We open with a computer addict sitting in an isolated cottage in Quebec. This is the furthest Susan has yet run, hoping the FBI won't catch up to her for a net bank robbery more than a decade ago; to her it didn't feel like doing any harm, since nobody was getting hurt. But when a strange and malicious virus attacks her own computer, that's different. That's personal, it hurts, and it makes her realise that she's being SHADOWED.

Really, what did she expect, lurking and communicating with other hackers in a hacker chat room? Well, Susan had thought other hackers would not hack her. Now the unknown users are demanding a sum in bitcoin as her files are held to ransom. If she doesn't pay her friends may be harmed. She packs and leaves, along with her unsuspecting friend Dominique who is just helping her bring paintings for sale to a town. This is the second in a series called 'Nicole Jones' which turns out to be Susan's previous name. I had not read the first adventure which seems to have been very exciting for the people concerned. Susan, with a chequered family background, had tried to disappear and lead an artist's life; but she could not resist bringing her laptop. Now she is running again.

VPN is one of the bits of jargon which could be better explained for the non-fluent reader. A virtual private network protects the identity of the computer user from others on the net. Some people use these because they are a celebrity or they have a stalker. I have to say that I found the possible threat to Susan's friends too nebulous to convince, especially since they were not on the wrong side of the law. Susan narrates in present tense while describing herself as a middle-aged lady with salt and pepper hair and a long skirt. Occasionally she realises that she's not getting any younger, and wishes she could stop running. But she meets other, younger hackers, both needing and fearing them. Being simultaneously isolated and connected through a hidden identity seems to make these people paranoid. Indeed, a police detective has suspicions about Susan, an American living and working illegally in Canada. He's on her physical trail just as a shadow is on her virtual one.

Those who aren't enamoured of chatroom doubletalk and networks can immerse themselves in the tourist sights of Quebec City, a pleasant counterpoint, as Susan goes shopping for a protective jade dragon necklet. But Karen E. Olson's tension-filled SHADOWED is primarily for the computer literate, ideally those who have read the first instalment HIDDEN. There is some mildly strong language but no real scenes that would bar the tale from teen readers in my view.

Book Summary

Computer hacker ‘Nicole Jones’ finds herself on the run from an unknown enemy in this tense and twisting novel of identity and suspense

The computer hacker formerly known as Nicole Jones is now living as Susan McQueen on a remote island in Quebec, Canada. She is living a quiet life, working as an artist – but she has not given up her computer. While in an online chatroom, she sees a shadow – someone is inside her laptop, watching her every move, and somehow knows exactly who she is.

Afraid that he will track her down, Susan is on the run again – but from whom? Is it the FBI or someone associated with her past crime sixteen years before? Making her way across the border and back to the USA, some unsettling discoveries make Susan realize that she won’t be able to escape her past a second time.

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