I initially struggled to get into this book but eventually the story of the CIA agent pursuing a serial killer became very interesting. This was what I had expected from the description of the book. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a futuristic story with so much technical jargon that I lost interest in what I really wanted from the story. I did see it through to the end but unfortunately this genre of writing is not for me.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Keeping her work as a spy and her family life separate is always risky, but in this near-future thriller, they collide in a thrilling way. Quinn has to solve a series of murders while her life is in chaos after the death of her daughter. Throw in the CIA, a weird connection to herself, and odd symbols and shapes carved into the victims, and you have a fast-paced, thriller that will leave you breathless.

Enjoyable book. Bit strange and sometimes jumped a bit. But overall I really enjoyed the read.
Thanks for the opportunity.

Made it to 17% before realising my brain had stopped even trying to process the excessive and tedious geekery. Techno-thrillers should certainly have some techno in them, but they should also have thrills. And do top-class hotels really lay on beautiful female staff members for their male clients to paw, or is that simply a male fantasy? Even in the 1970s fantasies about bikini-clad long-haired beauties performing yoga for the titillation of rich men would have seemed a little passé. In 2021, it makes me feel bilious...

brilliant!!
I would absolutely love to see this in film format- the premise is excellent, the action is fast and the plot doesn't have any gaping scientific holes as are so often seen in this genre where it is easier to gloss over inconsistencies than rectify them!

Christian Cantrell’s Scorpion is a weird technothriller. For about two thirds of its length it seems to follow a fairly standard path of agent versus serial killer. But then it takes a significant right turn and the techno overtakes the thriller sending the whole plot in a direction that few readers would have been able to predict.
The weirdness starts in the prologue where the background radiation from the Large Hadrion Collider seems to contain a message and that message could be from the future. Cut to the CIA which is investigating a series of seemingly random killings around the globe. The only thing that seems to connect these murders is that each victim has a four digit number embedded on their body somehow. The other odd detail is that each victim is younger than the next. Enter super analyst with a tragic past, Quinn Mitchell who is taken off a nuclear terrorism taskforce to help track down the killer. One of Quinn’s fellow agents is Henrietta Yi, the scientist who decoded the Collider message and is also working on a top secret project for the agency. While spending some time with Quinn, Cantrell follows that killer, a man called Ranveer, and delves deep into his methods and the various high teck gizmos that he uses to get the job done.
For reasons that are never explained desk jockey Quinn goes to LA on Raveen’s trail and then using her analyst skills follows him to Oman and then Dubai. She is clearly out of her depth and no reason is given for her not having some form of field-trained back up. But despite her complete lack of field skills she does manage to catch up with Raveen. So far so standard – a story of a tech enabled killer being tracked by a tech savvy analyst. But it is at this point that the story gets weird and becomes more scifi than thriller, in ways that do not quite make sense. Suffice to say there are elements of time travel and predestination that do not hold up to too much detailed scrutiny.
Scorpion will appeal to technothriller fans. It is full of weird technical weaponry (all lovingly described), detail of enclaves for the wealthy in Dubai and their use of cryptocurrency, and on the other side clever use of data and analytics to track down a virtual ghost. And there is plenty of tech in the back half but it is a little more arcane and bases itself in one of the most fundamental paradoxes of the science fiction (and philosophical) canon so may leave the usual fans of this genre scratching their heads more than a little.

This book is a thriller with a lot of tecno jargon some of which I didn't understand nor was interested .This is a sci fi thriller set in the future ,I liked the basic cat and mouse story but the other details was for me ,just too much .Basically the book is about a CIA Agent tracking down an International Serial Killer which I think was a good basis for a story without all the frills .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

This is the first Christian Cantrell book I've read and after reading it, I'm off to explore his other works. Set in the future where digital technology and AI is more prevalent than it is today (imagine!), this is a thrilling, complex story about nuclear terrorism and time travel - this may sound totally sci-fi but it is actually incredibly believable! Yet with all the technological advances that exist in Cantrell's future-world, the characters, who are heterogenous, multi-layered and engaging, still face the very real trials of human grief and illness and encounter the same emotions that humans experience today.. A fast-paced pursuit across the globe adds to the drama of the story. Very pleased NetGalley asked me to review this book - it's the most gripping one I've read for a while.

