This is the debut novel from Claire Isenthal, who grew up travelling the world with her family and has worked in Digital Marketing and Ad Sales. This book was initially inspired by the Orlando nightclub shootings but has evolved greatly in the 7 years it took to write. This is also the first installment in a new series.
Flynn Zarytsky, a recruiter for Magnetic, a Chicago mega-tech company, is attending a concert with co-workers when a mass shooting occurs by a terrorist group called REDS. Wolf, a REDS operative, recognizes her from an encounter years ago and decides to spare her life. Instead, she is taken hostage and told that she must follow their orders to facilitate their master plans, or all her loved ones will die. REDS’ master plan is to make society pay for its greed and establish a new order. Once she is released, Wolf ensures that Flynn follows their orders. First, she must get him hired at Magnetic so that REDS can infiltrate the tech company’s network reach. By unleashing malware into their systems, REDS plans to cause catastrophic devastation in the city of Chicago. Flynn, determined to keep her loved ones safe, follows their orders but also attempts to chip away at Wolf’s resolve and his loyalty to the REDS’ mission. Sooner than Flynn anticipates, the REDS’ plan is well underway, and Flynn has become an accomplice in terrorism that leaves the people of Chicago in a very vulnerable state and leads them in the direction of a dystopian society.
The storyline is intense and action-packed from start to finish. Flynn and Wolf are both well-developed characters that evolve throughout the story. Since there is a lot of backstory about Wolf’s tragic past and how he became the monster he is, listeners can “almost” empathize with him at times, despite his horrifying actions. Flynn, on the other hand, makes many poor decisions throughout the book and evolves into her own monster by allowing it to happen. There are definitely several triggers in this book, including trauma, mass shootings, and violence, which listeners should be prepared for. The Author’s Note and Content Advisory at the end of the audiobook are definitely worth a listen, as they shed light on the tragic real-life events that inspired the novel and how these dark aspects of society are present and inescapable in our modern world.
Narrator Sam Christian delivers an intense, nerve-wrenching performance, keeping listeners fully engaged and on the edge of their seats. His contrasting portrayal of Wolf and Flynn is especially impressive, as listeners are dramatically drawn into the inner turmoils of two very different characters that have a twisted connection. The novel culminates with an action-packed cliffhanger ending that leaves a lot of questions unanswered. If all of this sounds enticing and you enjoy intense thrillers, definitely give this audiobook a listen!
