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Brody Taylor Thrillers #1
Social Engineer
Whose side is he on? The drug company curing dementia or the animal rights activists protesting outside?
Brody Taylor loves hacking humans. After all, people are the weakest link in all computer systems. If he's hired to break into your network, he will find and exploit the weak point. You.
The problem with always manipulating people is that even those closest to you don't trust you.
And Brody's just fallen in love with Melanie, a zany, beautiful French animal rights activist. But she's in love with the character he's trapped himself in, not the real Brody, social engineer and computer hacker. Can Brody social engineer his way to the truth and save his relationship with Melanie?
A novella that introduces Brody Taylor in a thrilling standalone adventure. At 60 pages, SOCIAL ENGINEER can be read in under two hours!
Brody Taylor loves hacking humans. After all, people are the weakest link in all computer systems. If he's hired to break into your network, he will find and exploit the weak point. You.
The problem with always manipulating people is that even those closest to you don't trust you.
And Brody's just fallen in love with Melanie, a zany, beautiful French animal rights activist. But she's in love with the character he's trapped himself in, not the real Brody, social engineer and computer hacker. Can Brody social engineer his way to the truth and save his relationship with Melanie?
A novella that introduces Brody Taylor in a thrilling standalone adventure. At 60 pages, SOCIAL ENGINEER can be read in under two hours!
88 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2014
68 people are currently reading
776 people want to read
About the author
Ian Sutherland
5 books237 followersIan Sutherland is a crime thriller author. Leveraging his career in the IT industry, Ian's stories underscore the threats we face from cybercrime as it becomes all too prevalent in our day-to-day lives.
Learn more about Ian at www.ianhsutherland.com.
Learn more about Ian at www.ianhsutherland.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
February 7, 2017
If you are from the era before social media and the WWW you may become a little less trusting and a little more paranoid after reading this novella.
Brody Taylor plays on people’s willingness to help and their belief that most people are honest and sincere to get the information he needs to infiltrate a company. It’s a sad and dangerous world we now inhabit.
Cleverly plotted and all very plausible, Brody Taylor is a white hat hacker and goes through step by step how he hacked into a company’s computer system.
Social Engineer is number one in the Brody Taylor series and as a novella is a tantalising taste of what to expect in the rest of the series.
And it’s not all geeky IT talk; with a touch of romance added it’s perfect for the novice technology user.
Brody Taylor plays on people’s willingness to help and their belief that most people are honest and sincere to get the information he needs to infiltrate a company. It’s a sad and dangerous world we now inhabit.
Cleverly plotted and all very plausible, Brody Taylor is a white hat hacker and goes through step by step how he hacked into a company’s computer system.
Social Engineer is number one in the Brody Taylor series and as a novella is a tantalising taste of what to expect in the rest of the series.
And it’s not all geeky IT talk; with a touch of romance added it’s perfect for the novice technology user.
November 1, 2017
*** Note: I received review copy of this book from author, in exchange for an honest review. ***
Social Engineer, novella of Brody Taylor Thrillers series, is the introduction of main character of the series Brody Taylor and his work. What he does for living, how he carry out his work and justification of his job why it is white hat not black hat with thrilling clever plot and love story. Blurb itself tells what’s in the story.
Brody, shrewd intelligent social engineer and pentester earned by manipulating people. In simple terms white hat hacker. He lived dangerous life more around hacking and social networking world than real people. He was flawed character, interesting and very much manipulating outside his work area as well. He was first desperate to date someone and once he met his love, Mel, he was desperate to save the relationship. I liked his attempts of rectifying his lies. One thing was very good about him, he never lied to himself and he knew the consequences of his action and lies.
Mel– Brody met on dating site. She was nurse and animal rights campaigner. Honestly she was just okay in the beginning but in the later part I liked her and I respected her decision at the end. I liked how her character played major role in Brody’s life also a first step to this series.
Other characters at HTL, (Pharma company on which he carried out pen test), were written creatively different from each other and their position and nature was depicted very well in just few words.
All Chapters were divided in present- the pen test presentation on HTL by Brody which was on how he carried out pen test. And in past, that is few weeks back before accepting pen test work on HTL which was about the personal life of Brody, how he first met Mel and what happened from there on. All this past and present connects at climax.
I loved how this story started. How head of R&D at HTL, hired Brody to carry out pen test after receiving call regarding attack by hackers to the project he was working on. The explanation of whole project and company’s position was nice and set a good impression in the book, I knew I’m in for one of the brilliant book. I was instantly hooked to it and the next came justification of title and work of Brody. Just perfect. I honestly didn’t know this much details on cyber securities and penetration testing. I was feeling like I know nothing. This was very amazing and jaw dropping.
I was reading that whole pen test scenes with wide eyed and open mouth. The way he pointed out the hole in the company’s security and staff, how they helped in breaking through the system and psychology behind their act was brilliant. That was very shocking how easily a person can get all the information from social network and by manipulation and how people can’t even see that coming. How exposed this world is through these sites.
I was very impressed with Brody’s ways. This dude was so intelligent in the book. I didn’t guess he could be most wanted among bad hackers, his online identity as a hacker was mind blowing and I liked the precautions he took for himself, his family or persons closer to him. I totally understood the reason he lied to Mel.
Book also showed the view on animal rights. Both from animal rights activist and from Brody’s which was in Pharma Company’s favor in the beginning and yet he was neutral person who didn’t care until certain point. I liked reading both the aspect author showed regarding this topic.
The twist in the book was shocking. I didn’t see it coming. This was the point where all the thoughts I had about characters was switched to 90 degree. The end of the book was perfect. I liked how things ended up. I would love to read more of Brody Taylor’s thrilling world.
One thing I learned from this book is never share anything personal or work related things on social media. I can’t imagine how dangerous that can be.
Overall, this was brilliant, perfectly written book with all the required details in just few pages. It was quite quick read with unique story. I recommend this to all.
Social Engineer, novella of Brody Taylor Thrillers series, is the introduction of main character of the series Brody Taylor and his work. What he does for living, how he carry out his work and justification of his job why it is white hat not black hat with thrilling clever plot and love story. Blurb itself tells what’s in the story.
Brody, shrewd intelligent social engineer and pentester earned by manipulating people. In simple terms white hat hacker. He lived dangerous life more around hacking and social networking world than real people. He was flawed character, interesting and very much manipulating outside his work area as well. He was first desperate to date someone and once he met his love, Mel, he was desperate to save the relationship. I liked his attempts of rectifying his lies. One thing was very good about him, he never lied to himself and he knew the consequences of his action and lies.
Mel– Brody met on dating site. She was nurse and animal rights campaigner. Honestly she was just okay in the beginning but in the later part I liked her and I respected her decision at the end. I liked how her character played major role in Brody’s life also a first step to this series.
Other characters at HTL, (Pharma company on which he carried out pen test), were written creatively different from each other and their position and nature was depicted very well in just few words.
All Chapters were divided in present- the pen test presentation on HTL by Brody which was on how he carried out pen test. And in past, that is few weeks back before accepting pen test work on HTL which was about the personal life of Brody, how he first met Mel and what happened from there on. All this past and present connects at climax.
I loved how this story started. How head of R&D at HTL, hired Brody to carry out pen test after receiving call regarding attack by hackers to the project he was working on. The explanation of whole project and company’s position was nice and set a good impression in the book, I knew I’m in for one of the brilliant book. I was instantly hooked to it and the next came justification of title and work of Brody. Just perfect. I honestly didn’t know this much details on cyber securities and penetration testing. I was feeling like I know nothing. This was very amazing and jaw dropping.
I was reading that whole pen test scenes with wide eyed and open mouth. The way he pointed out the hole in the company’s security and staff, how they helped in breaking through the system and psychology behind their act was brilliant. That was very shocking how easily a person can get all the information from social network and by manipulation and how people can’t even see that coming. How exposed this world is through these sites.
I was very impressed with Brody’s ways. This dude was so intelligent in the book. I didn’t guess he could be most wanted among bad hackers, his online identity as a hacker was mind blowing and I liked the precautions he took for himself, his family or persons closer to him. I totally understood the reason he lied to Mel.
Book also showed the view on animal rights. Both from animal rights activist and from Brody’s which was in Pharma Company’s favor in the beginning and yet he was neutral person who didn’t care until certain point. I liked reading both the aspect author showed regarding this topic.
The twist in the book was shocking. I didn’t see it coming. This was the point where all the thoughts I had about characters was switched to 90 degree. The end of the book was perfect. I liked how things ended up. I would love to read more of Brody Taylor’s thrilling world.
One thing I learned from this book is never share anything personal or work related things on social media. I can’t imagine how dangerous that can be.
Overall, this was brilliant, perfectly written book with all the required details in just few pages. It was quite quick read with unique story. I recommend this to all.
December 18, 2025
Wow, I didn't know what to expect but I didn't expect much. This blew me out of the water and had a twist I didn't see coming! My only gripe is the ending.... felt rushed and kind of disappointing. I know this is a short story, but the other parts were able to be more in depth... so when I got to the ending I expected more and didn't get it.
March 13, 2019
Mistook this 86 page "story" for the first complete novel in the series. This reminded me of a trial effort by Ian Sutherland to try his hand at writing and see where it would lead. Glad he decided to, or was encouraged enough to, take on a full length novel.
Totally unnecessary to read this one to get the history and background needed; but, I'm still appreciate it.
Totally unnecessary to read this one to get the history and background needed; but, I'm still appreciate it.
March 6, 2021
Living the life full of lies seems impossible to correct when truth needs to be revealed, prompted by the honesty of the heart in love. Brody Taylor, a white hat hacker, manipulated people until one day he manipulated himself by falling in love. Exciting novella that might not leave you indifferent to your security.
November 7, 2016
Social Engineer is a novella, not a full-length book, but it’s long enough to get your teeth into. It’s the story of Brody Taylor, a so-called “white hat” hacker, who works as a consultant checking security systems for companies. Brody runs a check on HTL, a drug company that is getting close to a cure for Alzheimer’s – something many people would love to steal. Brody does his stuff and finds the company a lot more vulnerable than it thinks – but not always in the ways it would have expected.
The presentation Brody makes at the end of the contract is used as a peg on which to hang the story – a plot device that works very well. The way Brody has hacked his way into the company is fascinating, and you don’t need any special IT knowledge to enjoy it. Moreover author Ian Sutherland leaves you wondering, at the end, what Brody’s real purpose was at HTL. Just whose side is he on?
I am always irritated when a book leaves something hanging to get you to read the next in the series. (The e-book of Social Engineer is currently a free download for Kindle, presumably for that reason.) Still, I liked this novella, and would certainly read more by Sutherland. He’s a good plotsmith, and knows his stuff – according to his website, he has worked many years in IT. He’s also got the style right for a thriller, straightforward without being too terse. The first full-length Brody Taylor book is out now, and if it comes up to the same standard, it could be well worth the read.
The presentation Brody makes at the end of the contract is used as a peg on which to hang the story – a plot device that works very well. The way Brody has hacked his way into the company is fascinating, and you don’t need any special IT knowledge to enjoy it. Moreover author Ian Sutherland leaves you wondering, at the end, what Brody’s real purpose was at HTL. Just whose side is he on?
I am always irritated when a book leaves something hanging to get you to read the next in the series. (The e-book of Social Engineer is currently a free download for Kindle, presumably for that reason.) Still, I liked this novella, and would certainly read more by Sutherland. He’s a good plotsmith, and knows his stuff – according to his website, he has worked many years in IT. He’s also got the style right for a thriller, straightforward without being too terse. The first full-length Brody Taylor book is out now, and if it comes up to the same standard, it could be well worth the read.
February 19, 2015
If I was flicking through a list of books to pay for and download I probably wouldn’t have chosen this book, but because I had been offered a free copy I read it and I am so glad I did, it was a really good story, had me hooked right from the beginning. The story is about Brody Taylor, a social engineer – or white hacker – a specialist in his field, employed by companies to check whether their systems are safe from ‘black’ hackers. Brody points out all the ways in which hackers can infiltrate the company’s computer systems, and then shows them how to make improvements and safeguard their information. The latest company employing his expertise is researching an Alzheimer’s prevention drug. It is about two years from being released and the company are using monkeys in their research. At the same time, Brody meets Mel, an animal rights activist, who he falls in love with. It is cleverly put together and I thought the way animal cruelty was suggested, without going into graphic detail was good. Too much detail would have put me off the book straight away.
Social Engineer is a prequel to ‘Invasion of Privacy’ – a full-sized novel, which I have already bought. I think Ian Sutherland has hit on a winning formula with Brody Taylor. I wish him every success.
Social Engineer is a prequel to ‘Invasion of Privacy’ – a full-sized novel, which I have already bought. I think Ian Sutherland has hit on a winning formula with Brody Taylor. I wish him every success.
June 16, 2015
Entertaining and well-written.
June 7, 2015
This is a very short piece, so establishing the character of Brody and expounding on his line of work as well as his love life in so few pages, while keeping everything interesting enough to pique readers' interest and prompt them to give the books in the series a read was no small task; however, Ian Sutherland did quite well in accomplishing all of those goals.
Brody is an intriguing character: he's remarkably clever, though he and the truth are not always well-acquainted, and he tends to not consider the consequences of his actions and lies until it's (possibly) too late. He's a good guy, albeit a bit misguided at times, and reading about his adventures makes for an entertaining way to pass the time.
Reading about the differences in hackers - from the "white hats" like Brody, who use their skills in constructive ways, to the "black hats" who are bent on causing mayhem and destruction - was quite interesting. Further, the ins and outs of "penetration testing" and how Brody is able to manipulate both people and computer systems was utterly fascinating.
The events in the story jump from the present day to how Brody met Mel, his love interest, about 2 months prior to that, then those events catch up to the present. How all of that ties together may not be entirely unpredictable, but it always held my interest.
The other characters were little more than placeholders (while those involved with the company for which Brody did the pentesting toe the line between characters and caricatures), but I suspect that Mel (amongst one or two others) is probably much more fleshed out as the series progresses.
All thing being equal, the story was very brief, but I think it did its job: Brody was set up as an interesting, entertaining, and likable character, while his skills and cleverness were fascinating, and will undoubtedly lend themselves to cleverly crafted exploits and adventures in the actual books in this series.
The most important question that one can ask after reading a prequel novella is if it was engaging enough to prompt the reader to give the series a try, and in this case, the answer is a resounding "yes."
Brody is an intriguing character: he's remarkably clever, though he and the truth are not always well-acquainted, and he tends to not consider the consequences of his actions and lies until it's (possibly) too late. He's a good guy, albeit a bit misguided at times, and reading about his adventures makes for an entertaining way to pass the time.
Reading about the differences in hackers - from the "white hats" like Brody, who use their skills in constructive ways, to the "black hats" who are bent on causing mayhem and destruction - was quite interesting. Further, the ins and outs of "penetration testing" and how Brody is able to manipulate both people and computer systems was utterly fascinating.
The events in the story jump from the present day to how Brody met Mel, his love interest, about 2 months prior to that, then those events catch up to the present. How all of that ties together may not be entirely unpredictable, but it always held my interest.
The other characters were little more than placeholders (while those involved with the company for which Brody did the pentesting toe the line between characters and caricatures), but I suspect that Mel (amongst one or two others) is probably much more fleshed out as the series progresses.
All thing being equal, the story was very brief, but I think it did its job: Brody was set up as an interesting, entertaining, and likable character, while his skills and cleverness were fascinating, and will undoubtedly lend themselves to cleverly crafted exploits and adventures in the actual books in this series.
The most important question that one can ask after reading a prequel novella is if it was engaging enough to prompt the reader to give the series a try, and in this case, the answer is a resounding "yes."
July 4, 2017
Social Engineer By Ian Sutherland
⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟
Completely new type of book about a man who is Social Engineer. He checks computer systems for weaknesses that would allow hackers in. He goes beyond weakness through a computer keyboard. He looks for weaknesses within the companies staff. He pushed his way into a job that he thought would help
him win over a girl. He is self employed and finds his own jobs through his own channels for lack of a better word. Good guy or bad guy. Maybe somewhere in between. Brody Taylor, the Social Engineer, takes the term life is what you make or to a new level. Looking forward to more books that will hopefully follow.
I voluntarily wrote this review. It reflects my own opinions. I would like to thank Ian Sutherland for this completely copy and introducing me to a new amazing series.
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September 20, 2019
I'm falling behind on my work because I can't put this book down. Is it wrong that I want to become a hacker? Okay, since I'm not very tech savvy, maybe I'll just go change my passwords and keep reading...almost finished...don't post any spoilers guys!
Finished! Whoo! Ian Sutherland's Social Engineer is a page-turner! He's created a modern spy who is marvelously complex, I was cheering for him even with his flaws and was hoping his love interest could forgive. I'm haunted by that USB stick and what he captured.
Finished! Whoo! Ian Sutherland's Social Engineer is a page-turner! He's created a modern spy who is marvelously complex, I was cheering for him even with his flaws and was hoping his love interest could forgive. I'm haunted by that USB stick and what he captured.
January 2, 2019
Social Engineer
What a great start to a new series. The action starts from page one and continues to the end making the reader want more.
It was a short read but packed a punch! The world of hacking is a mystery to me, but I could follow this story no problem and it was filled with mystery and intrigue.
Take a chance and grab a copy!
What a great start to a new series. The action starts from page one and continues to the end making the reader want more.
It was a short read but packed a punch! The world of hacking is a mystery to me, but I could follow this story no problem and it was filled with mystery and intrigue.
Take a chance and grab a copy!
June 20, 2018
I will do a full review - this is a novella - I really, really liked Brody but the ending was...well..not as good as I had hoped. This is a prequel to the books series which now I really want to read.
=)
=)
September 26, 2017
A fantastic read from start to finish. Solid and well designed protagonist and a well researched plot. A real five star tale. Honestly can't wait to get stuck into the second and third books. A character and theme which holds so much potential. Certainly looking forward to more in the future.
June 25, 2017
Estoy impresionada. Siendo parte del area de tecnología este libro me atrapó totalmente.
Es increíble la forma en que el autor te describe los términos informáticos, y es que además la temática es tan real, suceda tanto en nuestro día a día que puede que ya nos la hayan aplicado sin darnos cuenta.
Además el final es genial, me sorprendió un poco sobre todo porque te enseña lo capaces que somos de hacer hasta lo imposible por alguien, sin pensar si esa persona haría lo mismo por nosotros. En fin, super recomendado sobre todo si son del area de TI.
Es increíble la forma en que el autor te describe los términos informáticos, y es que además la temática es tan real, suceda tanto en nuestro día a día que puede que ya nos la hayan aplicado sin darnos cuenta.
Además el final es genial, me sorprendió un poco sobre todo porque te enseña lo capaces que somos de hacer hasta lo imposible por alguien, sin pensar si esa persona haría lo mismo por nosotros. En fin, super recomendado sobre todo si son del area de TI.
December 15, 2016
This book has a lot going for it: secret agent vibe, engaging plotting style, and the feeling of a learner’s guide for real-world hacking infiltration.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend it without some major caveats.
I’m a fan of "Mission Impossible". The *old*, television "Mission Impossible" – the first few seasons where Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) or Dan Briggs (Steven Hill) headed up the team, and brilliant planning, synchronized timing, and exceptional team-work were more important than gadgets and explosions.
"Social Engineer" has that vibe. It introduces Brody Taylor, a white-hat “hacker” who specializes in running “penetration tests” – basically a simulation of a hacking attack to evaluate a company or group’s defenses and advise the leadership how to improve their precautions.
