RAVEN

A computer whiz with a troubled past is given a second chance in life in Kelley’s novel.

Having weathered a family scandal back in Missouri and been expelled from the local state college, Mev is thrilled to be recruited for a prestigious computer program at MIT. The recruiter is Prof. Randall Fitzroy III (“Fitz”) a renowned computer scientist, and Mev will be his special protégé. She (and we) soon realize that Fitz is smooth to the point of suspiciousness. Rich and sophisticated, he is also a spy as it turns out, stealing top secret stuff from the powerhouse labs in the Boston area and selling it to the Russians. But as his savvier grad students will attest, Fitz is not really as talented as advertised. His forte is grooming truly talented students like Mev to do the hacking for him. And the fact that she is also beautiful, well, that’s icing on the cake. As a supposed test assignment, he tricks her into hacking a premier lab so that she is compromised and controlled. But Fitz has to keep feeding his expensive lifestyle and, tapped out on the usual loan sources, he borrows from Bank Erin not realizing that it is controlled by the Boston Irish mob. Suspicious, the FBI puts agents Paul Ostrowski and Carl Philips on the case. Paul is old school and a straight arrow; Carl is the next generation, a young and very computer savvy Black man. They soon make for a good team. More complications ensue, the risks multiply, and Fitz gets more and more desperate. Mev then must ponder a risky move—hoping to bail herself out of it all. Kelley’s debut is impressive. He seems to know the territory: not just Boston but also the world of computer geeks. Fitz is a classic villain: vain, narcissistic and, when push comes to shove, a genuine psychopath. (At one point he says to Mev plaintively, “Why are you making me hurt you?” and of his undergraduate conquests, “They loved it when you pretended to care.”) The rich characterization alone should make this a worthwhile read.

A well-spun morality tale that also believably combines academia with spy thriller intrigue.