The Hacker by Daniel Scanlan

 

The Hacker by Daniel Scanlan.

Published 1st September 2022 by Aries.

From the cover of the book:

He's online. He's anonymous. He's deadly.

When a video surfaces on the Dark Web showing a murder no one else could have witnessed, FBI Special Agent Ericka Blackwood starts tracking down the killer. But the case is even darker than Ericka thought. 

Hidden behind an avatar named Dantalion, a criminal mastermind is feeding his sadistic appetites by directing the crimes of others – and he may have been orchestrating his twisted schemes for years.

As Ericka homes in on her target, the tables are suddenly turned. Dantalion has information that will help Ericka fulfil a deeply personal quest for revenge... but only if she risks her career, her life, and the fate of Dantalion's future victims. Does vengeance come at too high a price?

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FBI Special Agent Erica Blackwood is an expert in cyber crime and tracking down the criminals who operate in the sinister underbelly of the Dark Web. It is a job that comes with a price, and the sins she has uncovered have taken their toll on her mental state. When a video surfaces showing footage of one of the crimes that affected her the most, the torture and murder of a young girl, Erica is dragged back to the case that got her confined to desk duties. She cannot rest until she discovers who is behind the release of this footage.

As Erica immerses herself in her task, she discovers the existence of a hacker who calls himself Dantalion. This person has incredible skills, which he is using to direct the depraved to commit crimes for his own sadistic pleasure. As she gradually gets closer to finding out the identity of this evil mastermind, she finds herself becoming the target of his twisted games. Dantalion offers Erica the chance to find out information about the one thing that consumes her - the identity and location of the men responsible for her own sisters death. Will Erica risk her career for the chance of the vengeance she longs for?

The Hacker is a complex crime story about the horrors that lie deep within the pitch black morass of the Dark Web, and what they mean for us in the real world. If you thought you had an idea of the kinds of acts users of the Dark Web indulge in, then this book will make you think again, because Scanlan takes you into the horrifying heart of nightmare country by speculating about what might happen if there was a highly talented and profoundly damaged criminal mastermind, who knew exactly how to target people's weaknesses to direct operations from a virtual throne.

The story is dark and disturbing, and almost entirely within the realms of possibility, which makes it absolutely chilling. Perhaps the most discomfiting thing is how Scanlan makes you think about the difficulties involved in discovering the identities of wrongdoers in the virtual world, when they act in ways they would never do in real life. The characters are for the most part broken by the things that have shaped them, on both sides of the law, and the ghosts that haunt Erica make her a really interesting protagonist as it is easy to see how she might be tempted to wander from the moral path for her own ends: the will-she-won't-she element is deliciously compelling, as you are never quite sure whether she will choose between her job and her need for revenge. 

Scanlan's background as a lawyer in cybercrime and digital evidence gathering comes through well in this novel as he takes you through all the processes and advanced technology required to go under the surface into the murky virtual world of criminal behaviour. It is completely fascinating, and builds up a detailed picture of how difficult it is to navigate the Dark Web, although at times this does slow down the pace of the story a little. Having said that, there are some exciting 'field work' episodes and real world moments of danger to get your heart racing. Scanlan certainly does know how to write a darned good action scene, so I would have liked to see him have more fun with this side of things, putting you 'in' the drama a bit more rather than looking on.

The plot twists and turns nicely, and the threads come together at the end in a cleverly conceived way that offers a glimpse of an exciting sequel, so I am very pleased to read in the Author's Note that Scanlan will indeed be revisiting this story. This is a highly enjoyable and impressive debut, that tells of a writer at the beginning of a shining career. I look forward to reading book two very much!

The Hacker is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Aries for sending me a hardcover copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Daniel Scanlan is a lawyer who has practiced extensively in the areas of cybercrime, digital evidence, wiretap, smuggling, and money laundering. He wrote the non-fiction Digital Evidence in Criminal Law and was a contributing author to The Lawyer's Guide to the Forensic Sciences, winner of the Walter Owen Book Prize. He lives on Vancouver Island and enjoys ocean kayaking and hiking. When not outdoors, he is reading and will read almost anything, except books about lawyers. The Hacker is his first novel.