Exit Strategy

by Mike Wiecek

BLIND FEAR
An assault on Blindside, a high-tech corporation dealing in computer espionage, leaves eight employees blown away. But the faceless killers made two mistakes: They left two witnesses.

BLIND TRUST
Postal employee Molly Gannon and hacker Jeb Picot are suspected by authorities as accomplices. They have only one way to clear their names: unearth the secrets buried in the ashes of Blindside.

BLIND ALLEY
But deceit, deception, and betrayal run deep. And Molly and Jeb can't imagine how far into a shadowy world they'll have to go to get to the truth, and make it out alive.

Genres: Suspense

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Emily Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third time I’ve read this book. I will always have a fondness for it as it was the last book my Dad read before he passed away and I remember our animated discussions about it. It is a great thriller with lots of twists and turns. I’m really surprised the author has not written more novels as he has a good style.

[Izzy Krause · Rating 5 out of 5]

Complete page turner, dealing with high-tech espionage, witnesses, hackers, and a Bourne Identity style manhunt.

[IAN A · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one starts out decent then fizzles. It then deteriotes into a "Why am I reading this?" book.

[Elizabeth A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exit Strategy is easily one of the most engaging, intelligent thrillers I've read in quite some time. The book gets off to a roaring start with a brash daylight assault on an internet company called Blindside that leaves eight people dead and the office destroyed. The killers, dressed as postal workers, unfortunately make the mistake of leaving two witnesses: Molly Gannon, a real postal worker (and former Military Police officer) who was in the building on her delivery route, and Blindside employee Jeb Picot, who was in the building, but out of the office, at the time of the assault.

Given that the killers were dressed as postal workers the police suspect Molly of having been in on the attack, and Jeb's convenient absence from the office at the crucial moment raises the authorities' suspicions about his possible involvement as well. Their suspicions are fueled by misinformation and half-truths strategically leaked to them by Dunshire Capitol, a front company for the National Security Agency.

Blindside, it turns out, specialized in cryptography and had made a monumental breakthrough in technology, which Dunshire desperately wants, that is able to crack supposedly uncrackable codes. Further complicating the mix is that Blindside was funded by an organization with ties to a Chinese triad, and now they and Dunshire both want to get their hands on Molly and Jeb, whom they believe have a laptop which contains crucial information.

So many players and competing interests in one storyline could be unwieldy in the hands of some authors, but Wiecek does a masterful job weaving everyone into the flow of the story without slowing things down when switching perspectives or making caricatures out of any faction. All the characters, good guys and bad guys alike, are intelligent and driven by clear, logical motivations. Wiecek also deftly intersperses plenty of cool tech speak throughout the story; if you know computers and coding you'll love it, and if you don't you'll love learning about it. Just don't start unless you have time to finish, because you won't be able to put it down.

Since it's not a new release Exit Strategy may not be readily available in brick & mortar bookstores, but it's well worth your time to track a copy down or order one online.

[Ice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story takes place in San Francisco.The hero of this book
is Molly Gannon.She is a former MP who is now a postal employee.
An assault takes place while Gannon is delivering mail to
Blindside Corporation.Blindside is a high tech company dealing
in computor espionage,encryption,and code breaking.As a result of the assault eight employees are killed.Every computor in the
business is incinerated leaving no information.Gannon is abducted but finally escapes.

Another survivor of the invasion is Jeb Picot an expert hacker who has served time for previous hacking exploits.An attempt is made to kill Picot on the steps of the police station but Gannon rescues him.As a result Gannon and Picot become the primary suspects in the Blindside killings.

This becomes a nationwide crime story.A Task Force headed by FBI agent Scott Norcross is created to get to the bottom of the killings.They discover many suspects in the case.Besides Gannon and Picot there is Wo Han Mok a Chinese triad and Dunshire a
NSA(National Security Agency)group who was buying Blindside.This
turns into an interesting book that will keep you guessing.