Broken Genius

Crime and technological espionage aren't my go-to genre, but this book called to me because it is set at ComicCon. Once I started, it was gripping from page 1 through the end. Will, the main character, is the broken genius the title refers to. Involved in one kidnapping case where the victim dies (not a spoiler, first chapter), he leaves the tech world to work for the FBI in attempt to quiet his guilt. He works through the clues in the case in a style like that of Sherlock Holmes and calls in help from his personal contacts on both sides of the law. The ComicCon connection is enough to engage fans of Cons but general enough not to turn off those who aren't familiar with them. Will is very relatable, and his internal journey is as engaging as the crime story arc. There is a romance sub-arc but it is very down played and believable. I recommend this book.

Larger than life main character who will appeal to computer geeks, the Comic Con crowd, and anybody into nerd culture -- as well as those who happen to love a fast-paced plot. An enjoyable read, perfect for staying in.

Jam packed with action and tension, the story starts a little slow but the pace quickly moves into high gear as the characters race to find a deadly computer before it is released to the wrong people. The back story gives the main character more interest as he must stop the sale to prevent a disaster that his past actions contributed to.

I really enjoyed the premise for the book, and I feel that beyond a couple of points that required a suspension of belief, the plot was well thought out and developed. Where, I felt the book was lacking was in terms of the character development, as I felt little to know connection with the main character, and that detracted from my investment in the plot.

This book was so neat! I have not picked up a thriller/mystery novel in a while, so Murray has me on the edge of my seat the entire novel. This is a character-driven plot as it follows a case of an FBI agent. Broken Genius is not difficult to read at all. Because of its character-driven plot, this novel does not drown the reader in FBI vernacular, but stays within the character’s thoughts.

Refreshing and smart , Will's derring do and smarts are deepened by his background error when someone died due to his actions. The set up here is similar and he makes the right choices. Characters are genuine, grumpy and dismissive of Will due to his inexperience in the service. Many of same enemies we read about elsewhere (Russians, Chinese ...) are all in an auction that's still running on dark web after a principal's death .. but the speedy narrative line keeps it all moving along well. Enjoyable!!

A suspense story about the FBI at a Comicon? I've been to those and can picture the characters attending!

Will begins the story with what he calls a terrible mistake. The first chapters really had me hooked. Not being a real tekkie, I did get a bit lost in some of the computer jargon - yet I was able to decipher the gist of the story. After a few chapters, I almost gave up. I'm glad that I did not - this story begins to glue itself together. The "Unicorn" and its' importance is explained and the characters (Dana and Decker in particular) really come to life!

I was not too fond of Will's personality but I tried not to let this hinder me from the scope of the read. Will never showed fear as an FBI agent. (Which also happened quite quickly). The reader may have trouble with Will's character development.

All in all - a good, diverse, suspense story!

Many Thanks to Oceanview Publishing and NetGalley for a good read.

I loved this book. It was right up my alley. I have been to various science fiction conventions so the costumes and people described were an accurate description. Throw in a rich, genius FBI agent and you have a really fun and thrilling read.

An adequate and sometimes clever mystery, leaning into a thriller only at its climax. The entire story from the narrator's point-of-view revolves around one MacGuffin and one (naturally) highly attractive female detective as his investigative partner. The MacGuffin is known as the "Fukushima Unicorn." By the end, it seems as if "Fukushima Unicorn" had to have appeared on every page of this novel. The phrase "Fukushima Unicorn" was well (as in too much) overdone. The "Fukushima Unicorn" now haunts my lexicon and my dreams.

P.S. "Fukushima Unicorn."

