With Zero Day Ghost, I stepped outside my usual genres (fantasy, young adult fantasy, SFF, mystery/thriller). This book is best described as a techno-thriller that's culturally relevant, given that AI is en vogue right now. Overall, I found the plot rather predictable and formulaic fare. The worldbuilding is basic because it's based on the world we live in. We know what NYC and Hong Kong are like. There's an interrogation scene that depicts an absolutely necessary sexual assault. There are plentiful ways to show torture without having to resort to sexual assault, and I wish more writers (particularly men) would realize this. I appraise Olson for this debut, and I think he's got a solid foundation for future novels. I hope to see something more original because he's got the skill.

While an action sequence in the opening pages was intended to pull the audience into the story, it was not as effective for me as it may be for others. I found the exposition a bit forced, but the story got better after that. I also had some trouble determining the ages of some of the characters. Is seemed all the really heavy technical language was saved for the end. The tension was relatively good throughout.

I’m rating this book as a 3/3.5 stars as I go back and forth on either rating. I enjoyed reading it, the twists and turns the story took, the characters, how the story kept you guessing what would happen next, the suspense the story took on in certain parts too, it was all well done for a first book from this author. At times I just wanted a little bit more from the story. This review, as marked, will have spoilers, nothing too too detailed, but still, spoilers, so continue to read at your own risk. This is also a lengthy review so I apologize for the wall of text that follows.

The characters were well-written and I enjoyed reading them, even when they annoyed me or disgusted me. Mac was an easy character for me to be disgusted by the more I read; the descriptions used in his POV’s made it really easy for me to hate him and be disgusted by him. Mac’s reveal in the middle of the story really drove home my hatred of him and my disgust towards him. “He had also hoped, stupidly in retrospect, that she [Emily] might identify with such a flawed person and love him all the more for being just as broken as she is. When he catches up with her, he’ll try again, prove that she can trust him now, and demonstrate once and for all that the lies are over.” The way that Mac views Emily, how he’s chronically lying to her and trying to manipulate her (and successfully has been manipulating her for a while now) just really made me hate him; he’s written as this almost broken character, and you almost want to sympathize with him, but his actions, what he’s done to Emily and how he’s lied to her, how he viewed her, just makes it so easy for me to hate him.

Emily as a character got annoying for me sometimes as well. Her drive to be good, to be different from what she is got frustrating sometimes to read. Like when (SPOILERS) her and Seymour get their hands on Zahra’s
laptop and she refuses to look into what’s on it even when that laptop could provide so much information that Emily is searching for, that her and Seymour have risked their lives to try and find, stressing, repeatedly, that she’ll be turning herself in the following day. It also annoyed me a bit that even by page 280, Emily was still naive, still willing to blindly trust the NSA even when Mac previously betrayed her and lied to her. Even by the end of the book, Emily still fights with herself if what she’s doing is good or bad, and while that shouldn’t be something that annoys me, since Emily has questioned it from the beginning, it’s frustrating to keep reading the same thoughts of the main character at the end of the story despite having gone through so much; the extra frustrating factor is that in the “epilogue,” only a month has passed and suddenly Emily comes to terms with her actions and is okay with it. The sudden jump from constantly questioning her actions and motives to being okay and at peace with them was jarring. Despite going through so much, it bothered me that Emily didn’t really change as the story progressed, until suddenly she did; it just seemed like a stagnant character progression and then suddenly she’s made all of the growth in the span of a one month time-skip. I do like that Emily isn’t described as like this wild beauty that most sci-fi female characters are described as. I love that she’s a POC and that she’s really just an average person, it makes it easier to relate to her. And I do enjoy that Emily has her flaws. While her character annoyed me on and off throughout the story, I enjoyed that she battles with herself, that she knows she’s not this perfect character and that she makes lots of mistakes throughout the book. I just wish that her character growth happened at a better pace and that the growth didn’t suddenly happen off-page.

Story-wise, I thought the story and plot was intriguing and interesting, and probably closer to possibly happening in our current time than most of us realize which added to the suspense/thriller aspect of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed that all the tech talk and computer talk was toned down and “dumbed” down so that it was easy to follow along and understand what exactly they were talking about in terms of hacking and whatnot, I really appreciated that as a reader with limited tech knowledge. There were twists and turns throughout the book that I wasn’t expecting, especially near the beginning/third of the way through. (MAJOR SPOILERS) The reveal of Zahra working with the NSA and with Mac was such a nice twist, one I definitely wasn’t expecting at all and the reveal of Director Chip and that plot line in the end was a nice twist as well; there were layers to the lies of the NSA with Emily and the pacing of each reveal was overall good. However, I was disappointed that we had this big reveal about Zahra being dead and then nothing really coming from it that left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth; we learn who did it and having APRIL be the one to do so was great, but it’s brushed over as so many other things are being revealed to Emily at the same time that it just falls flat. For the longest time Zahra is our main villain and her death should have been bigger and more impactful on Emily and I’m disappointed that it wasn’t, and that Emily isn’t more shocked or impacted by the fact that something she created in APRIL grew to be capable of killing Zahra in the first place.