The technical aspects are well described for anyone who doesn’t have a computer technician for a father, though some of the tension over “black hat”/”white hat” hacking was unclear in the beginning. As a simplistic explanation: “black hat” hackers steal credit card numbers, personal information, and national secrets, etc. — “white hats” are paid by companies to help improve their own security, to help stop “black hats,” etc.
The narrative is a little untraditional, alternating chapters between the present and the recent past to explain motivations and reveal further details of events. This is handled well, and I thought it was overall well-paced.
Brody also has an “everyman” flavor. While inexplicably self-conscious of his profession, Brody gives the idea that anyone with good acting and basic tech skills can hack. His operations also emphasize what my dad has taught me: the weak link in cyber security is people (ex: a security feature that the end users won’t use doesn’t protect anyone).
I also liked Brody’s use of psychology to gain people’s trust and perform his work. Referencing Mission Impossible again, his business is pulling off bluffs and playing roles – not something dependent on expensive gadgets or super fight moves. It made the book an accessible, down-to-earth take on the “spy” business.
Now, I have to mention my cautions. These come in two categories.
First, language. This is a more minor issue for me, both because there’s not much of it and because I can gloss over a certain about of inappropriate words. It’s nothing more than you might encounter in a store or the break-room, but it stood out to me partly because my circle doesn’t talk that way, and also because the lion’s share of the “bad words” were uttered in an upper-tier corporate setting. I recognize that high corporate officials are as human as the rest of us, and some characters are more foul under stress than others, but the unprofessional language made me pause and consider it. As I said, there’s not much (certainly not one every page) but I mention it in the spirit of full disclosure.
Secondly, sex. This comes in two branches. A minor side-character is engaged in a homosexual relationship. This character – and the relationship – have no plot significance, which implies the author included it either 1) for the purposes of virtue-signalling (for inclusivity’s sake), or 2) because he personally knows people engaged in this behavior and was trying for verisimilitude. The narrative seems inconclusive which it is. Again, in the spirit of full disclosure, this aspect of the book is not important to the plot, nor (I thought) to the development of the main characters.
Finally, this is my biggest issue, and presents a genuine barrier to this interesting story. The main character has a girlfriend, and there is one brief scene of them, er, “intimate.” The scene is “explicit” rather than “graphic,” if that makes sense, but it definitely was not necessary and reduces the number of people I can recommend the book to. It was all the more disappointing since the author had proven in other passages that he could communicate just as much through subtlety and implication, making this spelled-out scene superfluous – and only tangentially useful for building up the characters and advancing the plot.
(Going back to Mission Impossible once more — Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain) kept her clothes on, people. Sure, some of the episodes had implications to the roof, but they abided by television regulations.)
I acknowledge that for some audiences this content is necessary in a self-proclaimed “thriller,” but for me (and those like me) it really detracted from the experience.
Sadly, the ending is…sad. It felt like it could be just the end of the first act, but it’s actually the conclusion to a baffling conflict.
The tag-line for Social Engineer is: “Whose side is he on?” Whose side is Brody on? At the beginning, we see one reasonable, laudable answer: his employer, and his profession. By the end, the plot-twists and engrossing revelations have muddied the waters.
The conflict really stems from this mysterious fear Brody has that he’ll be discriminated against for being a hacker, although I don’t consider “network security consultants” any different from regular security guards. The book tries to explain the role/cover Brody adopts in real life by hinting at international, “dark web” intrigue, but again, if Brody is fighting Russian “black hats” in his spare time, that makes him more like a Barney Collier (Greg Morris) than a credit card thief.
As two of Dorothy Sayers’ characters said:
“Why does he tell all those unnecessary lies?”
“But if he doesn’t, where’s my plot?”*
The plot concludes, but it’s telling about the author’s worldview that he chooses this depressing place to leave the characters, making them both come across as rather petty (especially since they’ve been jumping into bed without much formal prelude).
Social Engineer was an interesting read, illustrating what my computer-technician father had already taught me: The weak link of any digital security system is the human beings involved. If it weren’t for the serious worldview issues related above, I would willingly recommend this book to everyone. As it is, you could still enjoy this story, but don’t walk blindly into the issues I outlined above.
I’m sad that I don’t have the confidence of a shared worldview that the author won’t go someplace I can’t follow.
–––––
* Lord Peter Wimsey and novelist Harriet Vane, in "Gaudy Night".
Disclaimer: I received a free ebook copy of "Social Engineer" by joining the author’s mailing list. I was not required to write a review. Views expressed are totally my own.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend it without some major caveats.
I’m a fan of "Mission Impossible". The *old*, television "Mission Impossible" – the first few seasons where Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) or Dan Briggs (Steven Hill) headed up the team, and brilliant planning, synchronized timing, and exceptional team-work were more important than gadgets and explosions.
"Social Engineer" has that vibe. It introduces Brody Taylor, a white-hat “hacker” who specializes in running “penetration tests” – basically a simulation of a hacking attack to evaluate a company or group’s defenses and advise the leadership how to improve their precautions.