What a fantastic techno-thriller! Character driven and packed with intricate detail that see to both deceive and enlighten the reader.

I particularly enjoyed the language used as it personified the genre and added to the authenticity. Undertones similar to Minority Report but unique in its own right. Memorable and a very compelling and engaging read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for inviting me to read & review this book. It’s one I would recommend to any science fiction fan.

There have been 22 people murdered around the world, linked by being branded with a number. The only other thing they have in common with each other is that they have nothing in common with each other! With all the police and security services around the world floundering, the CIA decides to take a bit of control in the matter and assigns CIA Analyst Quinn Mitchell to head up an investigation. She's well prepared for her task and it's not long before she makes a breakthrough and is hot on the trail of the assassin. But then things take a turn and - well - nothing could prepare for what she discovers...
Although I managed to get through this book and the final dénouement was worth the journey, it was a bit of a slog. It's almost like the author needed to "up the word count" as there were parts that were so wordy that I got a bit bogged down in the prose and forgot where we were actually going in the narrative. I also got a bit bogged down in all the techno stuff, and I do consider myself to be quite switched on with that side of things, so that was also a bit disappointing. I think maybe the author was trying a little too hard to be a little too clever - sometimes less can be more.
Characters were good once they had all been established and I really did enjoy the cat-and-mouse game it all became between Quinn and the perp. It just too a bit of a while getting there and there was a danger of them all getting a bit lost in the noise.
It also felt like it was the start of a series or trilogy... maybe... There is definitely a platform established that could be built on. Whether I'm up for a part two (if it is to happen) I am not sure. Maybe I'll dip in... I never say never but I'll probably wait and read some trusted reviewers first. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The plot started out as very interesting. The unlikely hero is a young, grieving mother, CIA data analyst: who would have guessed that data mining can be so exciting. The cat-and-mouse game between her and the serial killer is fascinating, even though the reader can sense that something is fishy: noone in their right minds would send an unstable, in-doors data analyst, inexeperienced in field work, after a serial killer. So the first chapter was accordingly gripping.

I am afraid after that it went all downhill. The plot became so twisted, the characters so messed up, it felt like the author just lost interest at some point. It simply did not make sense, conversations felt hanging in the air, and the happy end... let's just say it could have been better.

Having always been a sucker for a good espionage story, I was thrilled to get my hands on this excellent story of a CIA analyst who is on the quest to bring down a vicious murderer, no matter the consequences. This book just keeps throwing surprises at the reader!

A complex and technical yet engaging thriller, strong characters and clever plot allow a detailed, imaginative yet believable future setting allows the development of the novel as it builds to a dramatic conclusion. The blend of crime and science fiction really works, highly enjoyable. If you like modern political thrillers and have an interest in technology this is for you.

22 people around the world have been murdered. No obvious links, all in different circumstances. Only one thing leads the CIA to believe it is at the hands of a serial killer. They have all been branded with a different number.
The case is investigated by CIA analyst Quinn Mitchell, who suffered a tragic loss a few years previous.
Her investigation takes her around the world trying to get one step ahead of the killer. But it seems no matter how hard she tries, they always seem to know her next move.

This is a fun, adventurous, techy book. Lots of futuristic gadgets to get you thinking. It's a little bit sci-fi, a little bit crime detective story. There is a lot of science jargon but I personally didn't find that off putting. Quinn is a likeable, relatable character that you really want to succeed. At times she becomes very vulnerable and overwhelmed (in quite a professional manner) but it's still really enjoyable.

I think this would be a great introduction to someone who hasn't read much sci-fi. It mainly focuses on technological advances that could maybe be possible and are very believable.

