Wyatt Gillette has served two years of a three year sentence for hacking into the Dept of Defense's computer system. The hacker's code says you never hurt civilians, but somebody is doing just that.

Andy Anderson, head of the State Police Computer Crimes Unit manages to get Wyatt out of prison to work on this case. In hacker circles, Wyatt is known as a wizard, and so is the hacker he's after. When Andy's murdered, Frank Bishop takes over the case and does his best to keep Wyatt out of prison until the case is solved. But he has to wonder if it ever will be... the perp is always one step ahead of them. How can they get the advantage over Phate? Is Wyatt good enough to beat this criminal hacker at his own game?

Jeffrey Deaver's latest thriller keeps you hopping. Every time you think the police are close to nabbing Phate, something happens to interfere. Both hackers are geniuses when it comes to writing programs, and you never know for sure who's going to win this one. The members of the Computer Crimes Unit either love or hate computers, depending on their personal experiences.

There's lots of action in this story, and computer terms are explained throughout. The psychological battle between the hackers will hook you from page one. Try to follow Phate's logic as he chooses his next victim, plans his next moves.

It's easy to see why Deaver remains on the New York Times best seller list. The creator of Lincoln Rhyme continues to capture his readers with this cyberspace hit.