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Arthur Cathcart #3
A Billion Ways to Die
Arthur Cathcart and Natsumi Fitzgerald wanted to believe they were free of the nearly invisible, malignant forces they had pursued, and been pursued by, across continents and oceans. The slightly brain-damaged, tech freak researcher and the blackjack dealing psychologist had convinced
themselves that life aboard a sail boat in the Caribbean, incognito and in love, could be a lasting refuge.
The death of that illusion was as brutal as it was abrupt. Even people who knew how to dodge ruthless outlaws and relentless law enforcement learned there were powers from which no one could ever hide. Not in the 21st century. Not if you wanted more than to simply exist. To truly live in the world, you had to have a world that allows you to live.
Soldiers fighting in Vietnam had a saying when pinned down under enemy fire: The only way out is through. And so it is that Arthur and Natsumi take to the fight, where the full expanse of both the virtual and material world is the field of engagement. Nearly blind to the threats that surround them, yet searching for that impossible path back to the ordinary lives they’d been forced to abandon.
Wiser, stronger and more experienced than they ever imagined they’d be in the art of clandestine combat, Arthur and Natsumi understand what makes you strong can also get you killed in a hurry. That the reserves of resilience and determination aren’t limitless, that the power of intellect and craft dwindles in the face of a pitiless and resolute foe.
That there are a billion ways to die, but only one way to live.
themselves that life aboard a sail boat in the Caribbean, incognito and in love, could be a lasting refuge.
The death of that illusion was as brutal as it was abrupt. Even people who knew how to dodge ruthless outlaws and relentless law enforcement learned there were powers from which no one could ever hide. Not in the 21st century. Not if you wanted more than to simply exist. To truly live in the world, you had to have a world that allows you to live.
Soldiers fighting in Vietnam had a saying when pinned down under enemy fire: The only way out is through. And so it is that Arthur and Natsumi take to the fight, where the full expanse of both the virtual and material world is the field of engagement. Nearly blind to the threats that surround them, yet searching for that impossible path back to the ordinary lives they’d been forced to abandon.
Wiser, stronger and more experienced than they ever imagined they’d be in the art of clandestine combat, Arthur and Natsumi understand what makes you strong can also get you killed in a hurry. That the reserves of resilience and determination aren’t limitless, that the power of intellect and craft dwindles in the face of a pitiless and resolute foe.
That there are a billion ways to die, but only one way to live.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2014
7 people are currently reading
279 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 9, 2014
If you’ve read the earlier two Arthur Cathcart novels by Chris Knopf, you’re bound to want to read this one. But if you haven’t, anyplace is a good place to start this trilogy. The stories stand alone; each with its own twisted plot, great high-tech sleuthing, and a man with a billion histories and faces to ground them in mystery and suspense.
Arthur Cathcart is supposed to be dead. Since the bullet, he’s put his brain-damaged skills to good use, learning why he was almost killed, and sending his pursuers behind bars. On the way he’s made some interesting friends and enemies, and learned that the heart might matter more than law. Meanwhile his own heart is given to Natsumi. And a dog. And a dream of living the good life far from home.
When dream turns to nightmare, another escape from death sends Cathcart and Natsumi fleeing toward danger. Changing identities, hacking computers, hiding out in plain sight or far from sight; helped by bad guys, good guys, and unresolved in-betweens; and wending their way through technology and weaponry with equal aplomb, they try to find out not just who they can trust, but whether they can truly trust themselves.
There are a billion ways to die in this game, but Cathcart’s looking for a way, not just to live, but to live well. The past is gone and it’s time to close the door so rudely re-opened. But will friend or foe turn them in?
The technology’s super-cool. The violence is fierce but well-muted. The dialog’s savvy and the plot is multiply twisted, filled with surprises, and enormously satisfying. If this really is the last Cathcart novel (but please, I’d love more), it’s a triumphant conclusion that has me wanting to start from the beginning again (but please, I’d love more time).
Disclosure: I was given a free preview copy by the publisher and I offer my honest review.
Arthur Cathcart is supposed to be dead. Since the bullet, he’s put his brain-damaged skills to good use, learning why he was almost killed, and sending his pursuers behind bars. On the way he’s made some interesting friends and enemies, and learned that the heart might matter more than law. Meanwhile his own heart is given to Natsumi. And a dog. And a dream of living the good life far from home.
When dream turns to nightmare, another escape from death sends Cathcart and Natsumi fleeing toward danger. Changing identities, hacking computers, hiding out in plain sight or far from sight; helped by bad guys, good guys, and unresolved in-betweens; and wending their way through technology and weaponry with equal aplomb, they try to find out not just who they can trust, but whether they can truly trust themselves.
There are a billion ways to die in this game, but Cathcart’s looking for a way, not just to live, but to live well. The past is gone and it’s time to close the door so rudely re-opened. But will friend or foe turn them in?
The technology’s super-cool. The violence is fierce but well-muted. The dialog’s savvy and the plot is multiply twisted, filled with surprises, and enormously satisfying. If this really is the last Cathcart novel (but please, I’d love more), it’s a triumphant conclusion that has me wanting to start from the beginning again (but please, I’d love more time).
Disclosure: I was given a free preview copy by the publisher and I offer my honest review.
October 13, 2015
Sometimes the literary whole is even better than the sum of its parts (unlike many other times). The third book about Arthur Cathcart and Natsumi Fitzgerald (See "Dead Anyway" and "Cries of the Lost") ) is one of those very welcome times. A trio of four-star parts combine to become a five-star whole.
Ever since Arthur's insurance broker wife was shot and killed (and Arthur grievously wounded by a bullet to the head), Arthur has been both hunter and prey. He hunts the reasons for the shootings, and stays alive (though cannily officially dead to all but his sister) while on the run. His set of skills is highly impressive, even as his cognitive losses due to the shooting are repaired/rewired. He is a professional researcher, a hacker of fearsome ability, and is driven by a need both to understand and to avenge his losses. Perhaps his greatest additional skill is his ability to bond with Natsumi, a psychology student and black jack dealer of great strength and daring, midway through the first novel. The patter between Arthur and Natsumi, though frequently fear-driven, outperforms that of Nick and Norah Charles, with Natsumi having the edge in wit over the clever Arthur. (Little Boy, a Serb criminal that Arthur and Natsumi bond with and use, is next in witty repartee.)
To go back to the first book's set-up, Arthur has to discover why his wife was using her lucrative insurance brokerage to amass a large amount of illegal money, and how she was using it. Why were Arthur and Florinda, the gorgeous and successful wife, shot? Who was she really? Where was the money bound? How could Arthur find the money, hide it from those who sought his death, and live off the grid employing it for the two years that he and Natsumi are on the run?
All novels require a certain wiling suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader. Knopf had me on that score by the second page of the first book. I know a little bit about computers, but only enough to know the vast difference between what the characters in this book know and what I know. As a regular reader of chase and vengeance books, the near-death experiences of the two very attractive and likable characters in these books (a 800+-page novel so far) made it hard to stray from the pages. Knopf ratchets up the tension constantly from an immensely tense start. The fact that there are a couple of evil loose ends at the end of this book points (I very much hope) to a fourth book.
Ever since Arthur's insurance broker wife was shot and killed (and Arthur grievously wounded by a bullet to the head), Arthur has been both hunter and prey. He hunts the reasons for the shootings, and stays alive (though cannily officially dead to all but his sister) while on the run. His set of skills is highly impressive, even as his cognitive losses due to the shooting are repaired/rewired. He is a professional researcher, a hacker of fearsome ability, and is driven by a need both to understand and to avenge his losses. Perhaps his greatest additional skill is his ability to bond with Natsumi, a psychology student and black jack dealer of great strength and daring, midway through the first novel. The patter between Arthur and Natsumi, though frequently fear-driven, outperforms that of Nick and Norah Charles, with Natsumi having the edge in wit over the clever Arthur. (Little Boy, a Serb criminal that Arthur and Natsumi bond with and use, is next in witty repartee.)
To go back to the first book's set-up, Arthur has to discover why his wife was using her lucrative insurance brokerage to amass a large amount of illegal money, and how she was using it. Why were Arthur and Florinda, the gorgeous and successful wife, shot? Who was she really? Where was the money bound? How could Arthur find the money, hide it from those who sought his death, and live off the grid employing it for the two years that he and Natsumi are on the run?
