Book Review: "Fatal Intrusion" by Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado

There was a time in the 1990s when I read thrillers and crime novels almost exclusively. Among the authors I read was Jeffery Deaver; I really enjoyed his Lincoln Rhyme series, but as the years passed, my interest shifted away from thrillers.

Fatal Intrusion is the start of a new series by Deaver and Isabella Maldonado. It follows Homeland Security agent Carmen Sanchez and quirky security expert and hacker Jake Heron, who tangled several years ago when she arrested him.

One day Carmen’s sister Selina is assaulted outside a coffee shop. The attack was planned; the suspect had approached her earlier in the day. Luckily, an innocent bystander broke up the attack and the suspect got away, but Selina was able to grab his cellphone.

Carmen turns to Jake to hack into the attacker’s phone to try and get information on him, since no DNA or fingerprints were identified. The only characteristic is a vivid tattoo of a black widow spider.

Carmen and Jake team up to find the Spider before he strikes again, but he always seems to get the jump on them. And the closer they get to capturing him, the more confusing the situation gets, so it’s difficult to determine who the real target is and why.

This was a compelling read, but I felt the pacing was really uneven. I learned more about spiders than I needed to, and there’s a lot of tech speak in the story as well. The concept behind the book, that those who are disillusioned can easily turn to crime via the web, is pretty creepy.

This was an Amazon First Reads selection. The book will publish 9/1.