Review of Cynthia and Dan

[EternalD]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Cynthia and Dan" by Dorothy May Mercer.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Cynthia Patterson is a witty, strong, and independent woman. She works as a chief investigator and bodyguard for an influential senator called Mike McBride. Her career is going gangbuster; the same doesn't apply to her love life. Her partner Dan is a cop who is considerate but very conservative in spending and terrified of taking the next step to make the relationship more serious. It is precisely at this moment that a mysterious, wealthy, and seductive man called Sky Eastman appears. Or at least that's the name he gives to the protagonist. Unlike Dan, he is confident and persistent and offers all the security Cynthia needs.

If Cynthia wants peace and tranquility in her love life, the same doesn't apply to other areas. Together with her brother Glenn, she decides to bring together geeks to wage a cyberwar against terrorists worldwide. It may seem odd that two isolated individuals can be more effective than the US government in accomplishing this task, but that, against all odds, is what will happen. Cynthia and Dan is a hybrid fiction book containing suspense and conflicted relationships.

Everyone should commend Dorothy May Mercer for her effort. Before reading the book, the plot seemed too fanciful to be true. The author has created a fast-paced, enjoyable novel that feels credible despite everything. It's not that complicated to develop a love triangle, and in that aspect, the book even has some clichés. Still, cyberwar is another different animal, and the author created a fascinating scenario. The book is so realistic that it's like Dorothy is a hacker herself. The absence of plot holes is the most memorable part and deserves praise.

There is only one thing that I didn't relish: the book seems commercially made. I mean, there is nothing wrong with making money. The main point is that the book appears to have left many questions unanswered just for the reader to buy other books written by her. The author must have realized that this was a flaw after receiving criticism and ended up creating at the end of the book a part called "Author's Notes: Endings and Loose Ends," but that was insufficient. Many questions remained unanswered, and I advise Dorothy May Mercer to read The Human Comedy by Honoré de Balzac. The French writer was a master at writing interlinked novels.

The reader will find many loose ends, and the author failed to answer more than 30% of them in the last pages. A severe flaw like this one made me award Cynthia and Dan 3 out of 4. It's exceptionally edited without any grammatical errors. I recommend it to those who like novels with suspense and romance. If you don't know anything about computers, avoid this one. There are many terms that only geeks will understand.

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Cynthia and Dan
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