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Disengaged
Hadfish Systems in London are technological experts - but are they prepared to be caught up in a deadly game of international intelligence?
Julian and his business partner, Rami, run Hadfish Systems, a successful software development company. When Rami is offered the chance of a lucrative new contract, he doesn’t seem too fussed about where the money is coming from or for what purposes the software might be used. Julian, though, has concerns, made all the more relevant by some secrets he’s been hiding, even from the people closest to him. When an old acquaintance of Julian’s reappears unexpectedly, full of promises and threats, Julian wonders whether this contract is really so lucrative after all, or whether it’s simply a chance to save his own life. Caught between warring nations and competing interests, old secrets and new loyalties, Julian is trapped in a deadly game …
Julian and his business partner, Rami, run Hadfish Systems, a successful software development company. When Rami is offered the chance of a lucrative new contract, he doesn’t seem too fussed about where the money is coming from or for what purposes the software might be used. Julian, though, has concerns, made all the more relevant by some secrets he’s been hiding, even from the people closest to him. When an old acquaintance of Julian’s reappears unexpectedly, full of promises and threats, Julian wonders whether this contract is really so lucrative after all, or whether it’s simply a chance to save his own life. Caught between warring nations and competing interests, old secrets and new loyalties, Julian is trapped in a deadly game …
192 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2015
2 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Mischa Hiller
8 books27 followersAuthor of Sabra Zoo, Shake Off and Disengaged. Mischa was a semifinalist in the 2007 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting and winner of the 2009 European Independent Film Festival script competition for his adaptation of Sabra Zoo. Sabra Zoo was winner of the Commonwealth Writer’s 2011 First Book prize (Europe & South Asia region).
He has had several short stories published, which can be found on [Medium](http://medium.com/@mischahi@blank)
He is published by Telegram in the UK and Mulholland Books in North America.
Disengaged is published in the UK and the US by Severn House Books.
He has had several short stories published, which can be found on [Medium](http://medium.com/@mischahi@blank)
He is published by Telegram in the UK and Mulholland Books in North America.
Disengaged is published in the UK and the US by Severn House Books.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 21, 2016
Library Journal got it right. Disengaged is tricky—and good! An entertaining, classy read, the story unfolds from the points of view of: Julian, software entrepreneur; Boris, disillusioned spy; Sheila, Julian’s long-time love; and Mojgan, mysterious secret agent receiving instructions sent from Iran.
The set up? Julian’s business partner wants to accept a lucrative job testing the newly developed brains of a military UAV—otherwise put, in Julian’s mind—an extrajudicial killing machine.
Not a commission Julian wants. The work is dodgy—off the books. Nobody even dares divulge the name of the country building the drone. But Boris, a ghost from his former life, threatens to expose his traitorous past. So Julian plunges into the code (work he loves) night and day, till Sheila, convinced he’s having an affair, unhelpfully packs her bags and leaves, throwing his concentration off.
Understated humour alert. The clock is ticking. Pressures build. Boris, forced to raise the stakes, has to get Julian back on track. Sheila, he rightly discerns, is the key; and some memorable conversation ensues when, over a bottle of Chilean wine in the most preposterous circumstance, he and Sheila discuss ideals and Sheila’s burgeoning charity work.
Likewise, a parallel situation soon transpires between Mojgan and Julian. As Julian quickly understands, both spies aim to interfere with the navigational code for the drone. But when Mojgan arrives to do her bit (gun in hand at Julian’s door), the two sit down at the circuit board amicably and collaborate—Mojgan even going so far as to handing Julian her gun when she leaves.
Plot-wise, Julian’s glad she did. Character-wise, it’s also the point where the protagonists’ genuine colours show.
To my shame, I turned the pages so fast, I had to go back and read it again to pick up all the clues I’d missed. (In fact, I felt invited to. The final scene works well as a start.)
In sum: excellent story-line, colourful cast and noble theme of making the world a better place!
The set up? Julian’s business partner wants to accept a lucrative job testing the newly developed brains of a military UAV—otherwise put, in Julian’s mind—an extrajudicial killing machine.
Not a commission Julian wants. The work is dodgy—off the books. Nobody even dares divulge the name of the country building the drone. But Boris, a ghost from his former life, threatens to expose his traitorous past. So Julian plunges into the code (work he loves) night and day, till Sheila, convinced he’s having an affair, unhelpfully packs her bags and leaves, throwing his concentration off.
Understated humour alert. The clock is ticking. Pressures build. Boris, forced to raise the stakes, has to get Julian back on track. Sheila, he rightly discerns, is the key; and some memorable conversation ensues when, over a bottle of Chilean wine in the most preposterous circumstance, he and Sheila discuss ideals and Sheila’s burgeoning charity work.
Likewise, a parallel situation soon transpires between Mojgan and Julian. As Julian quickly understands, both spies aim to interfere with the navigational code for the drone. But when Mojgan arrives to do her bit (gun in hand at Julian’s door), the two sit down at the circuit board amicably and collaborate—Mojgan even going so far as to handing Julian her gun when she leaves.
Plot-wise, Julian’s glad she did. Character-wise, it’s also the point where the protagonists’ genuine colours show.
To my shame, I turned the pages so fast, I had to go back and read it again to pick up all the clues I’d missed. (In fact, I felt invited to. The final scene works well as a start.)
In sum: excellent story-line, colourful cast and noble theme of making the world a better place!
March 23, 2016
At times, it was hard to keep track of who was who, and what was going on. An entertaining but complex thriller. Kind of ugly in places.
July 5, 2018
I liked it but it was not the author’s best. Good plot, good characters.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews