Zero Days
Fiction
Simon and Schuster
June 20, 2023
Hardcover
368
Purchased
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. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her.
Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer in this unputdownable and heart-pounding mystery.
My review:
Ruth Ware is an author that is hit or meh (I won't say miss because they are all a decent escapism read). Last year's novel was enjoyable but not a favorite. However this one was more on par with what I like about her books. It was very fast paced, with short chapters that keep you flying through the pages. It had a pulse pounding plot as we follow Jack getting herself out of dicey situations while she tries to find out who killed her husband. Sometimes I struggle with protagonists doing things that I feel are out of context with what they are capable of, but in this book it was believable because of Jack's strenuous training for her job. One complaint I've seen is in the amount of times Jack's injury is mentioned, and the pain she is experiencing. Having just gone through abdominal surgery, I could feel every bit of her suffering! I did figure out about halfway through who the killer was (before it was revealed), but still found it engaging to see the how and why, and how it ultimately plays out. There was one trope used at the end that felt a little too convenient to make that happy ending, but I'm willing to let it slide in this case.
I totally enjoyed this past paced cat and mouse chase with a protagonist that was believable and that I could root for. I'm not writing this author off just yet, since books like this one keep me coming back for more.
