Patricia Cornwell

"On the eve of a top-secret space mission, Captain Calli Chase--a NASA pilot, quantum physicist, and cybercrime investigator-- detects a problem in the tunnels below a NASA research center. She discovers dried blood, a missing security badge, a suspicious suicide. This series of disturbing clues point to Calli's twin sister Carme, who's been missing for days. Desperate to avoid disaster and clear her sister's name, Captain Chase races to find answers to her twin's erratic conduct. But time is running out, and she realizes that failure means catastrophe--for both the space program but for the safety of the entire nation"--Back cover.

A Thriller

Quantum

Barbara Williford

I’m a big fan a Patricia Cornwell and it took me a minute to get away from Scarpetta but as typical Cornwell fashion a great mystery, well written and well narrated (Audible). I did have to zone out during all the technical mumbo jumbo (personally it was too technical and boring). But really?!? You are going to suck us in and then leave us hanging? Can’t wait for the next book!

On the eve of a top-secret space mission, Captain Calli Chase detects a tripped alarm in the tunnels deep below a NASA research center. A NASA pilot, quantum physicist, and cybercrime investigator, Calli knows that a looming blizzard and government shutdown could provide the perfect cover for sabotage, with deadly consequences

✨Tyler ✨

0 stars if i could

Honestly I should have put this down once I reread the first few chapters and still didn't know what the heck was going on. But I'm a completionist and I kept trudging through waiting for it to get captivating. instead it got more frustrating. I found calli to be beyond irritating and I felt like she was always talking down to me as a reader. Honestly, don't bother with this one.

On the eve of a top secret space mission, Captain Calli Chase detects a tripped alarm in the tunnels deep below a NASA research center. A NASA pilot, quantum physicist, and cybercrime investigator, Calli knows that a looming blizzard and government shutdown could provide the perfect cover for a sabotage, with deadly consequences. As it turns out, the danger is worse than she thought. A spatter of dried blood, a missing security badge, a suspicious suicide -- a series of disturbing clues point to Calli's twin sister, Carme, who's been MIA for days. Desperate to halt the countdown to disaster and to clear her sister's name, Captain Chase digs deep into her vast cybersecurity knowledge and her painful past, probing for answers to her twin's erratic conduct. As time is running out, she realises that failure means catastrophe -- not just for the space program but for the safety of the whole nation.

Amy Buckle

This is a thriller novel and the first book with protagonist Captain Calli Chase. As a NASA pilot, quantum physicist, and cybercrime investigator. The day before a secret space mission, a series of events begin to unfold which threaten the order of Calli’s life and the research centre – dried blood in the tunnels underneath the research centre, a missing security badge, a sudden suicide, Calli must work out what all the clues mean. But as she delves deeper, they seem to point to her twin sister Carme, who has been missing for day. So, will Calli be able to solve it and absolve her sister? Or is Carme more involved than she thought?

I do feel like I wasn’t completely sure what was going on a lot of the time in the novel, perhaps the jumping around in time somewhat impeded my ability to keep track, or maybe it was the extensive use of scientific jargon, but anyhow, I did find it hard to keep up.

One of the more prominent characters in the book is called Dick Melville – now maybe I’m just reading waaay too much into it, but the novel Moby Dick was written by Herman Melville… which seems like way too much of a coincidence to me for it not to have had some kind of intention, but what intention, I have no idea?

I liked that the protagonist was a twin. As I am one too, this was a nice touch, and I liked that there weren’t loads of twin clichés (mind reading and twin senses to name a few). I also liked that their relationship wasn’t straightforward and while they clearly loved each other, they weren’t close, which definitely made them more authentic as characters.

I didn’t like the very very colloquial terminology the protagonist used; I think perhaps the author included it to make her seem more likeable and human, but for me, considering she is only supposed to be 28, it just made Calli as a character implausible and aged her. Some examples include "rats" "jiminey cricket" and "Crummy sake" – a tad older than I would expect a 28-year-old to talk.

My favourite character was probably Fran just because she was the most likeable. Far from being the cold intimidating stereotype of a NASA employee, mostly, she was just very human; with irrational fears and a tell-it-like-it-is attitude, it’s easy to like her, and I think she definitely helped make the novel more compelling.

While I wanted this to be a gripping Dan Brown novel, and while it definitely have remnants of one, it never really took off for me. Overall, I did like Calli as a protagonist, but I think I needed a bit more of an intriguing plot to keep me interested, and also a protagonist who felt more realistic.

Quantum A Thriller

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