Set in Washington, DC, this thriller introduces us to
Detective Veronica Sloan in a futuristic world. Every
citizen is implanted with a microchip and every cop has to
be in uniform. The microchip requirement has come after a
bomb under the White House in 2017 did severe damage,
killing the then President, and now there is a backlash on
privacy grounds.
In DON'T LOOK AWAY, Veronica Sloan has yet another implant -
part of the Optical Evidence Programme, meaning that she
will be able to read evidence from similar implants in
others, though she hasn't used this for real yet. One of
the people with this implant has been found murdered at the
ruins of the White House, and Veronica is called in to
assist. The assumption is that the killing was terrorist
related. Territorial security staff resent Veronica's
presence and very few people know about the Optical
project, so who had security clearance to pick off one
woman involved in it?
DON'T LOOK AWAY reminded me of the Gunpowder Plot which
failed
to blow up the House of Commons in London centuries ago.
The Orwellian world created in the aftermath of the
destruction of the White House, builds on RFID technology
available today and used to identify animals and expensive
retail products. Because the book is set in the mid-2020s
much is recognisable and even normal to us. I found the
killing described in an unpleasant fashion but today's
thrillers have become ever more realistic when they discuss
death. Those of a tender disposition can skip the first few
pages and pick up the story. However, we - through
Veronica - are later forced to relive the victim's last
moments. This does make the point that technology is not
necessarily making life easier and people still have to do
the unpleasant tasks. Looking through the files of the dead
woman's vision includes looking at her sex life, and none
of the watchers feels good about the voyeurism. Veronica
finds one of her co-workers attractive and another just
supportive, but she can't get close to either of them,
which makes it a little harder to relate to her.
Leslie A. Smith has written an intense thriller of the near
future in which America has shut out the world and holds
all its citizens under suspicion. DON'T LOOK AWAY is
intended as the first in a series and brings a chilling
vision for fans of the genre.
CAN A MURDER VICTIM'S OWN MEMORIES BE USED TO SOLVE A CRIME?
Detective Veronica Sloan isn’t shocked by much. Having lived
through the worst terrorist attacks in history—which
destroyed much of Washington, D.C.—she’s immune to even the
most vicious brutality. But even she is stunned by the
discovery of a murder in the basement of the under-
reconstruction White House. Sloan and FBI Agent Jeremy Sykes
have been assigned to investigate the homicide because the
victim was a participant in a top-secret experiment.
Veronica has been training for just this kind of case,
waiting to use her special skills, anxious to learn if a
recording device implanted in a victim’s head can help solve
their murder….before the killer strikes again
Marie, my girlfriend loves that show too and I’ll have to recommend the book you suggested to her. I was looking it up online and found it on Amazon but just wanted to let you know that the title is listed as “Publius: Libertas Aut Mors”, just as an FYI. Thanks for the article and suggestions from both of you, I think she'd like both of these books. (Tim Edwards 2:15pm September 26, 2013)
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