Cyber-detective Dag Hamar thinks he's investigating credit fraud but discovers a web of intrigue that baffles and terrifies him. Follow as Dag is drawn out from behind the comparable safety of his computer and into the gritty streets of Seattle where an online bully has become a real life predator.
Size: 453 KB (88,195 words)
Genre: Mystery
Sex Contents: No Sex
Tags: Ma/Fa, Heterosexual, Fiction, Mystery, Tear Jerker, Workplace
Review by ausie-import [other reviews by ausie-import]
Reviewed:
What can I say? This story really grabbed me. The first two chapters were good enough to encourage me to search out where I could buy the whole thing. So this review, while early here, is based on the entire novel.
The story has overtones of William Gibson as the activities of Dag Hamar, private detective and cyber-security specialist unfold. I'll do my best to avoid spoilers, but won't guarantee none.
He's had a few bad moments in his recent life, but he's starting to get over them. There are relationships that develop that the reader is drawn into hoping will continue, and complex problems with the targets and clients of his investigative work.
Without spoiling, I can comment that there are several twists and tangles. Things are seldom what they appear at face value.
But the plot twists are sufficiently logical in the context of the story to be believable. The Gibsonesque notes are unrealistic to a retired lecturer in Computer Science and Security, though the basic computer background has a believable "feel" to it.
Technically this is one of the best constructed stories on the site. It is easily in the top 1%. While some can be comfortable with numerous Grammar and usage errors, I personally find that more than one or two in a chapter start to interfere with my flow of consciousness as I read a story. I can honestly say that I didn't notice any in my reading of this novel. What this means is that the errors were either not ones of which I was conscious, or that the narrative had grabbed my attention so strongly that I went into "auto-correct" mode and glossed over any errors. Either possibility is a real recommendation for this novel. It grabs the reader's consciousness and doesn't let go until the conclusion.
Well worth "bookmarking" if you have that option in your SoL account.
