Invasion of Privacy

by Christopher Reich

On a remote, dusty road forty miles outside of Austin, Texas, FBI agent Joe Grant and a confidential informant are killed in a deadly shootout. Left to pick up the pieces is Mary Grant, Joe's young wife and mother of their two daughters. The official report places blame for the deaths on Joe's shoulders . . . but the story just doesn't add up and Mary has too many troubling questions that need answers. How did Joe's final voice mail—containing a cryptic warning for Mary, recorded moments before the fatal shooting—disappear without a trace from her phone?      
 
Stonewalled by the FBI, Mary will be drawn into a deadly conspiracy that puts her in the crosshairs of the richest and most powerful men in America . . . and the newest and most terrifying surveillance system known to man.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary

481 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2015

About the author

Christopher Reich was born in Tokyo. In 1965 his family moved to Los Angeles. He attended Georgetown University and the University of Texas and worked in Switzerland before returning to the United States to become an author. His novel The Patriots Club won the International Thriller Writers award for Best Novel in 2006. He lives in Encinitas, California.

Reviews

[Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to everyone. Talk about "Invasion of Privacy" is an understatement in this book. It's another non-stop thriller. Enjoy the ride because you'll not be disappointed...GUARANTEED!!

[Skip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Endorsed on the back of the book by some of the best in the business (Brad Thor, Lee Child, David Baldacci, James Patterson, Clive Cussler, and Robert Crais), Christopher Reich writes very good, topical thrillers. This one is prompted by the death of an FBI agent, who manages to leave a coded voicemail for his wife, who does not accept the "whitewashed" version of his being killed by a confidential informant. She is joined in her quest to discover what really happened and why by a disgraced reporter and former college football star, Tank Potter. The novel is very cutting edge in technology, communications, and cyber security: a computer genius sociopath is assembling an all-powerful super computer to monitor the Internet, akin to Samaritan (from CBS's TV show, Person of Interest. Recommended.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if there were a supercomputer that could track the entire digital presence of any single person? What if it were in the hands of one man, using a single program? Such in the premise of the latest Christopher Reich novel. When FBI Agent Joe Grant and his confidential informant are murdered in rural Texas, his wife Mary is left with a number of unanswered questions. A cryptic voicemail leaves her confused, which is only exacerbated by its sudden disappearance from her phone. Working with what she recalls of the message, Mary seeks answers surrounding the FBI case on which Joe worked. Those within the Organisation stonewall her, which only adds to the mystery and pushes Mary to delve deeper. What she does not realise is that these inquiries have been raising red flags with Ian Prince, a multi-billionaire in possession of the greatest supercomputer of all time, able to track all minutiae related to a person's digital footprint. With over ninety percent of the world's servers and Internet-capable devices at his disposal, Prince will stop at nothing to cover up what he is doing while gathering information to expose his enemies. With the help of a disgraced reporter, Mary seeks to peel back the layers related to Joe's case while dodging bullets (literally) from Prince's team. As the exposure heats up, Mary will find help from an unexpected source close to her, who seeks to discover a mystery as well. Another must-read by this formidable writer, who grabs technology by the horns and leaves the reader in complete awe.

Reich finds himself at the centre of social commentaries with every novel he has released in the past number of years. Examining the Internet and wireless technology, Reich posits that nothing is safe and no shred of information can be protected with even the most sensitive of security software. Reich shows the lengths to which those with means can go and how a person's online profile is more than a Facebook account or reservations through an airline's database. With a powerful set of characters and a story perfectly paced to keep the reader on the edge of their seats, Reich perfects another one-off novel. Chills will likely appear down the reader's spine during this aptly titled novel, turning us all back into Luddites.

Kudos, Mr. Reich for this wonderful piece. I am still in awe and wonder if I ought to be posting this review, for fear it may open a portal to further intrusions into my thought processes.

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Ray Palen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely disappointing novel --- especially since the expectation was so high. Reich is on my 'must read' list, but this stand-alone novel never gains traction and the slow-burn plot is just frustrating. It's familiar territory --- FBI Agent dies under mysterious circumstances and his surprisingly clueless wife seeks answers. The enemies are everywhere and include fellow FBI agents, some 'powerful' men and an evil billionaire with a unique surveillance system.