Broken Genius is a very entertaining read. One gets caught up in the action, which keeps moving so as to prevent asking too many questions such as "how is this possible?" There is a lot of sleight of hand as the author tries to make big things happen. But, so what? If it is entertaining, do I want to quibble? No, I do not. The only real fault then is the sexual relationship between two major characters. It isn't very credible, at least not to me. It seemed as if the author felt a need to spice things up. He needs practice on that!
But kudos, Mr.. Murray. You took on a big story and overall, you made it work. I don't want to deduct a star for bad sex, so five stars from me!
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

If you like Boys' Own action, geeky nerds, sci fi gadgetry and quantum computing then you'll probably love this book. I can visualise the hero Will Parker, exceedingly rich from developing his computer gaming (I think) company and now, apparently, the bright boy of FBI - in his mind anyway. He's way better, smarter than anyone else and tells us so - too often. The sharp suit, the casual flick of dressed hair to impress.... no-one except himself. As far as I got there was the theft of some radioactive wizardry that would answer all world problems, as long as Will was in charge or something, and was now on the DarkWeb market to the highest bidder. Russian and Chinese bad girls and boys, renegade Americans and what seem like a hell on earth Gaming Convention where everyone is dressed up in glittery black dustbin bags/lids with bells. I have little knowledge of gaming and less interest, the hero was just so shallow and teenagerish and the techie stuff not remotely believable. Gave up at about 30%. - New Year's Resolution not to feel guilty about not finishing a book that I got for free. Gamers would probably love this book, if you could tear them away from their screens. Sorry, I don't. Thanks to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

After a rough couple of chapters that almost caused me to pack it in, this one took off - and kept me flying through the pages until the end. It's the first of what I assume will be a series featuring filthy rich former tech CEO and FBI Special Agent Will Parker, whose ego is exceeded only by his computer savvy. Put another way, he likes himself far more than I liked him (to which, of course, he'd say, so what?)

I'd also caution that if you're a total Luddite, this may not be the book for you. I'm probably somewhere in the middle - relatively undaunted by "everyday" devices like computers and cell phones and at least familiar with most techie jargon - but I admit to being a little confused about some of the finer details here. Basically, as I see it, Will left his uber-successful company and joined the FBI after a coding error resulted in a young woman's death. He can't seem to forgive himself for the error; whether that's because he truly believes he caused her gruesome demise or simply can't deal with the fact that he screwed up is a matter of conjecture, but for the purposes of this review, I'll go with wanting to compensate for the death.

Will gets a call for help when a murder happens at a Comic Con event; no big deal on its own, but the murder seems to be connected to a radioactive quantum computer - known as the Unicorn - that Will's company had sealed the deal to purchase when it went missing in a disaster. Needless to say, Will wants that Unicorn back - partly because it could wreak untold havoc if it fell into the wrong hands and, I presume, partly because his company owns it and would stand to reap substantial profits by bringing it back where it belongs.

At the Comic Con, he works mostly with local homicide detective Dana Lopez, who is (as expected) extremely competent, drop-dead gorgeous and has psychological issues similar to Will as well as FBI agent Thomas Decker, who gets off on being pushy, stubborn and generally a pain in the neck. Will soon learns that the murder victim may have been in possession of the Unicorn - at least, he was trying to auction it off on the Dark Web - and that there are high-stakes bidders who will stop at nothing to win, even if it means other murders and a kidnapping all too similar to the one that prompted him to ditch his company a few years earlier.

Sorting everything out makes for an action-packed chase that comes to an exciting end with more than a few bits, bytes and twists in between - as well as the most on-target words of advice I've read in a while (social media privacy complainers take note here), to-wit: "If you don't pay for the product, you are the product."

All told, I'm intrigued and totally down with trying the next book (well, except for one note to future copy editors: Puleeeze - unless you're British - there's only one "e" in the word "judgment"). That said, thanks to the publisher for offering me a copy in exchange for an honest review and introducing me to a solid new series.

Broken Genius is about Will Parker, a prodigy whose mistake caused the death of a college student in the first chapter. He joins the FBI as a special agent. Parker is called to a Comic Con in Indiana to investigate a death in the convention center. Other FBI agents are also called.
I loved this book because of all the technology involved. We saw how Parker used the hotel security to track the victim before the murder. Parker cracked the password on the victim's laptop. There's a wealth of information about the Comic Con. I learned what a quantum computer and a Faraday bag is.
Great plot and great characters! I want more from this author, Drew Murray! Thanks, Oceanview Publishing.