The technical aspects are well described for anyone who doesn’t have a computer technician for a father, though some of the tension over “black hat”/”white hat” hacking was unclear in the beginning. As a simplistic explanation: “black hat” hackers steal credit card numbers, personal information, and national secrets, etc. — “white hats” are paid by companies to help improve their own security, to help stop “black hats,” etc.
The narrative is a little untraditional, alternating chapters between the present and the recent past to explain motivations and reveal further details of events. This is handled well, and I thought it was overall well-paced.
Brody also has an “everyman” flavor. While inexplicably self-conscious of his profession, Brody gives the idea that anyone with good acting and basic tech skills can hack. His operations also emphasize what my dad has taught me: the weak link in cyber security is people (ex: a security feature that the end users won’t use doesn’t protect anyone).
I also liked Brody’s use of psychology to gain people’s trust and perform his work. Referencing Mission Impossible again, his business is pulling off bluffs and playing roles – not something dependent on expensive gadgets or super fight moves. It made the book an accessible, down-to-earth take on the “spy” business.
Now, I have to mention my cautions. These come in two categories.
First, language. This is a more minor issue for me, both because there’s not much of it and because I can gloss over a certain about of inappropriate words. It’s nothing more than you might encounter in a store or the break-room, but it stood out to me partly because my circle doesn’t talk that way, and also because the lion’s share of the “bad words” were uttered in an upper-tier corporate setting. I recognize that high corporate officials are as human as the rest of us, and some characters are more foul under stress than others, but the unprofessional language made me pause and consider it. As I said, there’s not much (certainly not one every page) but I mention it in the spirit of full disclosure.
Secondly, sex. This comes in two branches. A minor side-character is engaged in a homosexual relationship. This character – and the relationship – have no plot significance, which implies the author included it either 1) for the purposes of virtue-signalling (for inclusivity’s sake), or 2) because he personally knows people engaged in this behavior and was trying for verisimilitude. The narrative seems inconclusive which it is. Again, in the spirit of full disclosure, this aspect of the book is not important to the plot, nor (I thought) to the development of the main characters.
Finally, this is my biggest issue, and presents a genuine barrier to this interesting story. The main character has a girlfriend, and there is one brief scene of them, er, “intimate.” The scene is “explicit” rather than “graphic,” if that makes sense, but it definitely was not necessary and reduces the number of people I can recommend the book to. It was all the more disappointing since the author had proven in other passages that he could communicate just as much through subtlety and implication, making this spelled-out scene superfluous – and only tangentially useful for building up the characters and advancing the plot.
(Going back to Mission Impossible once more — Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain) kept her clothes on, people. Sure, some of the episodes had implications to the roof, but they abided by television regulations.)
I acknowledge that for some audiences this content is necessary in a self-proclaimed “thriller,” but for me (and those like me) it really detracted from the experience.
Sadly, the ending is…sad. It felt like it could be just the end of the first act, but it’s actually the conclusion to a baffling conflict.
The tag-line for Social Engineer is: “Whose side is he on?” Whose side is Brody on? At the beginning, we see one reasonable, laudable answer: his employer, and his profession. By the end, the plot-twists and engrossing revelations have muddied the waters.
The conflict really stems from this mysterious fear Brody has that he’ll be discriminated against for being a hacker, although I don’t consider “network security consultants” any different from regular security guards. The book tries to explain the role/cover Brody adopts in real life by hinting at international, “dark web” intrigue, but again, if Brody is fighting Russian “black hats” in his spare time, that makes him more like a Barney Collier (Greg Morris) than a credit card thief.
As two of Dorothy Sayers’ characters said:
“Why does he tell all those unnecessary lies?”
“But if he doesn’t, where’s my plot?”*
The plot concludes, but it’s telling about the author’s worldview that he chooses this depressing place to leave the characters, making them both come across as rather petty (especially since they’ve been jumping into bed without much formal prelude).
Social Engineer was an interesting read, illustrating what my computer-technician father had already taught me: The weak link of any digital security system is the human beings involved. If it weren’t for the serious worldview issues related above, I would willingly recommend this book to everyone. As it is, you could still enjoy this story, but don’t walk blindly into the issues I outlined above.
I’m sad that I don’t have the confidence of a shared worldview that the author won’t go someplace I can’t follow.
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* Lord Peter Wimsey and novelist Harriet Vane, in "Gaudy Night".
Disclaimer: I received a free ebook copy of "Social Engineer" by joining the author’s mailing list. I was not required to write a review. Views expressed are totally my own.
December 26, 2014
Brody Taylor is a ‘white hat’ hacker who specializes in using social engineering to get into IT systems – to help organizations protect themselves from ‘black hat’ hackers who would do them harm. He’s hired by Dr. Robert Moorcroft, head of R&D for a company that’s creating a new drug to treat dementia, when the company thinks it’s being threatened by Chinese hackers.
