As the story opens, Jacinta Cross (Jack) - with a backpack full of lockpicks and other burglary tools - stealthily breaks into a London building and sneaks around planting tech that will undermine the computer system of the resident business.
Jack is aided by her husband Gabe, who's at home overriding security locks and such from his computer. As all this is happening, Jack and Gabe are flirting and joking, and I thought they were a couple of jolly thieves of some kind. Well I was wrong.
Jack and Gabe are penetration experts who are hired to PURPOSELY launch an attack on a corporation, installation, business or whatever..... to suss out weaknesses. Jack and Gabe then make suggestions to improve the customer's security.
Jack is delayed a bit on her way home, and when she finally gets back, Jack is confronted with a horrible sight. Her husband Gabe has been murdered, his throat has been slit, and there's blood all over.
Jack goes into a kind of shock and collapses, unable to move for some time. Jack finally calls the police about an hour later, and detectives arrive to investigate. After explaining what happened Jack goes to spend the night at the home of her sister Helena Wick, where the siblings talk about what happened.
The next day Jack is called to the police station to make a statement, and while she's there Jack sees a notice on her phone, confirming a life insurance policy on Gabe worth a million dollars. Jack is shocked, since she didn't take out any such policy.
In addition, Jack overhears a conversation among the detectives investigating Gabe's murder, and it's clear that JACK IS THE PRIME SUSPECT. Jack realizes she's being framed for Gabe's murder, and she's not about to sit still for that.
Jack has the skills and the moxie, and she decides to nail Gabe's killer herself. So while an investigator is getting Jack a cup of tea (those Brits are so polite with the tea), Jack quietly walks out of the police station and goes on the run. This launches a chase with Jack on the lam, and the police - with all their myriad resources - trying to catch her.
Of course Jack is at a HUGE disadvantage from the get-go.
Though Jack changes her hair and disguises her appearance, the police hold all the cards.
The investigators can look for Jack on CCTV cameras all over England; track Jack's phone; stake out the homes of everyone Jack knows; tap the phones of Jack's friends and relatives; find out the instant Jack uses a credit card or bank machine; etc. In addition, when Jack climbs over a fence, a nail or something punctures her abdomen. This is a major plot point because Jack gets sicker and sicker day by day as the wound becomes infected and festers....and Jack can't seek medical help.
There's a lot of tech talk in the book, and tech turns out to be the motive for Jack's murder.
The story is exciting from the point of view of a woman on the run, and I enjoyed seeing Jack outsmart and outmaneuver just about everybody. Along the way, Jack 'hears' Gabe's voice in her head, encouraging her, and this pushes Jack to carry on.
The story is told in the first person from Jack's POV, so the reader is well aware of Jack's thinking, movements, pain, suffering, grief, etc. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Imogen Church, who does an excellent job conveying what's happening, moment by moment.
The novel is exciting and well-written, but I don't much like stories that are one long interminable chase. Therefore the book was just okay for me. Keep in mind though, that lots of people love this book.
Rating: 3 stars
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