Dead Code: A novel

by Peter Varhol

Who killed Gil Blankenship? And why is a tiny computer software company worth billions of dollars to someone?

Those were the last questions on the mind of Jack Pryor, a failed physics professor who finally obtains employment as an assistant computer administrator at Standard Software. The murder occurred before he arrived, and he had no idea that the company’s founder wanted to sell out.

But soon he finds himself immersed in both, being prodded by a police detective to provide information he doesn’t have, and urged to help fix a software product vital to the company’s future. And when his manager Jason Singletary is murdered, the police arrest him, convinced that he played a role. Quickly released, he pursues the truth with a vengeance, ultimately discovering what made the company so valuable, and who was willing to kill to obtain it.

But when longtime company employee and personal friend Alicia Zimmerman is taken hostage, Jack discovers where she is being held, and brazenly offers himself and the company secrets in exchange for her safety. But will his strategy work?

371 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 17, 2014