The Short Drop Book Review

The Short Drop by Matthew Fitzsimmons

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Blurb:

A decade ago, fourteen-year-old Suzanne Lombard, the daughter of Benjamin Lombard - the a senator, now a powerful vice president running for the presidency - disappeared in the most sensational missing-person case in the nation's history. Still unsolved, the mystery remains a national obsession.

For legendary hacker and marine Gibson Vaughn, the case is personal - Suzanne Lombard had been like a sister to him. On the tenth anniversary of her disappearance, the former head of Benjamin Lombard's security asks for Gibson's help in a covert investigation of the case, with new evidence in hand.

Haunted by tragic memories, he jumps at the chance to uncover what happened all those years ago. Using his military and technical prowess, he soon discovers multiple conspiracies surrounding the Lombard family - and he encounters powerful, ruthless political players who will do anything to silence him and his team. With new information surfacing that could threaten Lombard's bid for the presidency, Gibson must stay one step ahead as he navigates a dangerous web to get to the truth.

Review by Brittany:

I loved the characters in this book! Gibson Vaughn is totally cool. There's something about the way Fitzsimmons wrote this character that made me love him a little bit. He's a little bit snarky and quite an intelligent guy, as illustrated by his hacking skills. Jenn Charles is the token female agent who can kick some butt. I'm a sucker for women who can make things happen, and Jenn is exactly one of those characters. Hendricks is the lovable grump, also able to handle himself. And the villains in this one are so much like real people that they are the scariest types of monsters.

Because there are so many hackers in this book, there is a lot of computer hacker jargon that can be confusing for readers like me who don't understand squat about IT stuff, but it doesn't take away from the story any. The technology that is described is pretty cool and really opened my eyes to what is possible for those who have a good understanding of how to work computer systems.

About halfway through the book there's a slight twist that leads Gibson to realize that everything is not exactly how he thinks it is. While he's chasing Suzanne, the others involved might simply be chasing Suzanne's captor, a fine but important distinction. This alters the course of the story and temporarily calls into question some of the loyalties of the book.

The suspense of finding out what happened to Suzanne kept me reading. Was she abducted? Did she run away? In the end, the truth was a bit harder than what I thought it would be. It's sad what happened to Suzanne and all of the people involved in her disappearance.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters and felt surprised enough by the climax to feel relief at finally understanding what had happened. If thriller/suspense novels are your thing, definitely pick this one up.