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Invasion of Privacy

Review

Invasion of Privacy

In Christopher Reich’s latest nonstop stand-alone thriller, FBI agent Joe Grant meets an informant in a remote area outside of Austin, Texas. He is there to get some evidence on a slippery billionaire his team has been working hard to snare. But something goes terribly wrong, and the two are ambushed. At the last second, Joe sends off a message to his wife, Mary. She receives it but too late. Then, inexplicably, it disappears from her phone. Anyone can accidentally erase a message, especially when under stress --- and Mary was definitely under stress. But it’s completely gone; her husband’s last communication to her has disappeared. How can she tell her two daughters that their father has been killed and she lost his dying words?

As difficult as that is, Mary has to pull herself together, for she soon becomes convinced that she wasn’t the one who erased the message. And the message was trying to tell her that things weren’t right.

"Did I mention this is a nonstop thriller? From the time Joe meets his informant and the bullets begin to fly, no one gets any sleep, including the reader."

In addition, the story that the FBI feeds to the media makes no sense. Mary has looked at the facts, and their story doesn’t fit. She is not the type of woman to sit by and leave things alone. So now she swears to uncover the truth, if for no other reason than to honor her husband’s memory. But who can she trust? Plus, she has two daughters to be concerned about --- one who is battling cancer and the other who is carrying her own burden. The oldest girl, Jessie, is a tech nerd and wants to help figure out what happened to that mysterious message. While that’s a sweet idea, Mary tells her to stay out of it. But Jessie is as stubborn as her mother, and that just may get her into a heap of trouble.

Meanwhile, washed-up reporter Tank Potter has hit rock bottom. In the Joe Grant murder story, Potter sees an opportunity to redeem himself. He, too, thinks the FBI’s official version smells fishy. But he will need Mary’s help to succeed. Can he gain her trust? Potter has a lot of baggage, and if there’s anything Mary doesn’t need, it’s more trouble. If the two of them can somehow find a way to work together, they may have a chance. But going up against the FBI and a man with the kind of financial backing he has, well, that chance is a long shot. That’s where Las Vegas comes in.

It’s refreshing to see a grieving widow with moxie, unwilling to look the other way because it’s just easier to succumb to her loss and buy into their version of events. Yes, she questions her judgment now and then, but putting things right wins out, hands down. At the same time, Potter also has something to prove and little to lose but his life.

Did I mention this is a nonstop thriller? From the time Joe meets his informant and the bullets begin to fly, no one gets any sleep, including the reader.

Reviewed by Kate Ayers on July 10, 2015

Invasion of Privacy
by Christopher Reich

  • Publication Date: June 28, 2016
  • Genres: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
  • Paperback: 496 pages
  • Publisher: Anchor
  • ISBN-10: 0307473821
  • ISBN-13: 9780307473820