Review by Booklist Review
Jack Morrison, a computer consultant to AmMath corporation, is shot to death in Dallas. It looks like a simple break-in gone bad, but the victim's sister, Lane Ward, doesn't believe it. She contacts her brother's old associate, Kidd, who has a secret life as an information highwayman--a thief who deals in software, data, and anything else of value that moves from modem to modem. Kidd uncovers a vast electronic conspiracy that involves both AmMath and a cadre of U.S. government bureaucrats who use technology to cover up murders and to blackmail prominent citizens. Despite the resources of the opposition, Kidd, along with his renegade band of hackers and telephone wizards, brings the bad guys to their knees. Sandford, whose best-selling Prey novels feature sometimes-nasty police detective Lucas Davenport, began his career with two Kidd novels but then rested the character for nine years. His return will have particular appeal for those readers with a sense of paranoia regarding the new Web world. Kidd is a unique protagonist whose toughness is derived not from flashing fists or big guns but from superior intellect and moral certitude. It won't be nine years before the next Kidd novel. --Wes Lukowsky
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
If a line like "With that skirt and your ass, he never had a chance," is your cup of tea, then chances are this is your type of thriller. The observation comes from Kidd, a computer genius and professional criminal with a penchant for painting, and it is addressed to his seductive sidekick and sometime lover, LuEllen. Sandford (Easy Prey; Certain Prey; etc.) brings back the duo after a long hiatus in this tale of computers, conspiracy and carnage. One of Kidd's high-tech colleagues turns up dead after pilfering top-secret files at a Texas microchip company with government ties. Kidd is prompted by the man's sister to investigate and, after calling in LuEllen to help, soon draws the wrath of the company's demonic owner, St. John Corbeil. Muller, a veteran reader, works well with the hard-edged narrative, and his experience on a soap opera serves him well in handling the intense though predictable action scenes and cheesy overproduction. (For example, if a character's heart is beating fast, the tape is sure to follow with a staccato drumbeat.) Sandford's fans may be giddy over the return of his popular pair, but even Muller's strong performance will do little to justify their excitement. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Forecasts, Sept. 4). (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Ethical thief, artist, and hacker Kidd and his sometime lover/partner LuEllen uncover a vast electronic conspiracy involving a corporation and a cadre of U.S. government bureaucrats in The Devil's Code. The plot involves two seemingly unrelated murders, one an old buddy of Kidd's. The dialog is entertaining and helps build the high-tech atmosphere of this Internet suspense story of greed, conspiracy, and murder. Character development is a bit shallow, and as the story unfolds, Kidd's network of hacker pals conveniently always give him what he needs. Richard Ferrone's no-nonsense reading is clear and easy to follow. Fans of Sandford's "Prey" novels will be less satisfied with this mediocre mystery, although the use of the Internet here does make it more intriguing. Recommended for large mystery collections only. Denise A. Garofalo, Mid-Hudson Lib. Syst., Poughkeepsie, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Sandford reaches back to the dim past before his fabulously popular Lucas Davenport thrillers (Easy Prey, p. 327, etc.) to resurrect his even pulpier hero, artist/hacker/design-thief Kidd (The Empress File, 1992, not reviewed), for this tale of computer skullduggery on an epic scale. When her brother Jack Morrison is shot dead, allegedly while breaking into a sensitive area at the Dallas firm of AmMath, Lane Ward follows his posthumous directive to get in touch with Kidd. Its good advice, since Kidd immediately sets Lanes mind at rest about her brothers ethics by insisting that Jack would never have been carrying a gun on such a routine errand. Instead, he wonders what AmMath, encryption specialists whove been working on a code for a new generation of computer chips that will allow Uncle Sam to read everybodys mail, might have had on Jack that made them want to set him up. The answer follows shortly with the news that a conspiracy of hackers calling themselves Firewall has brought the IRS to its knees by flooding it with bogus electronic returns. The only problem with the report is that Kidd, a member of Firewall, doesnt know anything about this latest act of civil disobedience. Neither do any of the other Firewallers he gets in touch with. Realizing that AmMath CEO St. John Corbeil is setting up Firewall just as he set up Jack, Kidd and his friend LuEllen, whose specialty is stealing the portable property thats too bulky for Kidd, go into full action mode with half a dozen brainy, well-armed specialist allies. The fur flies furiously, though the plot, fueled by endless, mindless action scenes punctuated by macho posturing from characters of every gender, soon sags into monotony. Tailor-made for the potentially huge X-Men audience that cant be bothered scanning all those comic-book pictures or hiking out to the bijou. First printing of 400,000
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
