Frederick Forsyth announced his retirement from
writing thrillers in late 2016 and then had an idea for another book based on
stories about British hackers Gary McKinnon and Lauri Love. The Fox (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2018)
lacks some of the intricate subplots of the earlier thrillers but Forsyth is
still on the top of his storytelling game.
Computer specialists at Fort Meade, Maryland,
were more than a little startled to discover that someone had broken into one
of the most protected IT systems on the base. Even more surprising to them is
that no damage was done, when it could have been devastating. Attempts to trace
the hacker led nowhere so they waited and watched until they saw a similar
break-in at a world bank, which gave them enough information to eventually track
the site of the hack to a private residence in Luton, a suburban town north of
London, to England’s considerable embarrassment.
Convinced it was the site of a hidden terrorist
cell, British and American SAS and SEAL forces mounted a night-time takeover of
the house to find Sue and Harold Jennings, housewife and accountant,
respectively, and their two teenage sons Luke and Marcus. The elaborate
computer set-up they expected was actually Luke’s cobbled-together network in
the attic, where he spent all of his time. Neither of his parents had the
slightest idea that he was roaming across the internet and entering highly classified
databases at will.
Rather than prosecute, the British and U.S.
government decide to use Luke’s skills against some of their adversaries. They
relocate the family to an isolated research laboratory, where Luke’s computer
system was replicated and his attention successfully directed to various
targets, to the great chagrin of some world powers.
Forsyth has not lost his gift for creating
lively characters in a few words nor his touch for conveying action. His snark
about various world powers is on full display. The cast of characters and
organizations in the book is five pages long; fortunately I did not feel the
need to consult it. A good read!
Publishers Weekly
starred review. One of the Washington
Post's Best Thrillers and Mysteries of 2018. One of Publishers
Weekly's Best Books of 2018.
·
Hardcover: 304 pages
·
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's
Sons (October 23, 2018)
·
Language: English
·
ISBN-10: 0525538429
·
ISBN-13: 978-0525538424
Aubrey Hamilton
©2019
Aubrey
Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and
reads mysteries at night.
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