Grid Zero

Plunged into a prolonged blackout by back-to-back hurricanes, America's East Coast suffers sweltering heat, lack of food, and the beginnings of civil unrest. As Empire Energy struggles to repair its storm-damaged grid, it discovers a bigger problem: sophisticated malware has been ravaging its internal control network for weeks.

As power returns, the human toll of the outage becomes clear. Thousands of elderly and chronically ill citizens have succumbed to the heat. While the public rejoices at the return of air conditioning, fresh food and cell service, Empire Energy and federal investigators become increasingly worried. The elusive malware taking over Empire's internal networks doesn't behave like any they've seen before. Who put it there? And why?

Working independently, a persistent federal investigator and a lone hacker piece together the outlines of a plot whose effects will be far more destructive than the storms. The public is in no condition to endure another disaster, but the plot's trigger is imminent. Can two sharp minds working on opposite sides of the law unite in time to avert a catastrophe?

Andrew Diamond writes mystery, crime, noir, and an occasional comedy. His books feature cinematic prose, strong characterization, twisting plots, and dark humor. Amazon editors named Impala a best of the month mystery, and IndieReader named it to their best of 2016 list. Impala also won the Readers' Favorite Gold Medal for mystery and the 24th Annual Writer's Digest award for genre fiction.Gate 76 was named named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2018, while BestThrillers.com selected both Gate 76 (2018) and To Hell with Johnny Manic (2019) to their best of the year lists. The Sellout (2024) won the IndieReader Discovery Award for humor.