BUBBLE

The finale of a trilogy that presents an unlikely sibling alliance against a mysterious social media game.

In the latest novel from IT security director and police officer–turned–Swedish crime writer de la Motte (Buzz, 2014, etc.), we find aimless adrenaline junkie HP and his security specialist sister, Rebecca, still combating the far-reaching controls of a shadowy game. The unique talents offered by each sibling make them especially attractive for the various operators of the game. When close friends expose themselves as tools in the larger agenda of the game, HP and Rebecca continually scramble to find a vision of clarity in an increasingly murky world that is shadowed by a struggle for control of the virtual exchange of information currency offered by social media outlets. Building on an Orwellian theme of owning the future through control of the past, this mysterious game utilizes a host of seemingly sinister characters to gain access to the information supplied by an individual in the past as a means to control their decisions in the future. While HP uncovers the far-ranging capacity for control that this premise offers, Rebecca discovers that their father may have been involved with top-secret affairs within Sweden. Issues of family and unresolved emotions loom in the background as the story jumps from one endorphin-charged scene to another.

An interesting concept developed into an exciting read.