Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: April 11, 2023
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Source: Publisher
Genre: Thrillers / Suspense
Letty Davenport, the tough-as-nails adopted daughter of Lucas
Davenport, takes on an undercover assignment that brings her across the
country and into the crosshairs of a dangerous group of hackers.
Letty
Davenport’s days working a desk job at are behind her. Her previous
actions at a gunfight in Texas—and her incredible skills with
firearms—draw the attention of several branches of the US government,
and make her a perfect fit for even more dangerous work. The Department
of Homeland Security and the NSA have tasked her with infiltrating a
hacker group, known only as Ordinary People, that is intent on wreaking
havoc. Letty and her reluctant partner from the NSA pose as
free-spirited programmers for hire and embark on a cross country road
trip to the group’s California headquarters.
While the two work
to make inroads with Ordinary People and uncover their plans, they begin
to suspect that the hackers are not their only enemy. Someone within
their own circle may have betrayed them, and has ulterior motives that
place their mission—and their lives—in grave danger.
Dark Angel, by author John Sanford, is the second installment in the authors Letty Davenport series. Letty Davenport, the tough-as-nails adopted daughter of Lucas
Davenport, who appeared regularly in the authors Prey series, takes on an undercover assignment that brings her across the
country and into the crosshairs of a dangerous group of hackers. Letty is an inspector for the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security, while also working for US Senator Christopher Colles of Florida. Letty Davenport’s days working a desk job at are behind her.
Her
previous actions at a gunfight in Pershing, Texas—and her incredible skills with
firearms, has drawn the attention of several branches of the US government,
and makes her a perfect fit for even more dangerous work. She also gets a unique invitation to join a group of Women, including Jane Longstreet, and Barbara Cartwright, who have been around the block a time or two, and who have survived using their skills, and of course, their guns. Most of the women are either military trained or specialized law enforcement or consultants.
After all, Letty has a rather impressive body count to her name from the time she was an orphan, to her time in Pershing. The Department
of Homeland Security and the NSA have tasked her with infiltrating a
hacker group, known only as Ordinary People, that is intent on wreaking
havoc. The NSA tells her the hackers are nosing around
natural gas distribution systems and they think the group intends to
shut down the natural gas supply of a northern city in a ransomware
attack which could, in the dead of winter, cause civilian fatalities.
Letty and her reluctant partner from the NSA, Rod Baxter, pose as
free-spirited programmers for hire and embark on a cross country road
trip to the group’s California headquarters. While the two work to make inroads with Ordinary People and uncover
their plans, they begin to suspect that the hackers are not their only
enemy. Someone within their own circle may have betrayed them, and has
ulterior motives that place their mission—and their lives—in grave
danger.
To make matters even more dangerous, there are Russians involved. Russians who are targeting the Ordinary People who hacked into their network and caused major troubles which now that Russia is on the cusp of invading Ukraine, needs to be taken care quickly. Letty takes after Lucas in several ways
including her proficiency and knowledge of guns and her love of fashion.
Baxter is somewhat stereotyped in the beginning of the novel, but he's the
character who experiences the most dramatic changes in attitude and
outlook as the story unfolds. Baxter is not your typical good looking, athletic hero like Letty's partner, Kaiser. Nope, he’s overweight, hairy and not an agent who's spent any time in the field.
I enjoy reading stories by Sanford. He challenges readers to suspend belief in most areas, but in this case, if hackers really could bring Russia to a standstill, and prevent a war between the US, China and their new friends in Moscow, so be it. After all, Chinese hackers, as well as Russian and North Koreans, have been compromising our military and infrastructure for years. It is time to rally some good White Hate Hackers to fight back and save our country.
