The Devil's Code (Kidd) - Hardcover

Sandford, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399146504 ISBN 13: 9780399146503

Publisher: Putnam Adult, 2000

Synopsis

The Army left Kidd with a dislike for bureaucracy and the skills to do something about it, but it didn't prepare him for the day a woman would call and tell him his colleague Jack Morrison was dead. Jack was supposedly killed by a jittery security guard who caught him raiding a company's files in the middle of the night, but that story just doesn't sit right with Kidd. The more he investigates the company and its ambitious owner, the more convinced he becomes that Jack stumbled onto something that got him murdered. And that unless he and LuEllen get to the bottom of it all quickly, the next bodies might very well be their own.

About this title

About the Author

John Sandford is the pseudonym of Pulitzer Prize���winning journalist John Camp. He is the author of the Prey novels, the Kidd novels, the Virgil Flowers novels, The Night Crew, and Dead Watch. He lives in New Mexico.

Reviews

Would that Sandford, creator of the marvelous and bestselling Prey thrillers, had heeded Thomas Wolfe's advice about going home again. Instead, he's resurrected a hero from his previous crime series (The Fool's Run, etc.) in his latest thriller, which begins when the infamous KiddAartist, computer expert and master criminalAis called in to investigate the mysterious death of a former colleague in Texas. Working with the victim's sister, Kidd slowly uncovers a massive computer conspiracy masterminded by St. John Corbeil, the president of a Texas microchip company, whose excesses spiral out of control when the company's product (after gaining a foothold in the world of intelligence) bombs in the commercial marketplace. At first Kidd is inclined to steer clear of the seamier side of the conspiracy, but when several members of his own high-powered criminal group are implicated and the National Security Agency begins scrutinizing his operation, he brings in his part-time partner and lover, LuEllen, to help with the investigation. Their probe turns dangerous when the corporate kingpin hires a pair of assassins to hunt down Kidd, eventually forcing him to focus on a mano-a-mano duel with Corbeil. Sandford pens plenty of stirring action scenes as Kidd's encore unfolds, and it's clear that the author likes playing with his hero's shady sensibility and the chemistry he enjoys with the versatile and erotic LuEllen. But despite his edgy and sometimes provocative narrative style, Sandford struggles to bring a sense of urgency to the narrative. Kidd's return will be welcome news for Sandford fans, but the tepid plot makes his comeback a pedestrian affair. 400,000 first printing; major ad/promo. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Jack Morrison, a computer consultant to AmMath corporation, is shot to death in Dallas. It looks like a simple break-in gone bad, but the victim's sister, Lane Ward, doesn't believe it. She contacts her brother's old associate, Kidd, who has a secret life as an information highwayman--a thief who deals in software, data, and anything else of value that moves from modem to modem. Kidd uncovers a vast electronic conspiracy that involves both AmMath and a cadre of U.S. government bureaucrats who use technology to cover up murders and to blackmail prominent citizens. Despite the resources of the opposition, Kidd, along with his renegade band of hackers and telephone wizards, brings the bad guys to their knees. Sandford, whose best-selling Prey novels feature sometimes-nasty police detective Lucas Davenport, began his career with two Kidd novels but then rested the character for nine years. His return will have particular appeal for those readers with a sense of paranoia regarding the new Web world. Kidd is a unique protagonist whose toughness is derived not from flashing fists or big guns but from superior intellect and moral certitude. It won't be nine years before the next Kidd novel. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Before the chilling Prey novels, Sandford made his mark with computer genius Kidd. Now Kidd is back, but his colleague Jack Morrison is missing, and Kidd himself is being targeted in a national manhunt.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0399146504
• ISBN 13: 9780399146503
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320