All novels require a certain wiling suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader. Knopf had me on that score by the second page of the first book. I know a little bit about computers, but only enough to know the vast difference between what the characters in this book know and what I know. As a regular reader of chase and vengeance books, the near-death experiences of the two very attractive and likable characters in these books (a 800+-page novel so far) made it hard to stray from the pages. Knopf ratchets up the tension constantly from an immensely tense start. The fact that there are a couple of evil loose ends at the end of this book points (I very much hope) to a fourth book.
March 18, 2023
Follow the money … if you can. In this third volume of Mr. Knopf’s Arthur Cathcart series, that’s not as easy as it sounds. There’s a lot of money and a lot of characters, and the money in question seems to move around through the fingers of all of them except, of course, Arthur and Natsume.
Although this is an action thriller with some violence, the story happily reminded me of a 1968 Peter Ustinov / Maggie Smith movie called Hot Millions. That movie was a comedy, but like this story it relied on some hi-jinks that vastly exceeded the average contemporary audience’s computer competence and understanding, and therefore appeared both credible and speedy for any hacker who might be in the know.
After whipping around the world with multiple passports and disguises, travelling like Jack Reacher with barely a change of underwear but a lot of money, the characters end up more-or-less where they started, in a tropical paradise, with all the good guys and their dog intact. It is, however, somewhat open-ended. It is touted as the end of the series, but a door has been left open for a continuation, and I’d be interested if one arose.
The audiobook reader, Donald Corren, continues to do a good job as Arthur’s narrative voice, as well as what I think are credible accents for some of the more ethnic characters (especially the Scot.)
Although this is an action thriller with some violence, the story happily reminded me of a 1968 Peter Ustinov / Maggie Smith movie called Hot Millions. That movie was a comedy, but like this story it relied on some hi-jinks that vastly exceeded the average contemporary audience’s computer competence and understanding, and therefore appeared both credible and speedy for any hacker who might be in the know.
After whipping around the world with multiple passports and disguises, travelling like Jack Reacher with barely a change of underwear but a lot of money, the characters end up more-or-less where they started, in a tropical paradise, with all the good guys and their dog intact. It is, however, somewhat open-ended. It is touted as the end of the series, but a door has been left open for a continuation, and I’d be interested if one arose.
The audiobook reader, Donald Corren, continues to do a good job as Arthur’s narrative voice, as well as what I think are credible accents for some of the more ethnic characters (especially the Scot.)
December 2, 2014
Perhaps it is because I did not read the previous novels, but I just couldn't get into the novel. The introduction of the characters was abrupt and the connections were explained too quickly. I found the descriptions boring and the overall feel mediocre at best. I normally love this genre; however, this novel was a bit of a let down for me. the concept was interesting, but I didn't really get a feel for the characters. I am sure my opinion may change if I had read the previous books, but I could barely get through this.
December 12, 2014
Audiobook Review
Another fun Arthur Cathcart and Natsumi Fitzgerald romp with a creative plot line. It's just entertainment, not superb literature, or even the best of the genre.
Another fun Arthur Cathcart and Natsumi Fitzgerald romp with a creative plot line. It's just entertainment, not superb literature, or even the best of the genre.
February 7, 2018
While each book ranks somewhere above a 4 star, it isn’t until you’ve read all 3 that you realize the story is 5 star. It needs all three books to get to the intricacies of all that was going on. Very enjoyable!
Also I want to note that a reviewer or two underrated this third book simply because they either didn’t bother reading the first 2 books or didn’t remember enough about the plot to go back to read from those stories. They actually were angry that book 3 didn’t retell or adequately summarize books 1 and 2. To me being too lazy to read books prior doesn’t make the writing less. Having read all three in order in close succession I can very comfortably say the author does refer and explain from previous books adequately without insulting reader who has read the first 2 books. I only note this because I thought that was unfair and ridiculous expectation. I would’ve reduced my rating had Knopf given the level of detail they apparently needed because I would see it as filler!
Also I want to note that a reviewer or two underrated this third book simply because they either didn’t bother reading the first 2 books or didn’t remember enough about the plot to go back to read from those stories. They actually were angry that book 3 didn’t retell or adequately summarize books 1 and 2. To me being too lazy to read books prior doesn’t make the writing less. Having read all three in order in close succession I can very comfortably say the author does refer and explain from previous books adequately without insulting reader who has read the first 2 books. I only note this because I thought that was unfair and ridiculous expectation. I would’ve reduced my rating had Knopf given the level of detail they apparently needed because I would see it as filler!
January 3, 2022
Riding on rather outsized expectations from the first two books in the series, this one was a disappointment. In many ways.
Right away, the book starts off on a weak footing, and the plot sort of doubles up on itself, while retaining little of the original charm and wit of the chase. As long as Arthur and Natsumi are the ones chasing with a clear agenda, as was the case in the first two books, the stories were tighter and more cohesive then what this ever manages to achieve.
There’s a tenuous link between this story and the earlier story, but it is very derivative and weak. Even his antics and cleverness - and as a result the story’s overall momentum- seem washed out. It’s ok in places, but nowhere near as impressive as the earlier two books.
Right away, the book starts off on a weak footing, and the plot sort of doubles up on itself, while retaining little of the original charm and wit of the chase. As long as Arthur and Natsumi are the ones chasing with a clear agenda, as was the case in the first two books, the stories were tighter and more cohesive then what this ever manages to achieve.
There’s a tenuous link between this story and the earlier story, but it is very derivative and weak. Even his antics and cleverness - and as a result the story’s overall momentum- seem washed out. It’s ok in places, but nowhere near as impressive as the earlier two books.
December 21, 2017
Knopf has a very clear style of writing and makes the analytical interesting. I had read the first in this series long ago and had actually forgotten about it. I'm now back starting the series over. While they stand on their own the three are really tightly intertwined into a long story of what a determined individual (and his very strong partner) can do. Smartest man in the room.
August 1, 2020
A tad better than the first two in the series but I really couldn’t say I liked it.
February 18, 2018
Library Audible
Either missed something on second run or no full answer on second listen, one was clarity on the bullet through the head of his enemy from Fontaine husband of People's Project promoter, micro financing. Arthur inferred that he had done it to protect himself from further threat of retaliation. When Arthur and Natsumi Fitzgerald had fled to Zurich to track down the lady of the People's Project to find out shy she and her husband had kidnapped them at the beginning of this story. And about the missing money. They were meet by jersey an FBI agent and Shelly Grossman's inside contact. Jersey said that the husband character had been shot. Also, hinted that the hacker guy did it as he had mislead the couple and had stolen their stolen billion and then said Arthur had stolen it when in the last story Arthur recovered stolen money. All through bank account hacking. The other unresolved mystery was that Arthur lost a couple of accounts in the story and the hacker friend did not provide the answer, assume it was the hacker terrorist who was suppose to be in federal custody but release by the key FBI guy to hunt down the billion that the Fontaine couple stole with the help of the Spanish hacker and supporter of terrorists. The FBI bigwig was working off the grid to get the billion himself thus was after Arthur as well as the hacker nemesis and the charity couple.
So the story opened with Arthur Cathcart and Natsumi Fitzgerald wanting to believe they were free of the nearly invisible, malignant forces they had pursued, and been pursued by, across continents and oceans. The slightly brain-damaged, tech freak researcher and the blackjack dealing psychologist had convinced themselves that life aboard a sail boat in the Caribbean, incognito and in love, could be a lasting refuge. But they were kidnapped and interrogated for the information on the missing money that they knew nothing about. They only were saved as the employed mercenaries were not into cold blooded murder.
The death of that illusion was as brutal as it was abrupt. Even people who knew how to dodge ruthless outlaws and relentless law enforcement learned there were powers from which no one could ever hide. Not in the 21st century. Not if you wanted more than to simply exist. To truly live in the world, you had to have a world that allows you to live.
Soldiers fighting in Vietnam had a saying when pinned down under enemy fire: The only way out is through. And so it is that Arthur and Natsumi take to the fight, where the full expanse of both the virtual and material world is the field of engagement. Nearly blind to the threats that surround them, yet searching for that impossible path back to the ordinary lives they’d been forced to abandon.
Wiser, stronger and more experienced than they ever imagined they’d be in the art of clandestine combat, Arthur and Natsumi understand what makes you strong can also get you killed in a hurry. That the reserves of resilience and determination aren’t limitless, that the power of intellect and craft dwindles in the face of a pitiless and resolute foe.