I'd definitely recommend this book and would read a follow up if the author ever turned it into a series.

My thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Scorpion’ by Christian Cantrell in exchange for an honest review.

This was a science fiction/techno thriller based in the near future.

CIA Analyst Quinn Mitchell has been assigned to investigate a series of murders that have the authorities baffled. Twenty-two people around the world have been murdered, yet they fit no profile, their circumstances differ as well as the manner of their deaths. The only link between them is that each victim has been branded with a random 4-digit number. The killer appears to be a ghost with seemingly unlimited resources.

I found this a terrific thriller. While set in a recognisable world, there was just enough advances in technology and events mentioned, such as the mandate for the denuclearisation of the planet six years previously, to flag it as futuristic.

Most of its chapters follow various characters as they either advance or impede the investigation. Aside from Quinn there is Henrietta Yi, a physicist who while working at the Large Hadron Collider identified the mysterious Epoch Index, rumoured to be a message from the future. She is currently working on a secret project though will not confirm or deny any link to the Index. Other chapters follow the murderer as they methodically add to their body count.

‘Scorpion’ was an intelligent, complex rollercoaster of a SF action thriller with elements of espionage added to the mix. While there is a fair amount of jargon, I felt that Cantrell conveyed the meanings well. I also thought that the technological and science aspects were balanced by strong characterisations that included a sense of their humanity. There were also philosophical ideas integrated into the narrative. In this, I was reminded of the writings of Philip K. Dick and William Gibson.

Overall, I found ‘Scorpion’ very satisfying and I am now quite interested in reading more of Christian Cantrell’s work.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I can’t say I enjoyed this book. The in depth descriptions of advanced technology prevented a natural flow for the reader. While I appreciate the work that would have been necessary to create this imaginative and futuristic story, it became far too
involved the the usual reader of crime fiction. The initial claims of the book were enough to make me want to read more; a serial killer who operated all over the world, leaving no clue apart from a four figure number on each of his victims. Quinn Mitchell of the CIA was sent to find this person. The promising story then developed into a catalogue of virtually every kind of technology, imagined and otherwise. I have no idea how much actually exists but while I appreciated a certain amount to enhance the narrative, it made the whole book a chore rather than a pleasure and I was actually relieved to reach the end.

I was invited to read this book, and the start was promising, but then sadly the book was overtaken by a lot of sci-fi jargon, and very technical paragraphs which just totally lost me.

This is definitely more of a science fiction book rather than a cat and mouse thriller, which is what it was described as.

I am glad some people enjoyed it, sadly I wasn't one of them.

We know what we are, but not yet what we may be. (Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Act 4, scene 5.)

Ophelia is going through a crisis in Shakespeare’s play. Her husband Hamlet has killed her father and she is cracking up. She knows only what she knows and is reacting to that, but she doesn’t know what the future holds for either of them. This is an entirely human feeling. Each of us reacts to events in the here and now; we can’t help it. But we also wonder where these events will eventually take us. This quote from Ophelia forms the basis for the prologue of Scorpion, a mind-bending, jargon-heavy, but superbly entertaining and well written science fiction thriller from Christian Cantrell, a software engineer who lives near Washington, D.C.

Quinn Mitchell is an analyst for the CIA, a desk jockey with little to no experience in the field. She has suffered a profound loss in her past, with the accidental drowning of her young daughter Molly, which resulted in the protracted separation and eventual divorce from her husband James. She is happy enough to stay out of the limelight and is very good at her job. However, her so-called easy life comes to a disturbing end when she is sent out into the field to track down and stop a man dubbed the Elite Assassin. All around the world, bodies are turning up — more than 20 of them, in fact — and there appears to be no apparent motive except that they are almost perfect killings. There is no rhyme to reason, but Al Moretti, Quinn’s boss, knows there’s more to these assassinations so Quinn must follow the trail of bodies that hopefully will lead to an arrest.

