Broken Genius by Drew Murray is a 2020 Oceanview Publishing publication.

Will Parker’s dreams turned on a dime when a coding error cost a young woman her life. Now, a decade later, Will, though massively wealthy, seeks redemption by working as a special agent for the FBI. When he gets an urgent call, he discovers that his long-lost quantum computer has fallen into the wrong hands and is up for bid on the dark web. Not only that, one of the bidders has been murdered and another young woman’s life hangs in the balance. As will works to solve the murder, his attention is also on recovering his invention before it falls into the wrong hands.

Well, talk about a timely thriller. I rarely read techno-thrillers, but this one sounded intriguing when I put it on my TBR list. Ironically, I decided to read it just as the world is buzzing about AI. Is quantum computing far behind?

This is a fast-paced thriller that plays out at a Comic-Con convention, of all places. It is one part murder mystery, with a team of detectives on board- and one-part high stakes thriller- with the threat of powerful technology falling into the hands of people who would abuse its power.

The dialogue is a bit stiff, and the characters sometimes felt clichéd and unoriginal. It was like they were reading and acting from a television series manuscript at times. The one romantic interlude- if you want to categorize it as such- was completely ridiculous and unnecessary- it was a requisite sex scene- there just to be there- and served no purpose whatsoever

That said, the story was a much-needed change of pace for me. It was an interesting premise and held my attention from start to finish, with a few twists and turns I never saw coming. It was a nice combination of mystery, action, and suspense.

There is a follow-up to this novel- so I’m curious to see what happens next for Will and his quantum technology.

3.5 rounded up. ( )

Many thanks to NetGalley, Drew Murray, and Oceanview Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review of Broken Genius. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

What if you were a genius. Not just any genius, but the brightest, smartest guy in the room. Your whole life you win. Until one day you don’t. And that one time you don’t, someone dies. Will tried to help the police with a serial killer and because of his mistake, the girl died. The day this happened his company was supposed to acquire technology from Japan that would have changed the world. That day the tsunami hit and the nuclear plant had a meltdown. The revolutionary device disappeared.

We next meet Will when he is called in to solve a case. He is now a Special Agent for the FBI. This case requires his special skill set. A murder has happened at Comi-Con. The device that has been untraceable all these years is now on the black market waiting to be sold in an auction. Now every criminal from all over the world wants to get their hands on this device. Will has help from another FBI agent, who has his own agenda, the local police, who happens to be a beautiful woman and Will’s own crack techies. But will his trauma affect his ability to do his job? Or will he be responsible for another young girl’s death?

This is my type of book. The back story was well done and set Will up to be a broken man who wants to only use his talents to do good in this world. His fall from grace was rough. humbling him and at the same time making him fearful. The new mystery was multi-layered and full of action and suspense. There were twists and turns as the story unfolded. Having it take place during Comic-Con was an extra cool layer that I loved. All of the computer hacking and international espionage was also right up my alley. There was some attraction between Will and the local policewoman, but it was subtle and didn’t take over the storyline at any point, which was fine with me. I’m not a fan of romance blooming in the middle of a takedown. Sex? Maybe, ya but I hate googly eyes being made over dead bodies. Stay professional people!

It isn’t a heavy book, more on the lighter side. The story moves along and there are enough characters to keep in interesting and not so many that you can’t remember who’s who. It was exciting and interesting all the way through. I can imagine lots more adventures for Special Agent Will and I would read them! This would make a fantastic movie. Hollywood, anyone listening? ( )

Fast paced and fun

This is the kind of story I like – a tech genius withdraws from his tech world after his error leads to the horrific death of an innocent woman. To assuage his guilt Will Parker joins the FBI cybercrime division. But he remains a fabulously wealthy tech superstar and uses his skills and contacts in the tech world to solve a crime committed at a Comic Con in some unnamed midwestern city. Very cool. I liked the book a lot and hope to read more about Special Agent Will Parker.

I received a review copy of "Broken Genius" by Drew Murray from Oceanview Publishing through NetGalley.com. ( )