The money was scammed from the micro financing scheme by setting up fake borrowers and using the hackers skill to handle the funding. The auditors were faced with no easy clear way to check thousands of small time borrowers from poor countries thus the books all seemed in order.
The hacker friend of Arthur found the money and redistributed all to the the micro loan needy recipient as a one time gratis payment double of the original load value. Good one.. Arthur and Naomi are now no longer on the wanted list.
Either missed something on second run or no full answer on second listen, one was clarity on the bullet through the head of his enemy from Fontaine husband of People's Project promoter, micro financing. Arthur inferred that he had done it to protect himself from further threat of retaliation. When Arthur and Natsumi Fitzgerald had fled to Zurich to track down the lady of the People's Project to find out shy she and her husband had kidnapped them at the beginning of this story. And about the missing money. They were meet by jersey an FBI agent and Shelly Grossman's inside contact. Jersey said that the husband character had been shot. Also, hinted that the hacker guy did it as he had mislead the couple and had stolen their stolen billion and then said Arthur had stolen it when in the last story Arthur recovered stolen money. All through bank account hacking. The other unresolved mystery was that Arthur lost a couple of accounts in the story and the hacker friend did not provide the answer, assume it was the hacker terrorist who was suppose to be in federal custody but release by the key FBI guy to hunt down the billion that the Fontaine couple stole with the help of the Spanish hacker and supporter of terrorists. The FBI bigwig was working off the grid to get the billion himself thus was after Arthur as well as the hacker nemesis and the charity couple.
So the story opened with Arthur Cathcart and Natsumi Fitzgerald wanting to believe they were free of the nearly invisible, malignant forces they had pursued, and been pursued by, across continents and oceans. The slightly brain-damaged, tech freak researcher and the blackjack dealing psychologist had convinced themselves that life aboard a sail boat in the Caribbean, incognito and in love, could be a lasting refuge. But they were kidnapped and interrogated for the information on the missing money that they knew nothing about. They only were saved as the employed mercenaries were not into cold blooded murder.
The death of that illusion was as brutal as it was abrupt. Even people who knew how to dodge ruthless outlaws and relentless law enforcement learned there were powers from which no one could ever hide. Not in the 21st century. Not if you wanted more than to simply exist. To truly live in the world, you had to have a world that allows you to live.
Soldiers fighting in Vietnam had a saying when pinned down under enemy fire: The only way out is through. And so it is that Arthur and Natsumi take to the fight, where the full expanse of both the virtual and material world is the field of engagement. Nearly blind to the threats that surround them, yet searching for that impossible path back to the ordinary lives they’d been forced to abandon.
Wiser, stronger and more experienced than they ever imagined they’d be in the art of clandestine combat, Arthur and Natsumi understand what makes you strong can also get you killed in a hurry. That the reserves of resilience and determination aren’t limitless, that the power of intellect and craft dwindles in the face of a pitiless and resolute foe.
The money was scammed from the micro financing scheme by setting up fake borrowers and using the hackers skill to handle the funding. The auditors were faced with no easy clear way to check thousands of small time borrowers from poor countries thus the books all seemed in order.
The hacker friend of Arthur found the money and redistributed all to the the micro loan needy recipient as a one time gratis payment double of the original load value. Good one.. Arthur and Naomi are now no longer on the wanted list.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 24, 2015
As the novel opens, Arthur Cathcart and his partner and lover, Natsumi Fitzgerald are ensconced on their 36’ boat in Caribbean waters. They are indisputably unique protagonists: He, bald and in his forties, holds a Masters in Applied Mathematics, doing freelance market research; she, a tiny woman who is a former blackjack dealer, is almost equally adept as he in her hacking abilities and knowledge of clandestine technology. Together they have used dozens of different IDs, aliases, and stolen identities, with the necessary passports, drivers’ licenses, bank accounts, etc. for each. But these somehow do not prevent mercenaries from finding them, capturing and interrogating them, somehow allowing them to live before disappearing. The rest of the novel turns on discovering the identity and motives of these people.