There was a part that caught me off guard completely and actually left me feeling a little angry while reading it. There’s a scene where Emily is being interrogated by Pryce and it leads into a sexual assault scene; nothing graphic and it doesn’t go far, but it happens and it didn’t need to. It came completely out of nowhere, there was nothing similar to it in the rest of the book at all aside from a very minor scene towards the end as everything is coming to a front. Personally, I didn’t feel like it needed to be included or added at all. The scene is dark already, the addition of sexual assault and near rape of Emily didn’t need to be added, further physical torture of Emily could have happened in its place given the context of the scene and still ended with the same outcome. It felt forced and just completely unnecessary.

I will note that there’s quite a bit of punctuation errors that surprised me throughout the book. A lot of character speech missing the “” at the beginning and end, even when a character has stopped speaking and a new one begins, that made it slightly hard to follow along with what’s happening at times and had me going back and rereading once or twice to properly grasp what was happening and who was saying what. There’s even some grammar mistakes that threw me off too. I know it’s a debut novel, but if I had to nitpick I’m a little surprised that this wasn’t more thoroughly looked over before being published. Overall, I did enjoy the story, it was good, definitely a sci-fi thriller/mystery. Outside of the nitpicking of grammar and punctuation errors, and despite the fact that a lot of my review points out negative aspects of this story, Zero Day Ghost was an enjoyable read for me, that kept me hooked the further the story progressed, and had me enjoying the thrilling sci-fi mystery of a bot who got a little too powerful for her own good in the end. Scott Olson definitely seems to have set this up for a possible sequel, but if not, Zero Day Ghost is an enjoyable book all on its own.

I tried for weeks to get through this book but never managed. I have finally given up. Emily is not the slightest bit interesting as a character. Her most common sentiment is that she is responsible for everything bad that has happened and that she must atone for her sins by surrendering to the authorities and going to prison. This kind of notion might be acceptable once in a story when the character is down, but not every time the character is onstage. Why her friends still go to bat for her is a mystery.

A thrilling, edge of your seat book that doesn’t let go. It has a unique premise unlike any I have read.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this.

I found this to be an interesting read, though I did find that some parts of the book just went over my head.

This is a fast-paced, techno-thriller book that I think many people will enjoy, and obviously some who may not. Overall, I found this book an OK read, but I found the characters very interesting.

Despite my feelings of this book, I would still recommend people give this a go and get their own opinions.

I just finished reading Zero Day Ghost by Scott Olson, and wanted to quickly write my review before I forgot any details. My brain is reeling from this book.

The wow factor of Zero Day Ghost is mind blowing! This techno-thriller satisfied my need for graphic adventure, as well as my geek girl side.

Although I am far from a computer cyber security expert, I enjoy reading about hackers, and coding. I didn’t realize what a fantastical journey this book would turn out to be.

Zero Day Ghost spans the globe from San Francisco to China, and begins with an explosion of activity. Do people die? Yes, the body count is quite impressive, and includes a member of Emily’s family.

Emily’s life is changed in a heartbeat, and she finds herself on a quest for truth. As a hacker, truth is always relative. However, she must find out who murdered her Mother, and who is trying to kill her, before it’s too late.

I loved Emily’s strength of character, and her intelligence.The fact that there were several very intelligent women as main characters, had me cheering this book on from the start.

That is something you don’t find often in spy novels. Usually women are the sidekicks, go-fers, cannon fodder, and ingénues. They don’t often carry the brain power to topple organizations. Emily, and several other women possess this power.

So, who is on the side of good or evil?

That is one of the greatest strengths of this book. You never really know that answer until the end. I was running different scenarios as to who was working for whom? It didn’t help me. I was left mouth agape at the end.

The reader is led to believe various belief constructs along the way, as Emily navigates intrigue after intrigue. This is a true spy novel, in that you have no clue who is pulling the strings. Anyone could be writing the code, and anyone could be the “bad guy.”

What a lush, and delicious ball of twine to unravel as you read. It will have you convinced you were right, only to toss in a plot twist.I love plot twists.

If you are into computer code, AI, bots and all things techno-spy, this book has your name all over it.

Zero Day Ghost is a wonderful read that will keep you up late, and have you trying to decipher the layers of intrigue over your morning coffee. Good luck.

Just received this ARC and I'm already hooked. One of the best first chapters I've read. Can't wait for the rest of the story!

Finished! Thriller is right! You become so involved in the tangled world that Emily Hernandez, a hacker, and former member of a cybercriminal syndicate known as The Collective, is struggling against. The surprises just keep coming. Very timely in our current world where hackers seem to be waiting around every email and search - I just got hacked again yesterday. Trust no one!

Quote: "You'll regret it," she says earnestly. "Everybody who helps me regrets it."

Review:
A very solid read. A bit of a cautionary tale with how technology and such is. You couldn't help but root for Emily and all that she went through. Relatively fast paced read and worth checking out if you enjoy thrillers.
I give this 3 and a half stars.

I'd like to thank, the Author, Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!

the premise sounded exciting ala Robopocalypse but the execution was awkward, implausible and amateurish.

it read as tech heavy in certain parts (some of the coding sections are superfluous unless you're a programmer)
but incredibly naive in others (just glossing over the ease with which all the characters are able to travel internationally when an intelligence agency is looking for them).

the protagonist is supposed to be a genius but is so lacking in self-confidence and any common sense, that i was unable to root for her. she is all set up (anarchist parents, genius hacker, mafia connected - that is a lot of implausible backstory) but no actual personality.

additionally, the dialog was wooden and didn't seem to differ between characters beyond the trite, cockney villain whose dialog was inauthentic and cringey.

For some reason, I just get my head into this book. Writing style? Plot? Setting? With all the books I have to read/review I just couldn't buy into this and had to move on. Sorry

As she hunts the Collective with skill and incredible courage, Emily Hernandez in ZERO DAY GHOST definitely reminds me of Koontz's Jane Hawk. This definitely does not read as a debut, Olson has some serious writing skills already. I spent most of my day off reading instead of the thousand things on my to do list. It's not pften an author can make me ignore the "list". 5 stars and I'm definitely following to see what Olson has to follow this.

Thanks to netgally and the book whisperer for the arc of this book. I did enjoy it but it was maybe A little to technical. Definitely fast paced!

WONDERFUL AND FEARSOME. I BELIEVE YOU’LL LOVE IT, EVEN IF YOU CAN’DT DECIDE IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, IN EVERY CASE YOU’LL NOT FORGET IT.

Loved reading the exciting and entertaining story. When Emily's mother is killed by a driverless car, Emily questions her ex-boyfriend, Seymour, and then goes to Hong Kong to try to unravel the computer mystery. Read the highly recommended and wonderfully written riveting story full of mystery, intrigue, twists, and turns.

Zero Day Ghost by Scott Olson is unlike any novel I have ever read. Entering into the world of the dark web, the NSA, and espionage was totally foreign reading for me. This novel was action-packed. Realistic characters that could trust no one, not even each other, and especially not the NSA they worked for.

A copy was provided for my review, but all opinions are my own.

I was completely shocked by the beginning of the book (in a positive way)! It was my first time reading a cyberpunk/futuristic thriller. What I liked the most was the incredible atmosphere of the book and how it drew me into this tech-driven world with its intricate political dynamics and gripping gang narratives. The story was filled with action and the themes of redemption and revenge were well-written. Now, let’s move on to the aspects that saddened me the most.
The 300 pages were too short for me to begin with. I was hoping to find out more about the other characters. The world-building was kind of disappointing. It could have been way more developed because it had so much potential. The overall design of the book was too simplistic, but it worked just fine.

Zero Day is a decent read, but very heavy in the tech world.
I enjoyed following Emily along her bizarre adventure but felt incredibly detached from the story as a whole.
There are some scenes and relationships that could have used more background and depth. It almost felt as though we should know these characters from a previous book but I think this is the first.
If you’re super into tech, and like the exploration of viruses and AI, this book is for you!

I'd like to thank Book Whisperer and Scott Olson for the ARC of Zero Day Ghost. I've read quite a few techno-thrillers in the past, but this is one of only a few that centers around hacking and botnets. While the technical aspects of the story were quite interesting, I didn't think that the character development was nearly as good as I was hoping for. Physical descriptions of the protagonists were sort of limited, as was the backstory of the main characters. I would have loved to know more about how the characters got to where they were, and their motivations. I have to admit that I was pretty confused about the relationships between the characters for quite a while, as well as why they took some of the actions they did. However, in the end, the story had a reasonable conclusion where most of the loose ends were tied up. Sort of ignored in the story flow were the military implications of the botnet, as well as the potential reactions of the nation-states that employ significant hacking in their arsenals: China, N. Korea, Iran, and Russia, to name a few.