Killer.App

Figueroa and Bennis #1

by Barbara D'Amato

When her sister, a computer engineer, lapses into a coma after accessing a secret database at SJR Computer Systems, Chicago police officer Suze Figueroa finds herself confronting a mega-corporation harboring some deadly secrets. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Aka Malacai Black

Barbara D'Amato has had a checkered career, working in the distant past as an assistant surgical orderly, carpenter for stage magic illusions, assistant tiger handler, stage manager, researcher for attorneys in criminal cases, and recently sometimes teaching mystery writing to Chicago police officers.

"Writing is the greatest job of all," D'Amato says. "I get to hang around with cops, go ask people questions about their jobs that I would be too chicken to ask without a reason, and walk around Chicago looking for good murder locales. Best of all, I get to read mystery and suspense novels and call it keeping up with the field."

She was the 1999-2000 president of Mystery Writers of America. D'Amato is also a past president of Sisters in Crime International.

D'Amato is a playwright, novelist, and crime researcher. Her research on the Dr. John Branion murder case formed the basis for a segment on "Unsolved Mysteries," and she appeared on the program. Her musical comedies, The Magic Man and children's musical The Magic of Young Houdini, written with husband Anthony D'Amato, played in Chicago and London. Their Prohibition-era musical comedy RSVP Broadway, which played in Chicago in 1980, was named an "event of particular interest" by Chicago magazine. A native of Michigan, she has been a resident of Chicago for many years.

Reviews

[Rogue Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved D'Amato and craved more of her writing but it was a couple of years before her next one. At the time, the high tech, digital and gritty crime solving was amazing. Today, it's a nice historical re-read.

[Paul Close · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but light. Computer details sometimes wrong or overdone.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[1997]. I like this book better than her Cat Marsala series, although I think she could have left out a lot of the computer-programming explanations which she included—possibly for authenticity purposes. There are lots of different points of view, but the main character is Suze Figeroa, a cop whose sister is looking into some problems at work—and who is then suddenly in a coma. A good, otexciting, escapist read.

[2020]. At the time I read this, people were just beginning to get worked up about the possible ramifications of software programming not being able to handle the transition to 2000. I think it would be amusing to see how 1990s computer-programming explanations read now

10/2020 This book has really stood the test of time. It is still a page turner. And the computer explanations did not bother me as they did the first time. Something that stands out to me this time is how much she gets you to care about many of the supporting characters.

[Kenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to give this book a four, considering I kept losing sleep while reading it as I wanted to read just one more chapter each night than perhaps I should have. I don't know what it is about this type of book - mystery that includes some sort of computer application, cyberspace, virtual reality (although this book isn't really virtual reality), etc. Perhaps it is a good thing I married a computer programmer - apparently I have some sort of affinity for this world. What was also great about this book is that the story is set in Chicago, and it is always fun to know where the characters are at any given point of the story. Of course Meigs Field comes into play as an airport, so you know it was written a number of years ago. A good read.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I paid $3 to buy this book used at the Printer's Row Book Fair this summer, and that's pretty much exactly what it's worth. The plot requires some pretty substantial suspension of disbelief (especially if you actually know anything about computers), and the writing is a little lackluster, and the characters are fairly boilerplate, but for the most part it keeps moving and is reasonably entertaining. Plus it's set in Chicago with lots of local references, so if you live in the city you might have fun with that. If you like cop thrillers and you're looking for some fairly mindless summer reading then go for it, otherwise move along because there's nothing to see here.

[LJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

KILLER.APP (Pol. Proc/Susp-Suze Figueroa-Chicago-Cont) - Ex
D'Amato, Barbara - Standalone

From Fantastic Fiction: To Chicago cop Suze Figueroa, cyberspy is not in her job description--until a mysterious accident sends her computer engineer sister into a coma. Targeted by a network of online henchmen and ruthless flesh-and-blood assassins, Suze uncovers a plan far more sophisticated and insidious than she could have imagined, and finds herself in a race to stop a computer genius from taking control of the information age.

Very suspenseful; great plot. A bit heavy on the high-tech element for it was an absolute page turner. Excellent.

[Leslie]

Amazing book. D'Amato is a very knowledgeable writer who weaves together the story of smart, determined cop and her sister, a computer programmer who get caught up in a plot to assassinate the President. A believable plot and well-drawn characters along with credible technical details make the book an intriguing and enjoyable read.

[Babette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book I picked up at Foul Play, I think. It was surprisingly enjoyable because I had some notion it would be too techie. This is the first book in this series. D'Amato has other series as well.

[Phyllis · Rating 3 out of 5]

confusing