April 21, 2003
In Andrews's second exciting computer-as-sleuth mystery (after 2002's You've Got Murder), "Artificial Intelligence Personality" Hopper Turing draws on all her cyber skills to help investigate the murder of a gifted computer programmer, Ray Santiago, found shot to death in a Washington, D.C., alley, his laptop stolen. Turing and human colleagues Maude Graham and Tim Pincoski at Universal Library outside D.C. discover that Ray cleverly constructed a false identity and was deeply involved in the role-playing game subculture. Dangerous criminals have been preying on those gamers who turn to live-action role playing. The narrative mimics real software with layers of security for access to different databases and with worms to deny access and destroy intruders. Explanations of a few technical terms will ease the way for readers with little computer background, but those who are computer literate will most appreciate the author's talent for blending information-age details with an enjoyable crime puzzle. (May 6)FYI:Andrews is also the author of
Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon (Forecasts, Jan. 20) and other titles in her Meg Langslow series.