It's like Reich just slapped this together from the plots of dozens of similar stories. None of the characters are engaging and could not wait for this one to end.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read!

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

If this doesn't make you rethink your electronic life, nothing will.

Ian Prince is obsessed. It seems that nothing will stand in the way of his achievements, and although people may be suspicious nothing has changed.

Mary Grant is used to her role as the wife of an FBI agent and the mother to two daughters, but when her husband is killed while meeting a confidential informant she has to reach further, trusting in her rights as a U.S. citizen and her belief in the FBI to keep them all safe. She has to protect her daughters, even though Jessie is so smart she risks cutting herself and thinks - as do most teenagers - that she's invincible.

There were a couple of small "huh?" moments for me, but the rest just kept on going.

You may find yourself mentally substituting another name for ONE as you read, but don't delude yourself into thinking, "This is futuristic stuff, it couldn't possibly happen now". It could, and that's the truly scary part.




Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Jim A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I usually really enjoy Christopher Reich books this one didn't do a whole lot for me. I am not a real fan of run of the mill people thrust into high tension situations. But that's just me.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good yarn about the invasion of personal data around a vicious mastermind. 7 of 10 stars

[William · Rating 1 out of 5]

Audiobook
Great and interesting plot based real or almost real technology threats. Problem for me was the WHOLE story was totally unbelievable

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

INVASION OF PRIVCY (Pub. 2015) is the first book I've read by Christopher Reich, and I will definitely check out more of his work. The story kept me turning the pages, with a solid thriller vibe throughout, in spite of the author largely allowing readers to know what was happening all along the way. Not an easy trick to pull off, but Reich manages it well.

This is a quasi-murder mystery wrapped inside a government-meets-big industry conspiracy. I enjoyed it because the author takes readers in sideways, rather than through the eyes of a detective, which is a nice change. It starts out in medias res, with FBI agent Joe Grant, in the midst of a very bad situation that quickly escalates to a no-way-out scenario for him. Grant and his informant end up dead in a fast and horrible ambush that both greatly feared could happen, but didn't see coming.

Joe Grant's wife, Mary, is called to the hospital, where Joe is on life support and surrounded by other federal agents. His supervisor, Don Bennett, gives Mary a cryptic explanation of what transpired to land Joe in ICU. Mary doesn't have time to ponder his words for long because Joe goes into cardiac arrest before they can finish their discussion. Mary can only wish Joe a peaceful passing, and try to hang on to reality for the sake of their two daughters.

But within less than an hour of Joe's passing, Mary is given reason to believe Don has not only withheld information, he's purposely lied to her. Then he tops it off by physically threatening her over possession of Mary's cell phone, which Joe left a final message on, and Mary suspects was not only a cry for help, but his own cryptic way of giving her a clue to the situation that has unraveled under Joe's watch -- a situation which threatens national and international security.

Mary can't bring Joe back to life, but she at least wants a clearer understanding of why her husband died, and she sets out to get the answers. That puts her and her family in jeopardy, right after she makes the first follow-up call, but she's willing to risk it. When Joe's supervisor threatens to besmirch her husband's name, and repeal his posthumous pension, Mary commits to throwing everything she's got at bringing the bad guys to light, and restoring her husband's good name, not to mention the pension she and her girls desperately need and deserve.

Mary quickly reveals herself to be an unexpectedly formidable foe for the people wrecking havoc behind the scenes. They think she's just a housewife and mother, but she has skills given by her long-deceased Navy admiral father, as well as what Joe taught her along the way, combined with sheer determination and motivation to persevere. Plus she's got a teenaged daughter that is every bit as tech savvy as the people she's up against, although Mary doesn't know it yet.

Quite a few plates are spinning by the time the story reaches the one-third mark, and they just keep spinning faster, with even more put into play before it's all said and done. And even though readers are 95% aware of who the bad guys are, and largely why / what they are after, Reich manages to keep us in great suspense right up until the last page. The story draws to a satisfying conclusion, with all questions answered, and a solid serving of comeuppance meted out to the bad guys.

[Anne Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent listen. It was one of the few books that I kept thinking while listening to " this would make such an excellent movie!" The narration by Paul Michael was just one of the best I've heard. He did American southern male, South African male, female adult, young female, and everything in between SEAMLESSLY!!! Oh, also did male Boston accent flawlessly. It was pretty much as close to a five star as you can get and I'm not quite sure what kept me from giving it five stars except that the ability of Kate and Tank to outrun to bad guys was just truly not believable and I found myself saying, " COME ON! SHE SHOULD SO BE DEAD BY NOW, TRULY!" But other than that it was a great premise and plot and the characters were really well fleshed out. I listened to this book for four straight days and nights when I wasn't working or sleeping. Check it out!!!

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When FBI agent Joe Grant meets with an informant, something goes terribly wrong and both he and the informant are killed. But Joe had called his wife, Mary, and left a cryptic message on her cell phone. The message mysteriously disappears and when Mary turns to the FBI for help, she discovers that not everyone is interested in the truth and those she trusted most of all will stop at nothing to keep her from finding out what really happened to her husband.

The fast-paced plot grabs readers from the very first page and builds suspense as it careens along at breakneck speed until the final reveal.

Highly recommended.

[Vlorini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks for the galley. Another fantastic, edge of your seat, can't put it down thriller. Loved the shout outs to Sacramento, Dripping Springs and Palo Alto, all my town!

[Russ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This thriller has an ingenious plot that skillfully personalizes the modern world of data mining by putting heroine Mary Grant in the crosshairs of big telecom. Her husband is killed and his last voice message to her is mysteriously deleted. A reporter takes pictures at the morgue which are deleted.

This book vividly depicts the types of programs the NSA could be operating for the purposes of homeland security, as well as the abuses that could arise when our government officials become so reliant on private industry for sensitive information about customers/citizens. If authors like Orwell were still among us, they might be writing novels like this!

Mary Grant is an engaging character and I found her to be plausible. I worried for her and her children's safety, so from that standpoint the book was suspenseful.

My reservations are that the villain is so creepy that he is somewhat implausible, the hacking subplot that didn't quite add up for me, and the end was over-the-top. But I doubt you'll find ever find another book about data privacy that is as thrilling as this one.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I read most of this book in the middle of the night, and that is my excuse for not making a note of what I liked. I have read quite a few of Reich's books and have considered them good reads. This one seems to follow a theme I have been on in honor of women's month (March 2017) as we have a real honest-to-goodness whip-ass heroine starring in this saga fighting against a corrupt FBI and one supremely evil-to-the core Information King adversary. Totally implausible and highly entertaining!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book even though some of it was unrealistic.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting, exciting read. I've enjoyed all the Christopher Reich books I've read. I think they are well researched and I always learn something from them. In this case I learned a bit more about hacking various devices. I think what can be done is scary at times. But not all brilliant hackers are out to get you. Or are they? You might have to figure that one out. Read it.

[Kds · Rating 4 out of 5]

We click 'accept to all the terms and conditions everytimne we download an app, sign up with telephone company, do things on the internet or sign up with a cable provider. What kind of information are we offering freely and what could be done with these bits and pieces of electronic detritus we are leaving in the cloud? Once you read Christopher Reich's "Invasion of Privacy" you might think twice about what you really need - even if you aren't in any way associated with the FBI.

Those who like strong female protagonists will be particularly pleased to watch as Mary Grant tries to pull together snippets of information in order to gain a better understanding of how and why her husband was murdered.

Whether you read this sitting on a stoop, in a hammock, on the beach or if it gives you a reason to get into bed early on a summer night - you won't want to put this book down until you've finished it.

[Wayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not one of my favorite Christopher Reich novels. Suspension of belief is necessary to even partially enjoy this tale. Having taught high school students for many years, I found the 14/15 year old daughter of an assassinated FBI agent unbelievable. Her totally rude behavior, her possession of her own electronic cigarette, her knowledge of hacking computers rivaling the top computer scientists in the world, and her accumulation of thousands of dollars from pedophiles on the web....all these actions make her unbelievable!
The story itself is exciting, as are most of Reich's novels. It involves a big tech company attempting to develop equipment that can hack into the most sensitive material of any country in the world....and with the knowledge of come US govt. figures. After an FBI agent checking into this is shot, nobody wants to do anything except the dead agent's wife and older daughter aided by a drunk, disgraced newspaper reporter. Unbelievable!

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invasion of Privacy by Christopher Reich was a well-crafted thriller and I am afraid maybe a little too close to home. Where does our privacy end and start in our high tech world? The novel is about a woman, Mary Grant trying to figure out what happened to her FBI husband. He was shot in the line of duty, but to her the clues don’t add up and then people start to have problems around her and her children.