The multi-award-winning author has written ten previous mysteries, including two other series and one standalone. In the first book in this series, Arthur and his wife were both shot in the head by a man who was a complete stranger to them. His wife is killed instantly; Arthur is left for dead and remains in a coma until, against all odds, he recovers, but as far as the rest of the world is concerned, he has succumbed to his severe injuries and died. (“The bullet went straight through, skimmed the frontal and took out a piece of the parietal and somatosensory cortex.”) After meeting Natsumi, he manages to slip into “a shadow world” of his own making, “in exile but comfortably so.” The title derives from Arthur being told “You need to figure a way out of this . . . It’s no way to live.” Arthur: “I hoped there was a way to live . . . because there sure seemed to be plenty of ways to de.” And the number “a billion” comes into that equation, quite literally.
Arthur is a brilliant man living with “the curse of the analytic mind” and well aware of “the benefits of paranoia in the pursuit of personal security. . . Our ability to slip unnoticed through the world was well served by the bored and resentful.” One need only look at the headlines on any given day to see the proliferation of security breaches, on an international basis.
The cast is varied, from FBI agents to Bosnian gangsters and everything in between. The reader is kept intrigued, to say the least, especially to those of us not of the “nerd” persuasion. This is the third in the series, after “Dead Anyway” and “Cries of the Lost.” It is thoroughly entertaining and every bit as good as the ones that preceded it and, like those, is highly recommended.
The multi-award-winning author has written ten previous mysteries, including two other series and one standalone. In the first book in this series, Arthur and his wife were both shot in the head by a man who was a complete stranger to them. His wife is killed instantly; Arthur is left for dead and remains in a coma until, against all odds, he recovers, but as far as the rest of the world is concerned, he has succumbed to his severe injuries and died. (“The bullet went straight through, skimmed the frontal and took out a piece of the parietal and somatosensory cortex.”) After meeting Natsumi, he manages to slip into “a shadow world” of his own making, “in exile but comfortably so.” The title derives from Arthur being told “You need to figure a way out of this . . . It’s no way to live.” Arthur: “I hoped there was a way to live . . . because there sure seemed to be plenty of ways to de.” And the number “a billion” comes into that equation, quite literally.
Arthur is a brilliant man living with “the curse of the analytic mind” and well aware of “the benefits of paranoia in the pursuit of personal security. . . Our ability to slip unnoticed through the world was well served by the bored and resentful.” One need only look at the headlines on any given day to see the proliferation of security breaches, on an international basis.
The cast is varied, from FBI agents to Bosnian gangsters and everything in between. The reader is kept intrigued, to say the least, especially to those of us not of the “nerd” persuasion. This is the third in the series, after “Dead Anyway” and “Cries of the Lost.” It is thoroughly entertaining and every bit as good as the ones that preceded it and, like those, is highly recommended.
April 15, 2016
I liked this mystery a lot. It's the third in a series of three but could be read alone. Author Chris Knopf really hit his stride with this one.
In the first novel, protagonist Arthur Cathcart convinced the world he was dead after he was shot in the head and his wife killed. Armed with powerful hacker skills, he makes up his mind to find out the who and why of the shooting. In the second novel, he and his new girlfriend investigate why his otherwise normal wife engaged in embezzlement of her own company and stashed millions away in Cayman Island bank accounts. In the process, they make a dangerous enemy of a brilliant cybercriminal and the FBI agents he has hoodwinked. In the last entry, they have to work it all out or live their lives running from a tightening noose.
After wallowing in a lot of new murder mysteries lately, I feel qualified to report what are the big issues currently in the air: crime on the seas, cybercrime, Basque separatists, incredibly elaborate financial scams, the brilliance of hackers. Whether an author writes about Minnesota, Long Island or Wales, he has his protagonists constantly stealing identities, buying new laptops, routers, and phones, discarding them, buying more, changing hotels, donning disguises, and generally exploiting technology to stay one step ahead of the villains. Rich people are always villains.
For me, this one was satisfying as to complexity and denouement. Lots of interesting research. Lots of fun.
In the first novel, protagonist Arthur Cathcart convinced the world he was dead after he was shot in the head and his wife killed. Armed with powerful hacker skills, he makes up his mind to find out the who and why of the shooting. In the second novel, he and his new girlfriend investigate why his otherwise normal wife engaged in embezzlement of her own company and stashed millions away in Cayman Island bank accounts. In the process, they make a dangerous enemy of a brilliant cybercriminal and the FBI agents he has hoodwinked. In the last entry, they have to work it all out or live their lives running from a tightening noose.
After wallowing in a lot of new murder mysteries lately, I feel qualified to report what are the big issues currently in the air: crime on the seas, cybercrime, Basque separatists, incredibly elaborate financial scams, the brilliance of hackers. Whether an author writes about Minnesota, Long Island or Wales, he has his protagonists constantly stealing identities, buying new laptops, routers, and phones, discarding them, buying more, changing hotels, donning disguises, and generally exploiting technology to stay one step ahead of the villains. Rich people are always villains.
For me, this one was satisfying as to complexity and denouement. Lots of interesting research. Lots of fun.
Read
June 22, 2015As a measure of self-preservation, Arthur has become a talented hacker moving in and out of identities as he moves around the globe with his girlfriend, Natsumi. In his former life he was a sought after data analyst who now uses those skills to figure out who his real enemies are and how to end this nightmare life on the run.
You will enjoy this mystery more if you read the first two books in the Arthur Cathcart series, Dead Anyway and Cries of the Lost first.
- PWPLS staff
Click here to find the book at the Prince William County Public Library System.
Click here to find the audiobook at the Prince William County Public Library System.
You will enjoy this mystery more if you read the first two books in the Arthur Cathcart series, Dead Anyway and Cries of the Lost first.
- PWPLS staff
Click here to find the book at the Prince William County Public Library System.
Click here to find the audiobook at the Prince William County Public Library System.
May 30, 2015
I usually enjoy Chris Knopf a lot -- but this book was less than satisfying. Many parts were excitingly written, but other parts were confusing -- and much of the denouement was simply recounted as after-the-fact dialogue: a violation of the "show, don't tell" mantra every writer should take to heart (and Knopf usually follows.)
Looking back, I see I gave the same rating (3 stars) to the previous 2 books in this series starring Arthur Cathcart. (and they were unmemorable enough that I retained only vague memories of what happened in them.) I enjoyed Knopf's Sam Aquillo series much more. Though I expect with Arthur Cathcart he is trying to break into the "thriller" category, which the other series were not.
Looking back, I see I gave the same rating (3 stars) to the previous 2 books in this series starring Arthur Cathcart. (and they were unmemorable enough that I retained only vague memories of what happened in them.) I enjoyed Knopf's Sam Aquillo series much more. Though I expect with Arthur Cathcart he is trying to break into the "thriller" category, which the other series were not.
May 7, 2015
Great read! I really am enjoying this series. I skipped the second book in the series and went on to the third because of availability.
Arthur Cathcart is captured on his water vessel in an exotic tropical location with Natsumi and presumed dead by their capturers, however those left to kill them did not go through with it.
Arthur and Natsumi then travel the globe in search of their kidnappers.
Arthur Cathcart is captured on his water vessel in an exotic tropical location with Natsumi and presumed dead by their capturers, however those left to kill them did not go through with it.
Arthur and Natsumi then travel the globe in search of their kidnappers.
November 29, 2014
I was lucky to be a first reader on this book, I was drawn into the story from the first page and it continued to be fun and suspenseful read. Coincidentally, I live in South Florida on the water with a boat and could identify with some of the characters.
November 21, 2014
My full review can be found on my blog at:http://courtneysreads.blogspot.com/20...
I won this novel from a giveaway on goodreads and I really enjoyed it. There are only a few things that I did not enjoy about this book (and thus the 4/5 rating).
I won this novel from a giveaway on goodreads and I really enjoyed it. There are only a few things that I did not enjoy about this book (and thus the 4/5 rating).
September 20, 2015
I received this as a first read. I did not read the previous novels so it was a little difficult for me to get into this one. eventually I did get into this book. This book was an exciting read for the most part. this one has definitely made me want to read others by this author.
November 11, 2014
WoW! What a ride! The book took off full throttle & went full speed ahead right to the end! Great Book.
December 4, 2014
One of the best thrillers of the year!
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January 8, 2015
Really liked the book, only realized after that there were two previous books in the series. So, am now reading #1, hoping I will still enjoy even though I know the ending...
May 10, 2015
interesting.
Read
September 14, 2015Readable thriller. I would like to read the other books in the series.
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