Title: Dead Code (Trisha Carson #3)
Author: Glenda Carroll
Genre: Mystery
Publication Date: Oct 27, 2021
Review Date: Oct 4, 2021
Number of Pages: 272
My Rating: 4.5/5
Buy here:
A fast paced tale of cyber-crime and amateur sleuthing with an engaging and brave protagonist.
Book Blurb:
Trisha Carson blunders into a nest of cybercriminals when her landlord’s grandson disappears after a San Francisco Giants baseball game. Reaching out to help, she lands in the middle of a frightening game and discovers that she is the main prize.
*****
​Amateur sleuth Trisha Carson is being watched. By a laptop that tracks her every keystroke. By a blue-eyed athlete who guides her through an open water swim. And by Frida, her smart refrigerator. Why have they targeted her?
A determined Trisha hunts down her stalkers and stumbles on a grim plan that will echo throughout the West Coast.
*****
Who is Trisha Carson?
If you combined the intellect and the curiosity of a 40-something Jessica Fletcher (Murder She Wrote) with the drive, cunning, and bravery of Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games), you’d have a Trisha Carson.
Book Review:
I love almost all sorts of mystery fiction. Dead Code includes an amateur detective, which is a subgenre I adore. And a female detective at that. Trisha Carson is such a well-written protagonist. She’s intelligent, quick witted, brave and oh so human. Fictional protagonists in mystery and detective fiction are difficult to get right, because it’s a fine line between them being talented, or being impossibly so. Carson is intelligent but still has very human flaws like the rest of us real people. I loved that Carroll was able to toe that line beautifully.
The author’s love of and knowledge of swimming comes across as well. Trisha and her sister Lena love to swim and it’s a good part of the plot too. I had no idea there were such strong and friendly communities around swimming, and I once again learnt something new. Truly, we can learn a lot from fiction every single day.
Speaking of learning things, cybercrime is an area of fiction I have not explored very much, and it is the focal point of the mystery in this book. Cybersecurity is a very interesting field and this book has opened up this immensely fascinating subgenre to me, and I’d be very interested in exploring more of it in the future!
Overall, I loved this book! The plot is tight, interesting and fast paced. The protagonist Trisha and the rest of the cast are all interesting and strong characters; even the minor ones are very well fleshed out. I really enjoyed this book and I’d be interested in reading more of Glenda Carroll’s work in the future.
Note:
Dead Code is the third book in a series. I have not read the first two. This does not detract from the story in the slightest as there is enough of an explanation and background for the protagonist as well as the rest of the cast. I had to point this out because I am often reluctant to read books out of turn if they belong to a series. This apprehension is unfounded for this story, though. So don’t let that stop you from picking up this book!
Recommended for:
Fans of mystery, cybersecurity, cybercrime, baseball, strong female protagonists, and amateur detectives.
