The Devil's Code (Kidd Book 3)
Description
From Publishers Weekly If a line like "With that skirt and your ass, he never had a chance," is your cup of tea, then chances are this is your type of thriller. The observation comes from Kidd, a computer genius and professional criminal with a penchant for painting, and it is addressed to his seductive sidekick and sometime lover, LuEllen. Sandford (Easy Prey; Certain Prey; etc.) brings back the duo after a long hiatus in this tale of computers, conspiracy and carnage. One of Kidd's high-tech colleagues turns up dead after pilfering top-secret files at a Texas microchip company with government ties. Kidd is prompted by the man's sister to investigate and, after calling in LuEllen to help, soon draws the wrath of the company's demonic owner, St. John Corbeil. Muller, a veteran reader, works well with the hard-edged narrative, and his experience on a soap opera serves him well in handling the intense though predictable action scenes and cheesy overproduction. (For example, if a character's heart is beating fast, the tape is sure to follow with a staccato drumbeat.) Sandford's fans may be giddy over the return of his popular pair, but even Muller's strong performance will do little to justify their excitement. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Forecasts, Sept. 4). (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. From AudioFile For those who thought computers were only for nonviolent geeks, John Sandford's THE DEVIL'S CODE certainly dispels that notion. The thriller, a high-tech suspense novel in which superior intelligence defeats money and power, is augmented by Frank Muller's flawless narration. When Jack Morrison is shot to death in what looks like a burglary gone bad, his sister Lane and friend Kidd, have reason to believe otherwise and begin to investigate. Kidd and Lane uncover a widespread conspiracy involving Anmath, Morrison's employer, and an array of government bureaucrats. Despite being outmanned, Kidd, Lane, and their band of computer geeks and hackers eventually succeed in revealing the conspiracy and confirming that Jack's death was not as it seemed. Muller is particularly effective in distinguishing the voices and personalities of the characters, and gives each scene the drama it deserves. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. From Booklist Jack Morrison, a computer consultant to AmMath corporation, is shot to death in Dallas. It looks like a simple break-in gone bad, but the victim's sister, Lane Ward, doesn't believe it. She contacts her brother's old associate, Kidd, who has a secret life as an information highwayman--a thief who deals in software, data, and anything else of value that moves from modem to modem. Kidd uncovers a vast electronic conspiracy that involves both AmMath and a cadre of U.S. government bureaucrats who use technology to cover up murders and to blackmail prominent citizens. Despite the resources of the opposition, Kidd, along with his renegade band of hackers and telephone wizards, brings the bad guys to their knees. Sandford, whose best-selling Prey novels feature sometimes-nasty police detective Lucas Davenport, began his career with two Kidd novels but then rested the character for nine years. His return will have particular appeal for those readers with a sense of paranoia regarding the new Web world. Kidd is a unique protagonist whose toughness is derived not from flashing fists or big guns but from superior intellect and moral certitude. It won't be nine years before the next Kidd novel. Wes Lukowsky Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. From Library Journal Before the chilling Prey novels, Sandford made his mark with computer genius Kidd. Now Kidd is back, but his colleague Jack Morrison is missing, and Kidd himself is being targeted in a national manhunt. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. “Fascinating…crime fiction doesn’t have nearly enough droll master thieves like Kidd and his stunning partner in righteous crime, LuEllen.” —The Los Angeles Times “Plenty of stirring action…edgy and provocative…Kidd’s return [is] welcome news for Sandford fans.” —Publishers Weekly “Filled with great atmosphere, characters, and exceptional drama, The Devil’s Code is truly vintage Sandford.” —The Stuart News (Stuart, FL) “Sandford obviously loves Kidd, taking him to humorous and/or technological extremes.” —Fort Worth Star-Telegram “Good thrillers are usually character-driven, and The Devil’s Code is a good thriller.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune “[ The Devil’s Code ] is action-filled and good fun.” —St. Petersburg Times --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. John Sandford is the pseudonym for the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist John Camp. He is the author of twenty-nine Prey novels, four Kidd novels, eleven Virgil Flowers novels, and six other books, including three YA novels coauthored with his wife Michele Cook. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. Read more
Features & Highlights
- “Crime fiction doesn’t have nearly enough droll master thieves like Kidd and his stunning partner in righteous crime, LuEllen.”—
- Los Angeles Times
- When Kidd
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- artist, computer whiz, and professional criminal—learns of a colleague’s murder, he doesn’t buy the official story: that a jittery security guard caught the hacker raiding the files of a high-tech Texas corporation. It’s not what his friend was looking for that got him killed. It’s what he already knew. For Kidd and LuEllen, infiltrating the firm is the first move. Discovering the secrets of its devious entrepreneur is the next. But it’s more than a secret
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- it’s a conspiracy. And it’s landed Kidd and LuEllen in the cross-hairs of an unknown assassin hellbent on conning the life out of the ultimate con artists....