Christian Cantrell identifies our assassin almost straight away. He is Ranveer, an Iranian national, with limitless resources and finance, and a steady supply of eccentric individuals who supply him with the knowledge and know-how to complete his killings. He travels first-class and stays at the most luxurious of hotels and resorts. He is a man with a mission, however horrendous it may first appear. He’s also on the clock. Leaving a trail of breadcrumbs only Quinn can find, there is method to his sociopathy. Quinn doesn’t know it yet, but there is a connection between the pair of them. In the mix is Henrietta Yi, a diminutive woman, originally from Korea, where terrorists set off a nuclear bomb that destroyed Seoul and killed millions of people including her parents. She has a visual impairment that causes her to wear special glasses, otherwise she sees afterimages, which she calls ‘ghosts’, all the time. This comes in handy later in the book. She is working on a top-secret project for Moretti based on data from something called The Epoch Index.

And that’s all I’m going to tell you about the plot. But there is a connection between all three characters that doesn’t become apparent until the last third of Scorpion, the first two-thirds of which is taken up by a captivating and off-the-wall cat-and-mouse chase between Quinn and Ranveer. The setting is near-futurish, the technology is unique but not far-fetched, and I got particular delight from the author’s description of The Grid, an area of Qatar that is closed off to anyone without influence, money, or a really good reason to hide from the authorities. The climax is straight out of genre favourites like Looper and Minority Report, and while some of the techinical jargon may go over your head from time to time, the characters make the story relatable. You may know what you are, but not yet what you may be.

My thanks go to NetGalley and the publishers of Scorpion for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I must say I really enjoyed this book! After reading the first few chapters I was doubting whether it would be for me but it really gripped me. Although sometimes I did get a bit confused and had to re-read a couple of chapters. But overall it was a great read. Something different!
Thank you to Christian Cantrell, NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Scorpion is a riveting, exhilarating and rollicking science-fiction thriller set in the near future in which a mysterious serial killer keeps the world in suspense because the only trace is the strange numbers he leaves on the bodies of his victims. Quinn Mitchell is a nine-to-five spy—an intelligence analyst for the CIA during the day, and a suburban wife and mother on evenings and weekends. After her young daughter is killed in a tragic accident, sending her life into a tailspin, Quinn hopes to find a new start in her latest assignment: investigating a series of bizarre international assassinations whose victims have been found with numeric codes tattooed, burned, or carved into their flesh. As Quinn follows the killer’s trail across the globe, always one body behind, she begins uncovering disturbing connections between the murders and herself. 

Every lead she tracks down in pursuit of the assassin brings Quinn one step closer to the Epoch Index, a mysterious encrypted message discovered in the archives of the Large Hadron Collider. Its origins are unknown and decrypting it is beyond even the CIA. Yet nothing else can possibly link together a slew of unsolvable murders, an enigmatic and sophisticated serial killer who always seems to be three steps ahead, a quirky young physics prodigy whose knowledge extends well beyond her years, and, underlying everything, the inescapable tragedy of Quinn’s own past. Discovering the meaning of the Epoch Index leads Quinn to a shocking twist that shatters everything she thought she knew about the past, the future, and the delicate balance of right and wrong that she must now fight to preserve.

This is a high octane, rapid-fire, all action-adventure thriller full of twists, high specification weaponry, double-crosses and a heart-stopping chase for an erudite assassin. What sets this apart from other espionage-based reads is that it is set in near future when new high tech gadgetry and weapons have appeared on the scene with new capabilities giving those on the intelligence scene a range of options to help them in their endeavours and made fully authentic by Cantrell’s employment as a software engineer. There's never a dull moment, and I found the pretty seamless fusing of sci-fi and spy worlds to work exceptionally well. It quickly becomes a fun, addictive and entertaining ride full of intelligently woven dialogue, scalpel-sharp observations and a compelling and intriguing cast of characters. Highly recommended.