The book was good, hard to put down and not hard enough to disbelieve. Is it possible that the world is full of that many hackers? Is it possible that the government really does care to maintain that much control over the entire mass media? I don’t know or understand the logistics. What I do know is the book was quite good, appropriately paced and creepy enough in its way too realistic way!

[Scott Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to the publisher and author for making this book available for review!

This was an amazing and very relevant novel. As the title alludes to, this story will get the reader to really thinking about the government's ability to monitor us in everything we do. There are computers in our watches, phones, cars, all over the house in The Internet of Things, as well as the fount of personal information that our insurance companies, hospitals, IRS, social media and banks contain about us. You will finish the book freaking out about your privacy, but I believe that is the authors intent. It is a very suspenseful, thrilling read. I flew through the story, and my personal opinion is Pre-Order.This.Novel.....you will not be disappointed.

[Redbird · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook review, narrated by Paul Michael.

The pace of Michael’s narration is slow, lacking energy, almost dragging. Listening at 1.25 speed doesn’t quite sound natural, but aids the reading pace. Later in the book, as the action picks up, the reading pace picks up a bit, too.

A modern novel with many pop culture and technology references, it’s part action/suspense novel, part warning of technology future. This is a cautionary tale about how vulnerable we really are via our electronic devices, often by our own actions.

I found this story less intriguing than The Devil’s Banker, the first book I read by Reich. Still, it had enough of a decent storyline for me to want to try another book or two.

[Nancy Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

A suspense-thriller with non-stop action...Mary Grant's husband is killed dealing with an informant, but she doesn't believe the story behind his death. The FBI is covering up something and she vows to get to the truth.

Her life spirals out of control as 'cyber bullies' destroy her and her children's lives in a high-tech adventure of computer hacking. Machinations behind the scenes thwart her every move, and she ruffles more than one set of feathers in her search for the truth.

In her quest for the truth, a fired reporter helps her and may even get the story of his life.

The author presents some scary, realistic scenarios that may be destroy us all on the Internet.

[Paula Schumm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for a free advance download of Invasion of Privacy by Christopher Reich. Invasion of Privacy has it all: mystery, intrigue, technology, murder, suspense. Nothing is too graphic, and the characters were varied and interesting. Mary, the widow of an FBI agent is strong, fearless, and protective of her daughters. Grace is very young and a brave cancer patient. Jessie is a 15-year-old techno geek who courageously and obstinately seeks to find her father's killer. Recommended!

[Ramona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for allowing me to receive and read this great thriller. Not a good read but a great read. Right about now I am ready to destroy my cell, computers and pull the internet connection. I believe I should think about going off the grid and begin raising chickens in the backyard. I think I have a typewriter in the basement that I could use for communication. The characters were three dimensional with both strengths and weaknesses. I believe that t he plot is plausible and very well thought out
KUDOS

[Bookphile]

DNF at around 35%. I just couldn't do it anymore. The cliched characters, the constant technical babble, the telling instead of showing... I don't think there was a single character in the novel that I really liked, and especially not Mary, who felt like some cardboard cutout of an idealized female character. I was so bored I'd read a page and realize I hadn't registered a word of what I'd read.

[Karen & Gerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invasion of Privacy by Christopher Reich is told by Mary. Her husband, Joe, worked for the FBI and was killed. End of story. BUT, Mary believes it is not that simple and wants to know why the cover up? This book is a page turner. I got into it early on and the story line is good and very believable. I liked all the characters too. Read this, you'll be glad you did!
(Gerard's review)

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a disturbing book in several ways. Primarily, it is disturbing because of the way technology can destroy privacy, something I think most of us are aware of. Second, it is disturbing because of some of the really creepy actions of several of the characters. For both of these reasons I was kind of relieved when I was done.

[Ginger Weirich · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a world of hackers and super computers, no one is safe. When people at the highest level of the FBI turn against their own, innocent people die. Another fantastic ride. I have to give this one 5 stars. I’d give it more, but the rating system online only provides for 5.

[Cyndi minta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting

Really enjoyed this book. Drama, intrigue, exciting all the way through. Able to connect with the characters and care about their outcomes.