Fantastic! I was hooked from the first page. Will Parker is a fascinating character - terrific at his job as an FBI agent while also brilliant and informed on the tech side from his previous life. The humor over his wealth and the pop culture references were a delight. I kept reading passages out loud to my husband until he eventually grabbed his phone and ordered the book for himself.

The mystery in this was fantastic - like the layers of a David Rosenfelt novel, but with more action since this is law enforcement instead of trial work. Readers who enjoy Baldacchi or Hurwitz should be sure to check this one out. I want more of these, as soon as possible! (Language, violence, off page sex)

An entertaining and engrossing story, it was a lot of fun to read.
The characters are larger than life, the world building is great and the story is well plotted.
I can't wait to read the next book by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Broken Genius was my pick for my "beach read" for my trip earlier this year.  Unfortunately, cyber security grad school work got in the way of "for fun" reading time, so this book got pushed on the back burner.  But the timing ended up working out pretty nicely, as this book will be officially released next week.  Right up my alley, this book contains coding mistakes (a bit more high stakes than any I have made), cyber security and hacking as well as it all takes place at a Comic Con! 

Our main character is Will Parker - a prodigy, silicon valley guy.  But when a mistake he makes with code costs a student her life and a tsunami in Japan ends up changing his plans to buy a company there he ends up finding himself working with the FBI in the Cyber Division.  When a man ends up dead at a comic con, things start to get very interesting, very quickly.  In his possession was a radioactive quantum computer - a unicorn - created by the company in Japan Will was working with but that seemed to disappear after the tsunami and its after effects.  It turns out the victim knew exactly what he had and had turned to the dark web to try and sell it.  Will this auction bring out a high profile hacker that one of Will's FBI associates has been after for years?

This book seems to be straight forward, but it had so many twists and turns throughout (some that I did see coming and some that absolutely blindsided me) that it was a roller coaster ride to read.  I absolutely loved it.  The front cover says "A Will Parker Thriller" so I am hopeful that this means there will be more books based around him (or maybe they already exist?)  I will have to do some research...

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

It turns out I really like cyber/techno thrillers and didn’t realise this until I started reading a few more. It is an odd genre choice for an older woman living in a remote area but I am not a Luddite by any means and had no trouble following the story. I even had some understanding of what a quantum computer actually is. And a Unicorn - which would be the tech world’s holy grail.

FBI Special Agent (cyber) Will Parker was a technological whizz kid who started his own software development company in his twenties. When the FBI came to him for help in exploiting a back door on one of his products to catch a killer, a careless mistake led to a woman’s death. Will wallowed in misery for a while then sold his company and joined the FBI. Fast forward to the present - a modest town in the midWest becomes the epicentre of a battle with world changing implications. A man named Roger Caplan has been killed at a Comic con, but what drew the interest of the FBI is the chatter that he was running an online auction on the dark web for the Fukushima Unicorn. The Unicorn is a portable quantum computer that was developed by a company in Fukushima. Will’s company was poised to buy them out and utilise the Unicorn for good of mankind when the earthquake struck and the Unicorn disappeared. Now, it’s back and so are the people who want a stake in it, the race is on! So Will is there for the Unicorn, he is partnered with Special Agent Decker who is after a super hacker known as Dragoniis who is expected to be chasing the Unicorn. They team up with local PD detective Dana Lopez, who is after the killer of Caplan. Then Caplan’s daughter is kidnapped and is being held to ransom for the Unicorn. Everybody wants her safe return. It turns into a race against time and a barrel of wits for all the players. They want to save the girl, catch the killer, catch Dragoniss and capture the Unicorn - but can it be done?

