Rocketgirl's Full Review: John Sandford - The Devil's Code: A Kidd Novel
John Sandford is better known for his "prey" series, starring investigator Lucas Davenport. While I never thought that series was super fantastic, I did think it was at least worth my time. And I do like series mysteries with recurring characters. I didn't know if I could expect the same with this book, which is part of the newer Jason Kidd series, or perhaps it would be better. I find that it is the same middle of the road type of book, at least for me.
As I mentioned, this book is third in a series that features Jason Kidd. Kidd is an artist who sketches and paints. He is also a computer hacker, who has been known to do a little industrial espionage from time to time. He has his circle of buddies that do the same. Most of them have never met but communicate by a series of hidden names and passwords.
One of their number is killed at a corporate office building called AmMath. The company develops security programs for government and business. Jack was killed their by a security guard. His sister Lane Ward does not accept the official story, which is that it was basically an accident in which he was shot by a nervous guard. Her theory seems even more likely when the dead man's home is purposely set on fire. How does she know it was arson? She was in the house at the time, but manages to get away.
Her brother left her a cryptic message that if something happened to him, she was to get in touch with Kidd to solve his murder. Kidd sets things in motion to do just that. He needs the help of fellow hacker Bobby, who seems to be able to get inside anybody's database. His friend Green is hired as Ward's bodyguard. And his pal Luellen, a master thief and safecracker, helps him break into various buildings, trying to find out what it was that his friend was killed for knowing.
What I liked most about this story is that is very up-to-date, as far as current events go. Computer hacking and identity theft are very much in the news and this story exploits that. The author spells out some idea of what the bad guys did and how they did it, though not with intricate detail. So if you're not up on all the latest computer-eze, don't worry. On the negative, though, I did feel that there was missing information. I was not confused by the jargon that was there, but I was not always sure of what they were going after when they broke into a building. The information was just not there, or not explained until after they had already been there. I think at least general explanations would have been helpful to help build suspense, so the reader could judge, okay, how much time would they need to do that, and how much time will they have.
Regarding suspense, it wasn't steady throughout the book. There are some very dull spots. Describing people sitting around in a hotel room, for example, didn't do anything but fill pages. Neither did Kidd's explanation of his past with Luellen. Nor did describing a drive down the highway and all the turns they make. The last third of the book was the best because the characters are finally doing something.
One thing that I personally don't like is when the killer is known from the beginning. Not just to the reader, but to the hero too. The characters always assumed it was their AmMath bosses and they were right. The whole story is geared around proving it without getting themselves killed. I much prefer a story in which the killer is not known and it has to be puzzled out. There is a fair amount of puzzling that goes on here, as far as trying to find out what AmMath is trying to cover up, but nearly as much as if they didn't even know who AmMath was to begin with.
The story is also told partially from the criminal's point of view. Which ordinarily would have been fine, except the part that is told from Kidd's point of view is in first person. This was kind of odd, going from third person to first person, throughout the book. Fortunately it did not confuse anything, but felt weird to read nonetheless.
I did like the character of Jason Kidd though. As much as you can like a character who is also a thief. I'll give the author credit for skillful writing. Is it a person to like? Not necessarily, though it seems he does use his computer hacking for the good most of the time. Luellen is also well drawn and admirable for her toughness. However, she is a crook too. How much can I like her? She put her skills to good use in the story I guess. The other minor characters are mentioned only superficially and is acceptable in this particular story.
In summary, my main negatives for the book is its slow pacing and its known killer. The pacing almost made me give it up a couple of times. Good characterization and up to date subject matter are what kept it going. Though there were some deaths in it, they were not graphically described. And profanity was minimal. I would say it was a good book for a rainy day, but nothing that is going to keep you up at night.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.