Terrence used to be the head of Kestrel Dynamics, a cutting- edge security firm he founded. Pushed aside by the men he hired, they now need his help in running a surreptitious operation. It seems someone is plotting to disable an American power grid. Terrence insists, over strong objections, on using Jae, a genius analyst and roboticist who spends her time in the desert indulging in illicit drugs, for the job. It is apparent she will require expert protection.
Skinner, an ex-CIA agent whose early isolation in an experimental chamber earned him his moniker, is now a highly paid security tech specializing in safeguarding clients, known as assets, such as Jae. The two head out on a treacherous mission fraught with violence and duplicity. When their paths cross those of a young boy in Mumbai, the impact is crucial in their quest to foil the terrorist plot.
Charlie Huston's SKINNER has lots of wild plot twists and tons of techno jargon to navigate as it progresses to its shocking, unexpected conclusion. This hard-edged, cyber-crime thriller has it all for fans of this genre.
Skinner founded his career in "asset protection" on fear. To
touch anyone under his protection was to invite destruction.
A savagely effective methodology, until Skinner's CIA
handlers began to fear him as much as his enemies did and
banished him to the hinterlands of the intelligence community.
Now, an ornate and evolving cyber–terrorist attack is
about to end that long exile. His asset is Jae, a roboticist
with a gift for seeing the underlying systems violently
shaping a new era of global guerrilla warfare.
At the root of it all is a young boy, the innocent seed of a
plot grown in the slums of Mumbai. Brought to flower, that
plot will tip the balance of world power in a perilous new
direction.
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