COUNTDOWN TO DECRYPTION

A former corporate coder must call on his hacking abilities to solve the murder of a congressman’s daughter in this cyber-mystery.

In this sequel, Palter takes readers back to Silicon Valley’s Japantown, reuniting them with computer coder and loosely reformed hacker Ted Hara. Ted finds himself drawn back into the world of hacking when his lawyer girlfriend, Sumire Yamashita, tasks him with looking into the murder of her close friend Joy Miyazaki. Sumire asks Ted to find “anything suspicious”: “Bitcoin transactions. Someone stalking her. You know, stuff like that.” Joy, the daughter of a congressman, was killed in what the police dismiss as a botched home invasion. But Ted discovers an email in Joy’s inbox, read just minutes before her death, that warns of an imminent terrorist attack. The attached document containing the terrorists’ plans is inaccessible without Joy’s password. Sumire encourages Ted to bring his findings to the authorities, resulting in the hacker being accused of murdering Joy and planting evidence. Unable to decrypt the document, the FBI is at a standstill. Desperate to prove his innocence and prevent an attack, Ted comes up with a plan to crack the password. As he tries countless combinations, two of Joy’s colleagues approach Ted at her funeral, suggesting Joy’s boyfriend is involved with the terrorists. As Ted looks deeper into these claims, he unearths a conspiracy that threatens to shake the American government to its core and put his own life in jeopardy. Palter skillfully sets scenes and offers a captivating glimpse behind the curtain of a hacker’s toolbox, striking a perfect balance between detailed descriptions and a proper narrative pace. While the plot initially hovers, it eventually accelerates, keeping readers engaged. The author weaves in a bit of humor to alleviate the plot tension by giving characters nicknames based on their personalities or physical traits, such as “Bulldozer,” “Laser-Eye,” and “Combover.” Along with the genre trope of a ticking clock in the form of a bomb are moments that demand a suspension of disbelief. The story portrays a computer nerd trying to solve a terrorist plot while dealing with an inept FBI—rather than tracking Joy’s missing laptop, the bureau resorts to repeatedly accusing Ted of taking it. Still, the book remains an engaging and entertaining page-turner.

A gripping high-stakes drama infused with a dash of humor.