Review: Come and Find Me by Hallie Ephron

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: William Morrow; 1 edition (March 22, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0061857521
Source: Publisher

In the two years since her husband’s death in a climbing accident, computer security expert Diana Banks has become a bit of a recluse, holed up in her home, not daring to take a step out into the real world. Her only taste of the real world comes with her interactions on Otherworld, a cyber society, under the identity of Nadia, her cyber avatar.

Diana continues to work with Jack, a business partner in the agency, Gamelan, she co-owned with her now-deceased husband, Daniel.  Previously, they made their money by selling virus solutions to companies whose systems they themselves hacked. When a patient is killed after they hacked a hospital’s computer system, Diana’s conscience kicks in and, after some arguement, their company turns a new leaf and instead becomes one that protects their clients from hackers like themselves.  It is after this decision, on a celebratory rock climb, that Charlie falls to his death.

Daniel’s death sends Diana into a horrible spiral, now suffering from PTSD. All interactions, including business meetings, are all held in Otherworld.  She now lives in the refuge of her parents home, surrounded by a high-tech security monitoring system created by Jack.  The only person she really sees face-to-face is her sister, Ashley. Ashley, along with her online psychiatrist, attempt to assist Diana in reintroducing herself into the “real” world.

When Ashley disappears after assuming the role of Nadia in real-life, Diana is forced to step out of her comfort zone in order to find, and save, her sister. She soon realizes that the safe confines of Otherworld arent’ as safe as they seem.  Everything Diana has believed to be true is a lie; she’s forced to use all her hacking skills & knowledge to find Ashley.

Come and Find Me is a suspenseful, heart-pounding look at the false security of the cyber world. In today’s society, we all assume that by protecting ourselves with cyber-identities and high-level passwords that we are safe.  Ephron shows, with astounding ease, how easy it is to hack into one’s personal world.

Ephron also does a stunning job of detailing and describing the life of a person suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  The reader feels Diana’s panic and unease at stepping into the outside world. I think my heart was pounding just as fast as Diana’s the first time she stepped outside the safety of her own home.

While I figured out the ending pretty early on, this didn’t detract from my experience; the journey Diana took was well worth the ride!  My only complaint was the lack of depth of characters. I’m hoping this is resolved in a sequel or follow-up novel!  Be forewarned: if you are already pretty paranoid about the cyber world, this probably isn’t the book for you! That said, I still highly recommend this book!