The plot was super interesting and the pace was nice and fast. I loved the chief protagonist, Will, his demeanour and dialogue really reminded me of Andrew Mayne’s computational biologist Dr Theo Cray, whom I also loved as a character. I like that Will was using his brains and his cyber skills to solve these crimes. While the technology may seem far fetched to some readers I am pretty sure it exists and that none of the things described in the book were impossible. But you don’t need to be a total geek to follow and enjoy this book. I found it very relatable. I really hope there is a sequel and that we see Will Parker in another thriller real soon.

I was disappointed that I was not that interested in the characters. I think the plot was well thought out but it did not leave me as anxious to find out the answers as I usually like to feel. I would read the author again, but hopefully more character development.

Broken Genius by Drew Murray is a tech thriller with a lot of action. After an incident, Will uses his computer knowledge to become a special FBI agent that works with Decker trying to find a murderer and an elusive unicorn, a quantum computer that went missing during a nuclear accident. The writing held my interest and I didn't feel that I needed a computer dictionary to understand the computer talk. This book will be a good addition for anyone who reads thrillers.

Fast paced and fun

This is the kind of story I like – a tech genius withdraws from his tech world after his error leads to the horrific death of an innocent woman. To assuage his guilt Will Parker joins the FBI cybercrime division. But he remains a fabulously wealthy tech superstar and uses his skills and contacts in the tech world to solve a crime committed at a Comic Con in some unnamed midwestern city. Very cool. I liked the book a lot and hope to read more about Special Agent Will Parker.

Really enjoyed I was drawn right in.Characters that jump off the page,they are larger then life.The writing the plot Kept me turning the pages.An author I will be following.#netgalley #oceanviewpublishing

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. About a former Cyber Tech CEO that joins the FBI. They are in search of a specialist computer system and there are others interested too. A few stories within the overall story. Great read.

Looking forward to more from this author.
Thanks to all for the ARC

A real rock ' em, sock ' em FBI detective story. Lots of fun! Will parker uses his billionaire persona to win the day. A real fun book.

I enjoyed reading this book given to me by Net Galley for an honest review. Will Parker is a special agent of the FBI specializing in cyber crimes of the highest level. But before he became an agent, he was a CEO of a computer company. Something terrible went wrong and he is trying to atone for it.
The book is interesting – someone is murdered at a comic con and they bring Will in to help solve it. He uses his expertise as an agent and computer wiz to help figure it out. He also has many connections and contacts which he uses to help him.
I enjoyed the mystery and the writing. The plot of why the victim was murdered is farfetched. It kept me reading and I recommend the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Drew Murray, and Oceanview Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review of Broken Genius. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

What if you were a genius. Not just any genius, but the brightest, smartest guy in the room. Your whole life you win. Until one day you don’t. And that one time you don’t, someone dies. Will tried to help the police with a serial killer and because of his mistake, the girl died. The day this happened his company was supposed to acquire technology from Japan that would have changed the world. That day the tsunami hit and the nuclear plant had a meltdown. The revolutionary device disappeared.

We next meet Will when he is called in to solve a case. He is now a Special Agent for the FBI. This case requires his special skill set. A murder has happened at Comi-Con. The device that has been untraceable all these years is now on the black market waiting to be sold in an auction. Now every criminal from all over the world wants to get their hands on this device. Will has help from another FBI agent, who has his own agenda, the local police, who happens to be a beautiful woman and Will’s own crack techies. But will his trauma affect his ability to do his job? Or will he be responsible for another young girl’s death?

This is my type of book. The back story was well done and set Will up to be a broken man who wants to only use his talents to do good in this world. His fall from grace was rough. humbling him and at the same time making him fearful. The new mystery was multi-layered and full of action and suspense. There were twists and turns as the story unfolded. Having it take place during Comic-Con was an extra cool layer that I loved. All of the computer hacking and international espionage was also right up my alley. There was some attraction between Will and the local policewoman, but it was subtle and didn’t take over the storyline at any point, which was fine with me. I’m not a fan of romance blooming in the middle of a takedown. Sex? Maybe, ya but I hate googly eyes being made over dead bodies. Stay professional people!

