GRID ZERO

Following a blackout, a Virginia computer-security expert investigates an anomaly that could indicate a bigger catastrophe on the way in Diamond’s thriller.

After two hurricane strikes trigger a massive power outage, a concurrent heat wave kills thousands along the East Coast. Sean Riggs, a former computer-security hire for utilities giant Empire Energy, is at home, pondering the question that got him fired by his hateful boss, Ray Cooper: Why is Empire’s testing software—meant to run in isolation to check the troubled power grid—apparently infused with malicious code, apparently created by unknown programmers in China? Sean’s one-man inquiry is delightfully interrupted by the affections of Danielle Duval,an outgoing single woman who falls for Sean (and his working, solar-cell-enabled HVAC). Meanwhile, Sean’s hacking of his ex-employer’s computer system draws the attention of Anya Lakhani, a government investigator who’s initially stymied by Sean’s near-foolproof methods. Soon, though, she begins picking up his online trail, just as he determines that a more devastating attack on America’s power infrastructure is planned. On the outskirts of the narrative are Del Wright, a good-old-boy Empire field engineer and Donna Cooper, Ray’s downtrodden wife, terrorized by her cruel husband’s right-wing Christian fanaticism. There’s a fairly small field of suspects in this mystery, but Diamond still crafts it into a relatable, megawattage cyberthriller that’s worthy of 1970s-era spinner-rack pulp fiction, brought up to date with sharp characterization; skillful, cinematic cross-cutting; and timely infusions of paranoia and modern-day terrorism. The tech is lucidly explained, for readers who aren’t allergic to infotech: “The encrypted value is some kind of key. It's the trigger that sets the whole thing in motion. If it's encrypted, if no one can read it, then no one knows what will set this thing off.” In a chilling touch, Diamond adds an afterword describing the real-life inspirations for his amped-up premise.

A high-voltage page-turner that won’t overpower nontechnical readers.