THE BLOCKCHAIN SYNDICATE

Bach explores politics and technology in this international thriller.

The year is 2023; Phoenix Humboldt is attending Aragon High School in a suburb of San Francisco. When shots are fired from the school roof, Phoenix springs into action and attempts to protect other students with her body, getting hit in the process. It turns out the shooting was the work of a professional, who used “high-end military-grade equipment.” The shooter also managed to escape the scene without any problem. But why was Phoenix the only one who was shot? Phoenix’s father, Johnny Humboldt, is a divorced man who happens to be dating a U.S. senator and decorated Air Force veteran named Tamika Smith. Tamika received some perplexing emails on the morning of the shooting—threats from Air Force Capt. Derrick Tomlinson. This would be troubling enough, as Tomlinson sexually assaulted Tamika while they were in the military together, but Tomlinson is also supposed to be dead. Soon enough, Johnny is kidnapped. It becomes clear that a wealthy man named Lee Bowen is behind these events, but what exactly does he want? When Bowen anticipates that the “chaos he was creating would be epic,” the narrative does not disappoint. Bach’s eventful yarn takes readers from an “an autonomous firing nest” in an arboretum to trouble in the Netherlands to technological machinations that send the narrative “into cryptoland and across the dark web”; the school shooting is merely the beginning. While the reader is kept engaged and eager to see where all of this will lead, following the characters through their investigations is not always thrilling. Readers know who the bad guys are—it takes quite some time for the characters to catch up. Nevertheless, there is great excitement to be had in finding out if the malefactors can be stopped.

A compelling thriller that combines a healthy mix of real-world action and nefarious online activities.