It isn’t a heavy book, more on the lighter side. The story moves along and there are enough characters to keep in interesting and not so many that you can’t remember who’s who. It was exciting and interesting all the way through. I can imagine lots more adventures for Special Agent Will and I would read them! This would make a fantastic movie. Hollywood, anyone listening?

Mr. Murray manages to combine several themes in his book and by doing so creates a unique character to draw the reader's attention. Will Parker is a special agent with the FBI. He is super rich, having made his own fortune with the creation of an innovative software company. He is extremely well versed in the world of high tech and the production of next generation super computers. He also brings an intellect that sees the hidden factors in solving the cases he is given by his supervisor. Definitely an imaginative individual that is perfect to use as the main character in a well told story.
As the action opens Will is called by his supervisor to go over to a comic con show in the US Midwest and work with others in a situation involving a murder, the kidnapping of the murdered man's young daughter and the clandestine auction of a prototype super computer that Will was working on prior to joining the FBI. Meeting him at the location are the local police, including one beautiful young detective, a stuffed shirt fellow special agent of the FBI and other members of the local police.
That the lady detective working with him will supply a love interest goes without saying and their interaction spices up the book. The stuffed shirt special agent provides help and a bit of being a foil for Will. The villain is a notorious Chinese hacker and there is a contingent of Russian criminals sent by the Kremlin. Make no mistake though, the author has done a good job in making the people and events mix properly to bring his readers a first novel that is an ad for running and grabbing subsequent books by him. Very well done.

An impressive debut by Drew Murray.
A techno-thriller that feeds your nerd brain, this book is a must-read for those who love everything nerdy and mystery.
The characters are well-portrayed. The pacing is good - a little slow as the story starts but picks up pace halfway through. The ending is brilliant. The twists and turns kept me guessing. The chase for the Unicorn is no doubt, the best part of this story.

a fast paced cyber thriller. The mystery kept me guessing until the end. Will Parker, special agent to the FBI and works to avenge his past while solving a kidnapping and find the missing computer.

RATING 3.5 STARS


Is escaping the past as simple as choosing the future?

Will Parker left the life he knew to be an FBI special agent. He witnessed a brutal murder and his business crumbled all in one day with the loss of the Fukushima Unicorn. He is a broken genius as he aims for redemption working for the FBI as a computer specialist,

A case opens up with the murder of Caplan who may have obtained the Fukusmima Unicorn and was selling it to the highest bidder. Parker and his partner Decker are on the scene for different reasons.

A few players in this high tech thriller that play well off each other. Parker is witty, smart and confident in his abilities but also vulnerable with all that he has lost. The case becomes urgent before the Fukushima is sold for the wrong reasons. Apparently the tech can do good along with tremendous harm. There is a little chemistry between Parker and the local police lead officer Dana. But all 3 work together against time to find the killer. This thriller brings to light privacy acts and how high tech can fight crime but also take away our freedoms. Compelling fast paced.

A special thank you to Oceanview Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest revie

An entertaining mystery with a decent McGuffin at its heart. Will Parker is now a FBI Special Agent in the Cyber Crimes Division, but back in 2011, he was the CEO of a big Tech company about to purchase a quantum computer from a Japanese firm when two accidents happened. First he goofed in a bit of coding while assisting the FBI in locating a serial killer and a girl died. Second was an earthquake in Japan that lead to a nuclear meltdown right near the Japanese tech firm Will was about to purchase. The cutting edge quantum computer disappeared. But now it seems to have surfaced at a Comic Con in Indiana. A vendor there had it up for auction on the Dark Web, but managed to get himself murdered. Will and Decker, another FBI Special Agent, are on the hunt for the Fukushima Unicorn. Broken Genius manages to have fun with con culture, tech culture, and police culture all while providing a quickly read mystery that satisfies my mystery itch.

Thanks Netgalley for introducing this book to me!

