“Your investigation has just been given national defense priority.” — General Tom Holsapple
FBI Special Agent Lisa Tanchik knew NatalyaX, the Dark Web hacker she’s been tracking for over a year, was dangerous, but she had no idea just how bad things were going to get.
Tanchik had already linked NatalyaX to a series of attacks using an embedded strobe file in emails sent to people with epilepsy, but when the latest one kills the recipient, a cybersecurity expert employed by US Cyber Command, it becomes clear NatalyaX is part of something bigger than Tanchik understood.
That reality becomes staggeringly apparent when one by one the power stations serving the East Coast begin going down, crippling the majority of the country east of the Mississippi. Without power, tens of millions of people are plunged into chaos, with everything from transit and phone/internet, to banks, food service and hospitals unable to properly function.
Since she has been out in front chasing NatalyaX, US Cyber Command brings Tanchik in to help with the investigation. When it becomes clear another, even more crippling attack, is already in motion, Tanchik begins a race against the clock to prevent an already “worst-case” scenario from becoming a true cyber apocalypse.
Dark Tomorrow, the second book featuring FBI Special Agent Lisa Tanchik (Black Nowhere), finds author Reece Hirsch once again in fine form, plunging readers into nonstop action from the murder that opens the book until the final, down-to-the-wire showdown. Along the way, he builds upon the complex character he’s created in Tanchik, allowing her to show the stress and flaws that come with being human in such a high-stakes situation. She’s willing to step up to the enormous challenge thrust upon her, but it takes a toll.
As in Black Nowhere, there is plenty of technical ground covered by Tanchik and those around her in this outing. But once again, Hirsch, himself a privacy and cybersecurity attorney, presents the computer/Dark Web information in such a way that readers can easily follow what’s going on, even if they’re not overly tech savvy. The balance between old-school action and new-school tech is right on the mark.
And though Tanchik has had one prior adventure, Dark Tomorrow is structured such that it can be read without having first read Black Nowhere, though I highly recommend you pick up copies of both.
Dark Tomorrow is available from Thomas & Mercer.
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