Description from Amazon:
When a dangerous AI
weapon disappears, all hell breaks loose in a high-stakes thriller by New
York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver and Wall Street Journal bestselling
author Isabella Maldonado.
A high-stakes theft
draws federal agent Carmen Sanchez and brilliant hacker Jake Heron into the
hunt to recover the stolen Epsilon Core, a revolutionary autonomous weapon
engineered to operate beyond human control.
An enemy in the
shadows is assembling the final components to unleash it, causing unimaginable
casualties. To stop the unthinkable, Carmen and Jake—experts in exposing
intrusion and threats—must track down a mastermind who hides in plain sight
behind a perfectly chilling disguise.
Racing against
mercenaries, arms dealers, cult conspiracies and a nemesis from Jake’s past,
the unlikely partners must navigate a complex and increasingly personal
relationship—one put to the test when Jake himself falls under suspicion.
As the clock runs out,
and the Epsilon Core’s devastation looms, Carmen must decide if she can trust
her partner, a man she may not even recognize anymore.
This is book three in the series, and while
some might say it can be read as a standalone, I don’t think enough of the
intrusion aspect is explained in this one, so new readers might not completely
understand what Heron does and how I-Squared came about.
There are two threads running through this
story. One has the team chasing up on the missing Epsilon Core, and the other
is the cult that Heron’s parents bought into.
The storyline around the Core and the AI
behind it can become bogged down in tech speak at times, but when you start
learning more about it and the ramifications of self-choice by AI, it starts
looking a little scary. Heron is still only just off the naughty chair, and
shouldn’t really be as involved as he is, but what with Reynolds, I-Squared’s overseer,
seeming to be more interested in positive publicity and putting himself front
and centre, it’s up to the team to sort out the real issue. This is one of
those books where you can’t trust what you see, and the consequences for real
life are frightening.
The cult section, with the reader learning
more about the behind-the-scenes punishments for not toeing the line, is
horrific, and the meaning behind the jewellery welded onto them and the
brainwashing behind it brings home how different life is out there for others.
But as with good thrillers, things don’t
always go to plan, and here we find villains behind villains, which made the
threads move in some interesting misdirections. The writing is slow in places
and speeds up elsewhere so there is a good mix of both. But I’m not sure it’s a
standout for me.
As always, just when you think Heron and Sanchez
have their issues sorted and things have worked out the best way possible,
there is a curveball thrown in that sets a thread up well for the next book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for
an advance copy of the book.