Author #Drew Murray has a debut novel ‘#Broken Genuis out for summer. A thriller it’s about the personal redemption of Will Parker who has made a disastrous mistake in his past. One so bad that it cost a college student her life. And then you add in he at the time was a young CEO of a big tech company.
Now in present time Will has a career in the FBI cyber Division. But once again things are happening.....
Thank you,
#Netgalley,#Drew Murray and #Oceanview Publishing

I just finished this book and was quite impressed. The way the story was laid out kept your interes right till the end. In this story, it starts with Will Parker discussing events that occurred in March of 2011 when he was head of a thriving company who was trying to assist the FBI with finding the location of a Kidnapped victim. While searching for his location, Will was viewing the kidnappers computer where he witnessed the slaying of the victim. Also at that same time, an earthquake occurred created a tsunami in Japan which caused a nuclear power plant to meltdown and destroy a company that Will was going to acquire.

Back to present time, Will is woken up and directed to report to a scene in Indiana where a murder had occurred. Will was asked because of the possibility that the Fukushima computer, that was the main reason that Will wanted to buy that company. When Will got to Indiana, he worked with a female Detective who was responsible in finding the killer. It was later determined, that the computer was being auctioned through the Dark Web. Because of the nature of the computer which was quite advanced, it was felt that had to stop it from falling in the wrong hands. Through teamwork, they ultimately were able to locate the computer, but that was only one part of the puzzle. In addition, the individual who was killed and had the computer, had his daughter kidnapped, and she was to be released only after the individual got the computer. A plan was developed.

To understand who the parties were that were interested in the computer and who ultimately in the end obtained it, then you must read this book which I recommend highly.

I'm really hoping Will Parker sticks around for awhile. I'm always in love with geeky members of the crime fighting crews! This book was just enough to keep me satisfied without overwhelming me with things that draw away from the story!

I do love a good FBI procedural and even though this was way beyond my technology expertise, I enjoyed it a great deal. Protagonist Will made a mistake in his early years that inadvertently caused the death of a young kidnapping victim and vows to do better so he joins the FBI as a special agent. Now the case is a murder at Comic Con and the belief is it's tied to a deal with the Japanese surrounding a "super computer" that was thwarted years ago when a tsunami hit the island and destroyed much of it. So will is back in his element as a tech wizard who is brilliant at breaking codes and passwords that no one else can. Lots of action in this novel and it moves along at a great pace. I'm guessing there's a sequel in the works as well!

A few months ago, there was a Big Idea feature about Broken Genius, by Drew Murray, on John Scalzi’s blog. I liked that the whole article was described as a series of “now how do I solve this plot problem”, it tickled my interest, I asked for it on NetGalley, and I did get it, yay 🙂

Special Agent Will Parker used to be a known Silicon Valley CEO; he’s now part of the FBI Cyber division. He gets called to investigate a murder at a Comic Con event – a murder that is linked to the possible reappearance of a portable quantum computer that was considered lost during the Fukushima nuclear plant accident.

Broken Genius is a very competent techno-thriller. The tech and the Comic Con are believable, and the story itself has enough plot at the right pace to make the reading very enjoyable. The characters are likeable – maybe a bit on the cliché side, but eh, still pretty cool. I was somewhat annoyed that I guessed one of the major plot points way earlier than the protagonists did – I’m normally VERY BAD AT THIS, so maybe there was one or two clues too much there 😉

But anyway. I have a pretty high suspension of disbelief in general, but it’s rare that I find fiction where modern-day technology plays a significant role, and that doesn’t make me roll my eyes loudly (yes, it’s absolutely a thing.) Broken Genius does that and is very enjoyable – it’s not the book of the year (or even the month) but is very much worth considering if you’re in the mood for a techno-thriller 🙂

this book was really unique compared to other mystery books that I read, as I really enjoyed reading this. I look forward to what the author has next.

Mistakes, redemption, and murder at Comic-Con? What more could you ask for? This book held my attention far more than I care to admit (mainly because it's embarrassing I couldn't stop thinking about it until I reached the very last page). It truly grabbed and held my attention for the long haul.