Incel

by Lori A Witt

Overview

Detective Damian Arruda thought his partner was just too distraught to accept his wife's murder as a random act of violence. Then the devastated widower got too close to the truth, and now Damian is grieving his best friend. As his conscience threatens to eat him alive, he'll stop at nothing to find the killer.

Special Agent Melissa Walker's partner met a violent end as well, and his death is almost certainly connected. When she joins forces with Damian, the investigation takes them into the vile underbelly of the Internet: the incel community and its toxic forums full of misogynists who consider themselves "involuntarily celibate" and feed off each other's vitriol and hatred.

As the pieces come together, there's no denying the three deaths and the poisonous, cultlike community are part of a wave of murders, grisly assaults, and bombings. Damian and Melissa are running out of time to take the killers down before more innocent people fall victim--and before someone decides that one victim at a time isn't enough.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781642300451
Publisher:	Lori Witt
Publication date:	04/02/2019
Series:	Walker & Arruda , #1
Pages:	588
Product dimensions:	4.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 1.31(d)

About the Author

Lori A. Witt is the fourth corner of the Gallagher-Witt quad, and prefers to play in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and suspense over all that romance nonsense. Okay, so romance does show up sometimes, but these are the books she writes when she needs a change of pace. Suspense, thrillers, sword and sorcery, spaceships--Lori writes it all.

Like the other members of the quad (L.A. Witt, Lauren Gallagher, and Ann Gallagher), Lori currently lives in southern Spain with her husband and a pair of cats who don't like each other. In her spare time, she tries to stay out of the middle of L.A.'s and Lauren's ongoing rivalry, while never missing a chance to trip Ann when she's not paying attention.

Editorial Reviews

KIRKUS REVIEWS: "Energetic crime fiction with sharp characters and a realistic menace."

From the Publisher

2018-11-22

An FBI agent and a homicide detective investigate murder and acid attacks in the Seattle area in Witt's (The Tide of War, 2014) thriller.

Detective Damian Arruda is wracked with guilt after his partner, Allen Shephard, is killed. Allen had been convinced that his wife's murderwasn't just a random act, and Damian believed that his partner was chasing an imaginary conspiracy. As it turns out, Allen had been working with Special Agent Melissa Walker of the FBI's cybercrimes unit. She'd also recently lost a partner, Shel Randall, and his murder, along with Allen's, is likely related to an investigation into so-called "incel" forums. Incels are groups of people, predominantly men, who deem themselves "involuntarily celibate." Melissa's team has been monitoring their online communities, which generally consist of complaints; many forum-posters believe that they're "entitled" to sex. The FBI believes that incels are behind some incidents of violence against women, and Melissa suspects them of attacking attractive men (whom incels call "Chads") with sulfuric acid in and around Seattle. Working with Damian, Melissa and her six-agent team at the FBI's Seattle field office keep a close eye on the members of one particular online forum, SaltyIncels. The acid attacks continue, however, and a new threat emerges when the team has reason to believe that recently discovered explosives are linked to an incel bombing plan. Witt's dramatization of the real-life subculture of incels is riveting; periodic chapters of online discussions, for example, reveal how anonymous posters encourage others to engage in violent behavior. Her rich characterizations of the shrewd, headstrong protagonists augment the narrative, as does her use of short scenes and copious dialogue. There's also plenty of tension throughout, as when Melissa's boss wants her to drop the case and head back to Washington, D.C., or team members' recurring clashes threaten to derail the investigation. Parts of the story, however, rely too heavily on coincidence, and one significant plot turn is easy to see coming. However, many readers will likely want to read more about Melissa and Damian in future planned installments.

Energetic crime fiction with sharp characters and a realistic menace.

Kirkus Reviews