Come and Find Me: A Novel of Suspense

by Hallie Ephron

Overview

“It takes a lot of chutzpah for a book reviewer to write books of her own….But Hallie Ephron…can hold her head high: She does it, and very well, too.”
—Seattle Times

A recluse who works and lives online must brave the “real world” when her sister goes missing in Come and Find Me—a gripping and ingenious novel of mystery and psychological suspense from Hallie Ephron, author of Never Tell a Lie. Writing about her sensational debut, USA Today noted, “You can imagine Hitchcock curling up with this one.” Aficionados of Rear Window, Vertigo, and North by Northwest—as well as the many fans of Harlan Coben and Mary Higgins Clark—will get a similar charge from Come and Find Me.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062103727
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/28/2012
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.68(d)

About the Author

Hallie Ephron is the New York Times bestselling author of Never Tell a Lie, Come and Find Me, There Was an Old Woman, and Night Night, Sleep Tight. For twelve years she was the crime fiction reviewer for the Boston Globe. The daughter of Hollywood screenwriters, she grew up in Beverly Hills, and lives near Boston, Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

Explores the dark side of cyberspace . . . Although COME AND FIND ME is at its core a breathless thriller, Ephron also explores the issue of personal identity in an age when we can pretend to be anything we want to be online.” — Connecticut Post

“Psychologically astute and emotionally gripping . . . Ephron understands that the fears we inflict upon ourselves can be more crippling than a man with a gun . . . A unique and compelling novel to be read more than once.” — Mystery Scene

“Propelled me from first page to last in a single sitting.” — Bookreporter.com

“A compelling yarn of deception and danger . . . a cautionary tale about the power of information technology . . . And although this novel seems to be a stand-alone, readers can hope that a sequel is not out of the question.” — Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Ephron excels in creating an authentic view of an agoraphobic for whom the mere thought of walking down the driveway to the mailbox can immobilize her . . . Diana’s emotional fragility gives a unique perspective to this character’s psyche.” — Times Leader

From the Publisher

Explores the dark side of cyberspace . . . Although COME AND FIND ME is at its core a breathless thriller, Ephron also explores the issue of personal identity in an age when we can pretend to be anything we want to be online.

Connecticut Post

Psychologically astute and emotionally gripping . . . Ephron understands that the fears we inflict upon ourselves can be more crippling than a man with a gun . . . A unique and compelling novel to be read more than once.

Mystery Scene

Ephron excels in creating an authentic view of an agoraphobic for whom the mere thought of walking down the driveway to the mailbox can immobilize her . . . Diana’s emotional fragility gives a unique perspective to this character’s psyche.

Times Leader

A compelling yarn of deception and danger . . . a cautionary tale about the power of information technology . . . And although this novel seems to be a stand-alone, readers can hope that a sequel is not out of the question.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Propelled me from first page to last in a single sitting.

Bookreporter.com

"Ephron excels in creating an authentic view of an agoraphobic for whom the mere thought of walking down the driveway to the mailbox can immobilize her . . . Diana’s emotional fragility gives a unique perspective to this character’s psyche."

Time Magazines Leader

Book critic Ephron writes about cyber security and the ultimate betrayal in her second novel (Never Tell a Lie, 2009).

Diana Banks interacts with society in an online world peopled by virtual friends and acquaintances. Even in her job as a cyber-security consultant, Diana attends business meetings held in virtual conference rooms in the persona of her avatar, a woman she calls Nadia. Her preference for the virtual world grew out of the panic attacks Diana began experiencing after her husband, an idealistic hacker named Daniel, fell to his death. The accident took place when the couple was mountain climbing in Switzerland with Daniel's best friend, Jake. After Daniel, who was obsessed with disrupting what he saw as over-intrusive government, died on Eiger, Jake and Diana invested the life-insurance payout into a legitimate business. Now, instead of hacking into companies' databases, they detect intrusions and guide companies through security fixes. One of the few people Diana still sees from the real world is her younger sister Ashley. While visiting with Diana, Ashley decides to accept an invitation to a flash event in the city and go in Diana's place. Ashley then disappears, setting Diana on a frantic search to find her, aided by an online buddy she's never before met in person, as well as her own intricate knowledge of the way virtual worlds operate. While Diana confronts her fears of the outside world through the haze of grief that remains following her husband's death, she also realizes that whatever happened to her sister wasn't really about Ashley, but about her. Eventually, Diana must find a way to conquer her twin demons of panic and anxiety and pull the plug on a conspiracy that could have far-reaching consequences. Ephron dresses up a paper-thin plot with lots of cyber jargon and an impressive understanding of how hackers work, but the characters remain flat and unengaging.

A light, pleasant-enough read, but the story fails to develop any real momentum, and there is little suspense in this tale of a woman who barricades herself from real life.

Kirkus Reviews