “head hunter” at a prestigious executive recruitment company, offering him the chance of a lifetime he couldn’t refuse- an interview for the position of CEO of the private and incredibly successful company Panda Pharmaceuticals. He could hardly contain himself from saying yes, particularly when their offer included a private jet, a three million dollar housing allowance and an annual salary of five million dollars with a signing bonus of five million dollars, as well as one million dollars guaranteed in twenty years.

Panda Pharmaceuticals’ seventy-three year old President and CEO, Philip Chatzwirth, was stepping down after thirty-nine years at the helm. Chatzwirth was based at the company’s headquarters in Virginia. The company was co-founded by Chatzwirth together with Dr. Chu Zhong Liu, who was based in Thailand.

Apparently, the company had quietly introduced three derivatives, all opium based and all, according to one of their scientists, non-addictive. Two of these derivatives-Trifil and Thorafil-were making steady inroads in advanced cancer treatment and the third, Cielmeta was slowly taking hold with patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. However, all three drugs were being produced in Asia, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had not yet accepted them.

What bothered King was that the company owned two hundred thousand acres of poppy fields that were located mostly in Thailand. Considering that an acre produces annually fifteen pounds of the opium crop, King began to wonder if the company’s activities were all above board and if the entire crop was used in the production of the drugs or if there was anything else going on.

Little does King realize that this interview would be unlike the hundred of interviews he experienced-each with its own nuances and quirks, but usually predictable. This one would have King traveling from his home base in Boulder Colorado to Virginia and then to Thailand. In Virginia King meets with the company’s board of directors who originate from a wide assortment of backgrounds including a former Governor of Virginia and a former Director of the CIA. After putting King through a mixture of challenging one-on-one interviews, he wins the approval of the board and the go-ahead to meet with Dr. Liu in Thailand, who evidently has the last say in the hiring procedures.

It is in Thailand where King is really put to the test although he had been assured that meeting with Dr. Liu would be a mere formality. King is introduced to Liu’s twin daughters, who occupy important positions with the company, and he also meets Liu’s eleven wives. Unfortunately for King, he underestimated the business landscape in Thailand that is fraught with all kinds of danger. His previous interview experiences never prepared him for the interview process that he had to endure at the hands of Dr. Liu and his family as well as the ill-fated events that ensued. Blaming himself, King confesses that he had been so taken in with Panda and so enamored with the carrots they dangled in front of him that he had short sold his interview preparations. 

This is one novel that will keep your interest until the last page. Hurley does a masterful job in focusing his plot and effectively building the excitement of the interview. For a first time author, King has created a virtuoso novel with all the poise and erudition of a veteran.     

The above review was contributed by:  NORM GOLDMAN:  Editor of Bookpleasures. Here are more of  Norm Goldman's Reviews       

To read Norm's Interview with King Hurley CLICK HERE