Zero Days #RuthWare #ZeroDays

By Ruth Ware https://ruthware.com/ @RuthWareWriter

Published by Simon & Shuster https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/ @simonschusterUK

352 pages ISBN 9781398508392

Publication date 6 July 2023

I was sent an electronic copy to enable me to take part in this Blog Tour. I would like to thank Anne at Random Things Tours @RandomTTours for the invitation to participate and of course the Author and the Publisher.

The Cover

A woman on the run wearing a raincoat, a pretty good representation of what the book is about. I like the use of colour, but the title and author name are rather bold and large for my taste.

From the blurb

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband Gabe are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead.

It soon becomes clear that the police have only one suspect in mind – her.

Jack must go on the run to try and clear her name and to find her husband’s real killer. But who can she trust when everyone she knows could be a suspect? And with the police and the killer after her, can Jack get to the truth before her time runs out?

My thoughts

Wow a bold beginning, with tension starting from the first page, as we find Jack (Jacintha Cross) in an office block late at night. With echoes of Mission Impossible 2 (I think that’s right, for me they all merge into one) she is trying to affect a physical breach of the business’s computer systems. Back at base (their house) her husband Gabe who is an ethical hacker is trying to get into the systems and is her virtual eyes and ears through a mobile connection to her earpiece. She gains access but a simple mistake alerts security to her presence, requiring a hasty departure straight into the arms of law enforcement. As with the opening credits monologue from Porridge this is an ‘occupational hazard’ because she is a ‘pen’ tester. Jack and Gabe are professional penetration testers who are employed by businesses to test for breaches in their physical and cyber security. Now that we are all paying attention the story really commences and is off like a rocket.

Just as we are getting to know and like the central couple, Gabe is killed off in brutal fashion, a seemingly senseless murder. Always look to the spouse is the maxim employed by the police, so Jack comes under suspicion, routine at the beginning but things are quickly turned on their head and she thinks she is being set up. Patsies don’t prosper if the police think they have a case against them, all other leads will be ignored, to stay safe she decides to flee. Jack has no other plan than to prove her innocence.

So, we have a classic manhunt played out across the South East, except it’s a woman they are looking for an a very resourceful one at that. One who will have to turn hunter herself at some point or be forever on the run if she isn’t captured.

Jack is at the core of everything in the story so it’s a relief that she is a magnificent character. Intelligent, determined and feisty she would be the match for many, but the skills she needs for her job, physical strength, agility and resourcefulness will all prove to be vital in her escape. Ethan Hunt needs to get her on speed dial. She is not portrayed as a super woman though; she starts with no plan, and it takes time to formulate. Recognising the overall motive is slow in developing too which really adds to the intrigue of the plot. Jack also has an injury which hampers her, something the author cleverly uses to restrict her and give an impression of vulnerability. Few of us will experience what she goes through, but we do get a sense of the obstacles that would be in our way and how simple things could end up as unsurmountable.

The other characters were more supporting cameos with DS Malik the officer in dogged pursuit, who believes her guilty but is eventually won over. I’ve no idea whether there will be a follow up to Zero Days, but I felt that there could certainly be more from Jack and Malik, something I would welcome.

Security is the key to plot with an emphasis on cyber security, something I think most of us are lacking on. Passwords are a pain, but Jack relies upon people’s poor discipline. Cyber is a serious issue and one that is going to increase exponentially as the whole world comes online. This is a wonderfully entertaining novel, but it is underpinned with a serious message. I’m no IT expert but found it convincing and a little scary. I know that security services and tech firms are at loggerheads over confidentially and security. We take for granted computer and telephone access, they make the modern way of life possible, but laxity or uncontrolled use can be our downfall. Jack’s brief sojourn on the run and ‘off the grid’ highlight just how difficult it is. In comparison Richard Hannay had it easy!

Its not all doom and gloom though as whilst on the run Jack repeatedly comes across simple acts of kindness. This brings a level of humanity to the story as good Samaritans still exist, even when her photo appears in the newspapers. If we came across someone who was on the run, claiming innocence would we trust our judgement, to turn them in or help them?

The pacing isn’t so much quick as relentless as the storyline progresses with focused determination. There is regular incident and action so there is no chance of being bored, this won’t be a book you will be putting down whilst you get on with other things. The jeopardy is mainly the risk of being caught rather than outright physical danger, though Jack’s injury is worse than she realised, until it builds up to a surprising set piece and a thrilling finale, one where the predator becomes prey.

Zero Hours is an exhilarating thriller that takes the classic manhunt situation and drags it into the twenty-first century. A crime thriller of the highest order.

Zero Days can be purchased via the publisher’s website here

The author

Ruth Ware is an international number one bestseller. Her thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, The Lying Game, The Death of Mrs Westaway, The Turn of the Key and One by One have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the Sunday Times and New York Times. Her books have been optioned for both film and TV, and she is published in more than 40 languages. Ruth lives near Brighton with her family.

Don’t forget to check out the other reviews on this Blog Tour: