Greg DePrince Arts + Life

I'm going to borrow a phrase from my previous posting: "I don't read a lot of", in this case, thrillers. If I could find more thrillers like Charlie Huston's Skinner, I would read a lot more of them. Huston is a successful writer of edgie mysteries. His most recent novel, Skinner, is a post-9/11 thriller based in the world of the international security industry. It is a compelling story filled with exceptionally well developed characters. The story and the characters are all believable, which adds to the hook. Huston builds a complex story of a credible threat and the response by a large security firm and three ex-employees. Yes, there are good guys who are not so good, lots of double crosses, mixed alliances and a possible loose nuke. Skinner is an infamous agent with a strange resume. He is assigned an "asset" to protect, Jae, a gifted data analyst and robotics expert who is a bit fried. She has been hired to investigate a cyber attack on the U.S. power grid, which leads her to another plot involving what might be a nuke. Or...she is led to the other plot, by another former colleague from the grave. It's quite a  ride.