Dead.com (The Samantha Darling Mystery Series)
Author
Sarah Browne
Publisher
Scrivener House Digital
4 Review Copies Left
It's 1999, and Manhattan journalist Samantha Darling is in a fix. The whole world is going digital, including her beloved magazine, which is about to be re-launched as E-LIFE. If Internet newbie Samantha wants to keep her job, she's going to have to morph from old media to new media--and fast. Thanks to a tech scandal brewing on the West Coast, Sam's editor ships her out to the land of "e-holes" so she can interview one of Silicon Valley's hottest geek gods.
But the assignment soon takes a twist as deadly as the Pacific Coast Highway. Now Samantha isn't just worried about coming up with a killer story, she's got to come up with the killer--that is, if he (or she) doesn't find her first. Luckily for Sam, she's accompanied by a band of only-in-California characters: uber-caffeinated net slaves, Zen masters, entrepreneurs, and even hemp-loving hippies. As Samantha begins to unravel the startling tale of a dark past, and the astonishing truth behind two technology giants, she realizes how hopelessly entangled she has become in this dangerously disruptive new wired world. Can she escape? Does she want to?
Reviews
Dead.com - The Samantha Darling Mystery Series by Sarah Browne
Published by Scrivener House Digital
Reviewed for Review the Book
Samantha is up to her neck in trouble. Call it a sudden atmospheric and/or culture shock, but she is about to be transformed from a dinosaur of the Computer Age into a somewhat savvy Dotcom California fledgling quickly learning the lingo. If that weren't enough, she has a fear of heights and is sent to California's coast along the Pacific Highway resulting in terrifying cliff driving, and Carey Wells, the Isis CEO she is to interview not only lives on a cliff, but has a glass floor at the edge where one can look down at the ocean below and watch the sea otters. All this because the nice paper magazine “Real Life” has been taken over by a Japanese digital conglomerate and will now be operating strictly on-line as “E-LIFE”. Joining the cyberworld has her editor in a panic for a groundbreaking story from Sam.
Sarah Browne writes with tongue-in-cheek (and often cheeky) humour, this ebook is fascinating and funny reading. Sam's first encounter with the CEO is breathtaking since she finds herself interviewing a very distracting hunk in a hot tub. But it isn't all daydreams and wishful thinking, oh, no! There is quite a cast of characters in this book ranging from the mysterious and missing ex-galpal Lily, the old friends from Carey's hometown, Jake and Danny, who are also dotcom literate and technical, and Ben, the good friend but also technically the competition CEO.
The evening of her arrival in Carmel coincided with the eve of a marathon which she was definitely not planning on running. She was, however, destined to be at Carey's pre-marathon party. By the next morning, Sam discovers her first dead body. With pressure from her editor, pressure from the police, and pressure from her vertigo, Sam finds herself without a story and stuck in California. Who can she trust? Who is killing off dotcom bigwigs? This is a story with lots of detail, descriptive and peopled with unique characters. Fun, rich in cybertalk, and a compelling murder mystery. A very entertaining read.
Reviewed on 02/02/2012 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Betty Gelean