Social Engineer by Ian Sutherland is a novella that is the prequel to his longer work Invasion of Privacy, which introduces Brody to readers. I received a free review copy of Social Engineer, which truly stands alone as a tightly woven tale of one of our current age’s most pervasive threats – invasion of privacy from hackers and identity thieves. Sutherland does a masterful job of walking the reader through the myriad ways computer malefactors invade and corrupt the IT systems that we often take for granted, while at the same time unrolling a parallel plot as Brody works to impress Mel, an animal activist who wants to expose Moorcroft’s company for its experiments on animals during its research.
Fascinating characters and enough mystery to keep you reading and wishing to know more – quavering as you learn just how vulnerable we all are to those who would do us harm. After reading this book, you just might be reluctant to go on line ever again.
Social Engineer by Ian Sutherland is a novella that is the prequel to his longer work Invasion of Privacy, which introduces Brody to readers. I received a free review copy of Social Engineer, which truly stands alone as a tightly woven tale of one of our current age’s most pervasive threats – invasion of privacy from hackers and identity thieves. Sutherland does a masterful job of walking the reader through the myriad ways computer malefactors invade and corrupt the IT systems that we often take for granted, while at the same time unrolling a parallel plot as Brody works to impress Mel, an animal activist who wants to expose Moorcroft’s company for its experiments on animals during its research.
Fascinating characters and enough mystery to keep you reading and wishing to know more – quavering as you learn just how vulnerable we all are to those who would do us harm. After reading this book, you just might be reluctant to go on line ever again.
February 7, 2016
Nice short story to lead nicely into the next book in the series. It's a great introduction story.. not too long and not too short. Just the right amount to peak your interest.
The book follows a white hat hacker who falls in love.. it's quite a good tale.
Only bit i didn't like was near the end when a section of text was repeated from earlier in the book, it was required for the story i understand but i found myself skim reading this.. i wonder if it could have been scripted better to refer to the previous conversation rather than repeating it.
All in all a decent short story.
The book follows a white hat hacker who falls in love.. it's quite a good tale.
Only bit i didn't like was near the end when a section of text was repeated from earlier in the book, it was required for the story i understand but i found myself skim reading this.. i wonder if it could have been scripted better to refer to the previous conversation rather than repeating it.
All in all a decent short story.
October 8, 2016
This story is right up my interest alley. It takes readers well beyond black hat hacking to how these criminals use what is called 'social engineering'--digging into people's lives to uncover detail to enable them to break into even the most secure computer systems. I particularly enjoyed the discussion of pentests--using ethical hackers to show corporations where the vulnerabilities in their networks are.
For those who aren't geeky nerds (like me), the author walks that line well. You will be wrapped up by the plot and the surprise ending.
For those who aren't geeky nerds (like me), the author walks that line well. You will be wrapped up by the plot and the surprise ending.
September 11, 2016
The fascinating concept of social engineering kept me reading on. As techno-thrillers go, the data was sufficient to maintain interest, although I would have liked it better if the author went deeper into the details. The lead, Brody Taylor is a different kind of hero... is he a hero or a villain? I can't decide. Cause the author is right... how can you trust a hacker? White Hat or not.
All in all, a fascinating read.
All in all, a fascinating read.
August 30, 2014
This is free, what's not to like? It's also a seriously good story (Jacobson, pwned, loved it) and a clever way of getting into Ian's writing without having to buy something. But if you are getting this for your Kindle, save yourself having to go back to buy the follow-on novel by getting them both at the same time. It's worth it, trust me.
October 24, 2015
I received this book from the author for an honest review.
And I should said it was an interesting and very thoughfull short read, it gave me a lot to think about social engineering itself and everything that it implies.
It was pretty immersive for a 2 hours read actually, so I will recommend it to all techy lovers to give it a try.
And I should said it was an interesting and very thoughfull short read, it gave me a lot to think about social engineering itself and everything that it implies.
It was pretty immersive for a 2 hours read actually, so I will recommend it to all techy lovers to give it a try.
July 7, 2015
A 21st century thriller. A computer hacker manipulates technology, and people to achieve his goals. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
October 12, 2016
A great short story outlining a white hackers trail as he gathers evidence to highlight animal cruelty in a pharmaceutical company. An enjoyable read
September 30, 2017
A decent and light read with a few shortcomings. Social Engineer has an urge to explain fairly basic technical terms, making this a more suitable read for those disenfranchised with technology. The pop-culture references are a bit too hackneyed for my tastes and could do without extra elaboration, e.g. "these aren't the Droids you're looking for" is promptly explained in some length as a scene from Star Wars. Sutherland also writes French pronunciations in such a way that sounds closer to British cockney in my mind, although whether he or I is to blame for that, who can say. The ending feels rather abrupt, even for a novella, but it does manage a satisfying tie-in with the general story arc.
In all, this is a competent novella for an afternoon's read. Sutherland has borrowed from the concept of social engineering to create a story with some believable, and some very plausible real-world scenarios. As a hook into a series however, Social Engineer doesn't make an especially compelling case.
