Review of Preying Angels by Jeff Davis


When the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange and the Federal Reserve Building were impossibly hacked, FBI Agent Gabrielle Sinclair knows who did it but there is only one problem, she thought the man responsible was long dead. In her desperation to find answers, Gabby dives into the technical world to find the one person who can stop the threat, Michael Thomas, a computer extraordinaire  who can manipulate computers into doing anything he wishes. From Michael's home in Mississippi, they uncover the steps Lucifer took to take down the buildings, but they can't find the one thing to tie everything together, the why. While they are working on uncovering the truth, several teen girls go missing in the area surrounding Michael's home and Gabby is called in to help search their computers. What seems to be two totally unconnected coincidences turns out to be a race to find and stop the serial killer and the man behind him, Lucifer.

 

The internet is a scary place and Davis uses it for his playground in creating a cyber thriller that has me thinking twice about using social media to meet new people. Although Michael and Gabby are the heroes of the story I found myself intrigued with Lucifer and his puppet MansonsTwin. Both are sociopaths, both are dangerous but as the story develops Lucifer learns that the although the crazy ones may get the job done keeping them in line is the hardest part. Watching the paranoia take over was disturbing and fascinating at the same time. With short chapters I found myself clicking the next button on my Kindle faster and faster to see just how far MansonsTwin was willing to go to please his master.

 

Davis shines in his descriptions and detailed accounts of the workings of computers and their roles in hacking, cracking and all around misuse of the technology. I wasn't lost in the technically detailed plot but found myself understanding more about computers by reading this book than years of listening to my husband talk about them.

 

Even though I was fascinated with the relationship between Lucifer and MansonsTwin, I really enjoyed reading the dialogue between Gabby and Michael. Davis created just enough tension between the two once lovers and confidants to add to the pacing of the novel. I would like to know more about their mysterious backgrounds, what precisely they did when they were both in the super special secret Government computer intelligence program, the Archangel project and what led them to chose the paths they did.

 

All in all I enjoyed this novel even though its not my usual cup of tea. I will say that the pacing in the beginning was a bit slow, especially the parts with MansonsTwin preparing for his mission, but I understand the devil's in the details. Once Lucifer's plan was playing out in full force the action picked up and so did the novel.

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Jeff Davis is a former IT executive and computer security consultant. He grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and currently lives in Clinton, Mississippi where he writes, dabbles in real estate and does disaster recovery consulting.You can find Jeff at his website, on Twitter, on Facebook and on Goodreads. You can buy his book on [amazon-product text=”Amazon” type=”text”]B005O17G1G[/amazon-product], Barnes & Noble and Smashwords.