Thursday, March 17, 2016

What is Reece Hirsch reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Reece Hirsch, author of Surveillance (A Chris Bruen Novel Book 3).

His entry begins:
The Cartel by Don Winslow

Don Winslow is one of the very best crime writers working today and The Cartel is one of his most powerful books. Like Richard Price’s Clockers, The Cartel is an immersive and unforgettable reading experience that takes readers to places that they would never, ever – and I mean ever -- want to visit in real life -- the world of the powerful Mexican drug cartels and the U.S. and Mexican law enforcement operatives that combat those organizations.

The Cartel walks an uneasy line between fiction and reportage but ultimately succeeds on both counts. There can be no doubt that Winslow has an encyclopedic knowledge of the social, political and economic dynamics of the so-called War on Drugs, and there are portions of The Cartel that read like straight-up journalism, charting the shifting alliances and battles between the various cartels. At first I wasn’t certain that the mix worked but the cumulative power of the book is...[read on]
About Surveillance, from the publisher:
When former computer-crimes prosecutor Chris Bruen and retired hacktivist Zoey Doucet open their San Francisco law firm, it’s the best day of their professional lives. That is, until their first client walks through the door.

Ian Ayres is an “ethical hacker” who was hired by a company to test the security of its online systems. On the job, he uncovered some highly classified information: the existence of a top-secret government surveillance agency and its Skeleton Key, a program that can break any form of encryption. Now Ayres is on the run. And after government agents descend on Chris and Zoey’s office during their potential client’s visit—killing two employees—they, too, are forced to flee for their lives.

From California to Ecuador to Mexico, the trio must try to evade a hired assassin, a bloodthirsty drug cartel, and their own government. But how can they escape an adversary that can access every phone call, every email, every video feed?

Surveillance is critically acclaimed author Reece Hirsch’s third book in the Chris Bruen series.
Visit Reece Hirsch's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Insider.

The Page 69 Test: Surveillance.

Writers Read: Reece Hirsch.

--Marshal Zeringue