A relatively new genre within thrillers is cybercrime. I recently reviewed David Ignatius’ Quantum Spy and have tackled another - Christopher Brookmyre’s The Last Hack. While Ignatius’ work is decidedly unmemorable, Brookmyre’s novel may tempt me to read more of his Jack Parlabane series.

The Last Hack is a techno whodunit that teams unassuming 19-year Sam, whose mother is in prison and is caring for her special needs younger sister, with an experienced investigative journalist, Jack Parlabane. It’s light on a lot of technical details, which is good since it’s not incredibly realistic. Not a security expert myself, even I realize many of the tactics simply don’t jive, but it’s background noise. What is engaging are the characters, the suspense, and an unknown common enemy - all of which did make for a fun read.

The Last Hack: A Jack Parlabane Thriller

By Christopher Brookmyre

Relayed from two perspectives of Sam and Jack, they first collide, then join to form a protective front. Sam is a “supervillain” in the underground hacking world. However, in the real world Sam is a fearful, easily intimidated teenage girl who has to drop out of university to get a job to support her little sister. She’s an ace hacker in the dark web, breaking into corporate sites to expose the hypocrites and greedy. No one knows her true identity until one day she is found out and threatened to be exposed unless she fulfills a dangerous request. Because her little sister is all she has, she is forced to play this perilous game, but she enlists some help.

Jack on the other hand has had a dodgy career. He’s known to successfully get to the bottom of the toughest stories, but gets himself and his publishers in trouble while doing so. After going off the grid for a while, he’s straightened himself out, some of the skepticism about him has died down, and he’s just started working with a hot new online journal. Just when he thought he was on the safe path, a previous underground source surfaces and traps him back into criminal behavior - he’s back to living on the edge. This is where Jack and Sam intersect.

Sam’s primal need to care for her sister drives some bold moves, and Jack has desperate, conflicting desires to keep his name clean and chase the juicy story. Brookmyre does a great job of creating tension building up to the moment Jack and Sam feel they are ready to act on their plan, only to find it all falls apart. It is nail-biting and fun, and I stayed awake far later than was wise, but it was well worth the lost sleep.

Published: 2017
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press

Vickie’s rating: 3 1/2 stars

David Ignatius is quite an accomplished journalist and novelist. He focuses on spy thrillers, of which I’ve read two now - The Director about a newly appointed CIA Director in a time of crisis; and his latest, The Quantum Spy, also about the CIA, this time focusing on a technology race between China and the United States. Ignatius knows where to find his material - as a 30 year veteran of The Washington Post, he covers politics and is well respected in the community, providing him access to some credible advisors.

The Quantum Spy focuses on the Central Intelligence Agency’s Deputy Director John Vandel and agent Harrison Chang. They want to protect U.S. scientific development of one of the most important technology advances in history - quantum computing, which can process data millions of times more quickly than existing computing capabilities - and thwart efforts of the Chinese spy agencies to intercept any growth in the technology’s progress.

Quantum computing and its development is real, so the subject is certainly intriguing. Ignatius just scratches the surface of what it is and what the potential could mean to both the private and public sectors, and that’s just enough for this novel. It’s a race for sure and its implications astounding. Governments around the world are striving for the early advantage.

The Quantum Spy: A Thriller

By David Ignatius

Harrison Chang is chosen by Vandel for this particular mission for two reasons: Chang is a former Army Ranger who saved Vandel’s life in Iraq, and he’s American of Chinese descent. Chang is quite proud of his very American accomplishments - high school football star, West Point graduate, Army veteran, and now a CIA agent - it’s the American dream. And he seems to be quite good at working over his targets; getting them to cave under pressure and give up valuable information. In doing so, he uncovers a “rukou” - a Chinese doorway into the heart of U.S. intelligence. In other words, there is a mole feeding the Chinese with information about highly classified quantum computing programs that have gone “dark” and are operating under one of the U.S. three letter agencies.

Vandel assembles a small team working covertly even within the CIA. Their mission is to not only ferret out the mole, but to wreck havoc within the Chinese intelligence community. He sends Chang as his frontman to stir the pot - and it works. Chang darts across the country from Langley to San Francisco, to Vancouver and Mexico City. Meanwhile, the Chinese Minister of State Security has his own problems - the Ministry is falling apart due to corruption, the People’s Liberation Army Generals have competing interests, and he has to protect his most important asset and trump card, the “rukou”.

It’s a fun ride and an easy read. Like many journalists turned novelist though, Ignatius writes like a reporter. Clearly successful, it works for him. It’s a great subject though written for someone looking for lightweight fiction. My biggest issue was once again his treatment of a leading female character. Denise Ford is portrayed as a smart, smooth, and clever operative, though she makes some ridiculous mistakes. Ignatius did this in The Director as well. I just can’t reconcile the set up of these characters as strong and dominating, yet actions and dialogue so foolish. To be fair, the dialogue overall was not too imaginative.

If you like quick spy stories, this is a good one. Look elsewhere for literary mastery.

Published: 2017
Publisher: W. W. Norton

Vickie’s rating: 3 stars