Author: Leigh Adams
Series: A Kate Ford Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (February 9, 2016)
Description: When single mom and computer security specialist Kate Ford is suddenly and mysteriously put on administrative leave, she finds herself drawn into the drama of a lurid kidnapping case with ties to her company. Kate has enough on her plate dealing with a condition that leaves her extra-sensitive to stimuli, but the case is too juicy to leave untouched.
But what begins as simple curiosity quickly leads her to the country’s darkest corners of power and leaves her and her family the target of a ruthless network of war profiteers, who will stop at nothing to protect their billion-dollar interests in Hostile Witness, the first in this sharp and engaging series.
My Thoughts: The mystery had one of the more unusual heroines I have ever read about in a mystery novel. Kate Ford is a computer security specialist who also suffers from an unusual illness. She has spells that mimic epilepsy and is almost always hyper-aware of her surrounding sometimes losing herself in the minutiae of everyday life. When she is given a new project at work, things start seeming wrong to her. The various problems and solutions of the company which is named Robotix and makes robotic vacuum cleaners and pool cleaners and other robotic devices sets off alarms in Kate's mind. When she triggers something that locks her out of the company, she goes to the secure military computers that are in another part of her company where she triggers the same lock outs. She is placed on administrative leave which will probably lead to her being fired.
Kate now has too much time at home dealing with her thirteen year old son who happens to be a genius and her father who is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. Her father urges her to get out of the house and take an interest in a hot court case that involves her boss's daughter, a possible kidnapping, and a mentally wounded vet from the Afghan war. Kate meets a police detective who was eased off the case when it went high profile and he offers to let her use his spare seat in the reserved section.
It doesn't take long for Kate to realize that something is wrong with the whole trial which starts her investigating the company she worked for and Robotix, government cover ups, and corruption of all sorts. The story was filled with twists and turns and interesting characters. The most interesting to me was Kate herself. She is a very bright woman dealing with physical and mental challenges that would bury a lesser person. She is persistent and dogged in her investigation into the court case that was just supposed to take her mind off more immediate problems.
Mystery lovers will enjoy meeting this unique detective. I can wait to read more of her adventures.
Favorite Quote:
The impound yard had exactly one employee on duty and approximately fifty people waiting to retrieve their cars. Most of those people were in even worse moods than she was, and the attendant was a dedicated passive-aggressive. The more infuriated a customer became, the slower and more inarticulate he got. At one point, he seemed to be pretending not to speak English.I got this eARC from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.
A new series for me. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDelete