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A review of The Blue Nowhere

by Jeffery Deaver

A hacker is out there gathering information about people to kill them, and it's up to Wyatt Gillette, who happens to be another hacker, to stop him.

Reviewed by: Michael J. Griffin
About Michael J. Griffin

The Blue Nowhere I wasn't so sure about this book when I read the preview chapters from another Deaver book. I had only read his Lincoln Rhyme novels, and like many authors, I had only identified Deaver with his principal character. I was taking a long plane ride though, and needed a book to read. "The Blue Nowhere" had come out in paperback, and after reading the back of the book and I bought it after finding out its premise.

I started reading it on the 5-hour plane ride, continued reading it in the cab on the way home and finished it that night. I was that hooked.

The premise is that there is a hacker out there conducting a real-life "murder" game. He goes by the handle "Phate" and he has a program that allows him to access virtually any part of someone's computer to get vital information about them. He then goes through a lot of elaborate disguises to meet and kill these people.

The police are stumped and Bishop, the man heading up this investigation, is forced to bring in Wyatt Gillette, a hacker himself to try to figure out Phate. Gillette is not a malicious hacker, just someone who is constantly testing the boundaries of the law, and his lack of social skills keeps him from comprehending what he has really done wrong.

Deaver then leads Bishop, Gillette and a cast of other California homicide cops through a maze of intrigue and computer treachery that will have every person that reads this book wondering if there is a sinister reason why their computer is acting up.

His style, while clearly showing a heightened understanding of both the English language and computer technology, never slips into techno-babble that would turn the casual reader away. He does have a sly technique of having each chapter number in binary code.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as each character seemed to have a dimension of their own and even the victims seemed to be more than cardboard cutouts ready to be chopped up at the killer's convenience and the twist ending had me stunned.

As much as I enjoyed the book, I am now a little worried about my computer. It seems to be having more activity going on...and why is my doorbell ringing at 11pm at night?

Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: The Blue Nowhere

Copyright © by Michael J. Griffin, 2002

Reviewed by Michael J. Griffin:
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