In all, this is a competent novella for an afternoon's read. Sutherland has borrowed from the concept of social engineering to create a story with some believable, and some very plausible real-world scenarios. As a hook into a series however, Social Engineer doesn't make an especially compelling case.
January 29, 2018
Social Engineer is a prequel to a series known as the Brody Taylor Thrillers. Its purpose is to introduce readers to Brody Taylor and his world.
Brody is a "white hat" hacker, meaning he is a good hacker (versus black hat hackers who are the bad guys). His job is to reveal weaknesses in a business's security system. By the end of the novella, readers will have a good sense of what he's all about and the challenges he has to face due to his manipulative lifestyle.
One of the issues in reading this book is that there is a lot of flipping though time. (Three weeks ago, present, seven hours ago, etc.) Keeping it straight isn't always easy, given that the book is only 60 pages. As far as plot goes, there isn't much to it besides what Brody does. There's a side story with a love interest, but it's not all that substantive. A little more conflict would have been nice.
The subject of cyber-hacking is certainly fascinating. Social Engineer can serve to whet one's appetite to what may be an intriguing series.
Brody is a "white hat" hacker, meaning he is a good hacker (versus black hat hackers who are the bad guys). His job is to reveal weaknesses in a business's security system. By the end of the novella, readers will have a good sense of what he's all about and the challenges he has to face due to his manipulative lifestyle.
One of the issues in reading this book is that there is a lot of flipping though time. (Three weeks ago, present, seven hours ago, etc.) Keeping it straight isn't always easy, given that the book is only 60 pages. As far as plot goes, there isn't much to it besides what Brody does. There's a side story with a love interest, but it's not all that substantive. A little more conflict would have been nice.
The subject of cyber-hacking is certainly fascinating. Social Engineer can serve to whet one's appetite to what may be an intriguing series.
June 11, 2018
Have you ever wondered how hackers get access to even the most carefully guarded places, how they manage to extract vital and top secret information from any sort of company which they could sell to the Russians or the Chinese if they wanted to? Let Brody Taylor show you - he is one; a white hat hacker, though, not a black hat one, to the good fortune of the pharma company from which he steals the data of an immensely important project...
This is a really fascinating story spiked with absolutely credible details on the difficult and dangerous work of a white hat hacker. But not only that, it's also about personal dilemmas and the pain of having to live a double life - because Brody Taylor, the hacker, is also a human being; and he's fallen in love with the girl he's been using for gaining access to the secret files and thus exposing the company's security flaws. How will she react when he tells her the truth?
After finishing this wonderfully crisp and thrilling read, I honestly can't wait to read Brody's next adventure!
This is a really fascinating story spiked with absolutely credible details on the difficult and dangerous work of a white hat hacker. But not only that, it's also about personal dilemmas and the pain of having to live a double life - because Brody Taylor, the hacker, is also a human being; and he's fallen in love with the girl he's been using for gaining access to the secret files and thus exposing the company's security flaws. How will she react when he tells her the truth?
After finishing this wonderfully crisp and thrilling read, I honestly can't wait to read Brody's next adventure!
December 10, 2017
This book was phenomenal when I started reading. Many times in between, it caught my breath. It had its "wow" moments, I won't deny that. Yet, towards the end, it started getting a wee bit stretched. It picks up again when the author reveals that the whole plot was orchestrated. The way the beginning connects to the end, it is mind-blowing.
When you are waiting for something interesting to happen, the book abruptly gets over. It kind of leaves you hanging. And then you go like, "Hey, at least tell me what happened after this." I mean the guy just pours his heart out, and his girlfriend just leaves him there, so he also gets up and leaves? I mean the ending could have been better. Otherwise, this book could be a masterpiece.
When you are waiting for something interesting to happen, the book abruptly gets over. It kind of leaves you hanging. And then you go like, "Hey, at least tell me what happened after this." I mean the guy just pours his heart out, and his girlfriend just leaves him there, so he also gets up and leaves? I mean the ending could have been better. Otherwise, this book could be a masterpiece.
February 22, 2019
I'm not a short story / novella kind of guy, but I wanted to read this before hitting the rest of the Brody Taylor books. That said, I enjoyed this novella. It got my interest quickly and was very descriptive for such a short story.
The "hacking" ideas were well executed and realistic. Obviously they're a little dramatized and the protagonist got lucky, but that's the point of a story. I'm glad the romantic threads had a point, since I wasn't really looking for that from a techno thriller.
The "hacking" ideas were well executed and realistic. Obviously they're a little dramatized and the protagonist got lucky, but that's the point of a story. I'm glad the romantic threads had a point, since I wasn't really looking for that from a techno thriller.
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August 22, 2019This was a novella written in the POV of Dr. Moorcock, the head of a pharmaceutical company, and Brody Taylor, a "white hat" computer hacker. There is so little of Moorcock's POV that it doesn't seem warranted, especially when the opening scene in Moorcock's POV is repeated nearly word for word at the end of the novella, but in Taylor's POV. The ending was rushed and flat, and with the repetition of the first scene, I literally thought I'd lost my place on my Kindle.
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