Run

August 11, 2014
When Marc Bowman, the hero of this fast-moving but muddled standalone from Grant (Even), is fired from his gig as an IT consultant for struggling AmeriTel, he’s plunged into a maelstrom of misery. The day before his canning, Marc downloaded AmeriTel data into two memory sticks that he took to help develop his next Big Idea. Marc’s wife, Carolyn, a regular employee of the firm, sides with those who suspect him of stealing the data. Unbeknownst to him, a corporate smoking gun, as well as an even more catastrophic computer virus, is embedded within the seemingly innocuous electronic records. Before you can say “Mayday!” Marc is sprinting for his life from heavily armed pursuers who shoot up the leafy Westchester, N.Y., suburbs as though they were playing Call of Duty. High on adrenaline, low on credibility, this cyber thriller leaves the reader baffled. Agent: Janet Reid, FinePrint Literary Management.

October 15, 2014
A fast-moving thriller with a plot no thicker than a thumb drive. Marc Bowman arrives early for work at AmeriTel and is summoned by CEO Roger LeBrock. "We've been extremely happy with the work you've done for us" as a contractor, LeBrock says, but you're fired. Puzzled and peeved, Bowman steals a memory stick containing data on his project, information that's worth millions. Later he tells his wife, Carolyn, a regular AmeriTel employee. They bicker, which seems like their main mode of dialogue, and she walks out on him. The company knows he took the memory stick, and they want it back. Boy, do they ever. But why? It can't be the data itself, as it's duplicate information and there must be a nondisclosure agreement. A virus, perhaps? Bowman won't give up the stick as people try to persuade him and even try to kill him for it. He has no idea whom to trust, even questioning Carolyn's loyalty. Homeland Security wants to arrest him. Friends might be enemies. Allies might be foes. Luckily, mild-mannered and mildly annoying Bowman knows how to defend himself, and various people become corpses. (The story is told in the first person, so it's no spoiler to say that he doesn't become one of those corpses.) "I was sick of people attacking me," he whines. Well, of course. ."..Stealing my work." No, it's the company's work. A theme pervading the book seems to be that you can trust no one, not even your spouse. Keep looking over your shoulder, because someone is about to stab you in the back. If the reader accepts the rather thin premise that evil people are going to swarm over a newly unemployed contract programmer for implausible reasons then the story turns out to be a lot of fun. Twists and surprises abound, the pace never slows, and the writing satisfies. So go ahead, read and enjoy this one. Like a cone of cotton candy, it's fast, fun and forgettable.

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July 1, 2014

The week starts badly for skilled computer consultant Marc Bowman and goes downhill from there. On Monday morning, Marc's contract with tech giant AmeriTel, where his wife Carolyn works as an executive, is abruptly canceled. Soon more than his job is at risk, and he's fighting to keep his reputation, marriage, and life. Carolyn leaves the house after an argument, their home is burglarized, and two men supposedly from Homeland Security (headed by collegial McKenna and aggressive Peever) are after Marc and the two memory sticks of data that he almost inadvertently took from AmeriTel. At issue is a sophisticated, heuristic virus aimed at the White House, for which Marc is being blamed. VERDICT Grant's first stand-alone, after three thrillers featuring British naval intelligence officer David Trevellyan (More Harm Than Good; Die Twice; Even) is a pulse-pounding technothriller. Don't look for personal relationships in these pages; although Marc is humanized by his admiration for artist Roy Lichtenstein, aspects of his marriage strain credulity. But for sheer nonstop action and suspense in the Harlan Coben mode, Grant ranks high, with another page-turner here. [Library marketing.]--Michele Leber, Arlington, VA

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2014
In this stand-alone thriller, Grant introduces computer consultant Marc Bowman, and, right out of the box, Marc is fired from the same company that employs his wife. Bowman has this idea that he is sure will make him millions; only he needs the data he collected from his former company to run tests. So he steals it. The impact of that bad decision gets more and more twisted and dangerous every day. First, his computer, along with his million-dollar idea, is stolen; then his wife walks out on him. Marc has the unfortunate problem of believing every person he speaks with, despite their conflicting stories, so he never knows whom to trust. Eventually, he finds himself on the run, zigzagging from one unreliable character to the next, dodging bullets and more in a race to stay alive. Grant writes his character into a corner, and the only way out is to use a ploy that doesn't really work and creates a rather unfortunate ending. Still, readers who enjoy corporate espionage will enjoy most of the ride.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)