OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Russia's Biggest Hack" by James E. Doucette.]

Russia's Biggest Hack by James E. Doucette is a fictional political thriller based on real events. In the early morning of Tuesday, July 6, 1999, Gordon Fuqua, president of Global Communications, dies in a light plane crash when his pilot, Nate, collapses against the stick, forcing the plane into a steep dive into a field near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Meanwhile, Ilya Babin, Russian cultural attaché to the United Nations, is blackmailing Alfred Simms, Global's chairman of the board. Babin has video footage of Simms and a beautiful Russian interpreter, Alena, together in his hotel room during an earlier stay in Moscow, footage which might end his marriage. The Russians want exclusive access to Global Communications' codes for US power grids and telecommunications.

Global Communications is in the process of expanding outside of the United States. Over the previous two years, they developed a communications system in Belgium and won a contract from the Mexican government to provide services to Mexico City. The board of directors puts John Ward in charge temporarily until they can appoint a new president. Many directors believe John should be offered the job permanently. Then another member of the company dies, this time in a hit-and-run accident...

Doucette's writing was neat and concise, indicating a high standard of editing. I did find more than ten errors, but most were minor, usually missing punctuation. The story seemed complicated at the beginning, with several employees of Global Communication referenced, but the straightforward writing style made this a little easier. The diabolical machinations of Russian intelligence operatives and government officials were intriguing. The dialogue was simple and realistic, and the scenes adhered to the "show, don't tell" rule, with plenty of dialogue to break up the descriptive passages.

Russia's Biggest Hack was only a short novella, but I enjoyed the straightforward construction of the story. Doucette's descriptive brevity advanced the plot quickly. For example:
"The smell of seasoned turkey filled the house as they entered after attending Mass at Saint John's Church. The priest's homily spoke of Paul's instruction to the church of Corinth—true love is unconditional.
'Smells great. When do we eat?' asked John."
After setting the scene with a brief outline of preceding events, Doucette launched straight into the dinner scene. I found the short chapters and concise approach to description added pace and kept me reading.

The only real negative for me - aside from taking time to acclimatise to the cast of characters - was the minor errors in the text. Due to these errors, I rate Russia's Biggest Hack 3 out of 4 stars. The story was entertaining and the writing slick. I would recommend it to those with an interest in political intrigue and espionage. It contained no graphic violence or sex to deter those who don't appreciate such scenes.

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Russia's Biggest Hack
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The errors don't sound overly distracting. However, for some reason this just isn't appealing to me. I'm not sure why. I'm glad that you enjoyed it, but I think I'm going to pass. Thanks, though.

kandscreeley wrote: ↑10 Sep 2018, 11:30 The errors don't sound overly distracting. However, for some reason this just isn't appealing to me. I'm not sure why. I'm glad that you enjoyed it, but I think I'm going to pass. Thanks, though.

Political intrigue isn't everyone's cup of tea, but this one wasn't bad. Interesting perspective on Russia conspiring to interfere in US affairs. Thanks for your comments!

I am confused by the premise of this book. So many characters and events in such a short novella - must be difficult to keep track of. I will pass this one. Thanks for the review!

Debjani Ghosh wrote: ↑13 Sep 2018, 03:52 I am confused by the premise of this book. So many characters and events in such a short novella - must be difficult to keep track of. I will pass this one. Thanks for the review!

It was a little confusing, especially at the beginning. Once I had them all straight in my head, it became much easier! Thanks for commenting.

I like political espionage, I'm just surprised that it's a short novella. Well, as long as it doesn't seem rushed then it must be alright. Thanks for your review!

Though it is a political fiction,meaning less attractive and less interesting but review shows it is interesting, short novella full of events.Doucette has managed his full grip on the story.

A Political Thriller revolving around a Russian conspiracy to destroy USA sounds too close for comfort. That it is based on real events is even more scary. Hopefully, those minor errors were fixed. Not for me, but I am glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the review!

This book sounds like a thrilling political mystery story. Good review. Congratulations BOTD!

I'm not into polical tillers so I am going to pass on this one.

This is a fictional political thriller based on real events and highlighting espionage, global politics, and Russia. The book is temporarily free on Amazon Kindle and has a well-deserved OnlineBookClub review. Congrats on the BOTD selection.

I'm not into polical thillers so I am going to pass on this one. Great review though.

I'm not into polical thillers so I am going to pass on this one. Great review though.

Political espionage is not a topic I enjoy, but I applaud the author's ability to encompass so much in a brief novella.
Thank you for a thorough review!

I thought his description of the book as being "straight forward writing style" and " The book was entertaining and slick" were new positive adjectives I would like to use in my reviews