A short, but great read, which you will probably consume in one sitting, as it was very hard indeed to put down.
A plausible scenario, which was quite chilling and scary to read.
I'm looking forward (I think...) to any further books.

A couple of very minor issues with the translated copy, but nothing that affected my reading. Hopefully these will have been addressed.

A. great start to a new series. This was a quick read filled with action, betrayal, and racing against time. Alex is a smart, strong character that learned the hard way that trust should not be given easily to those you've never actually met. The plot was intriguing, (if not a bit scary that something like this could really happen!), and reads quickly. Looking forward to what Alex gets involved in next.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love the representation of a doomsday scenario that involves cybersecurity. The ideals that the book portrays especially at the end are very relevant. The way it is written reminds me very much of the Spy movies from the early 2000s, very suspenseful and intriguing. Honestly I wish that it also became a movie because I think seeing something like this play out on a screen would be absolutely gripping. I do think that the intended audience of the book is a little unclear. The beginning was very heavy in technology lingo so someone that is not familiar with those terms would likely have to go look them all up to fully understand what is going on. On the other hand, I am very familiar with cybersecurity, so the Doomsday scenario was a little dramatized for me.

This book was equal parts fascinating and frightening. While designed to be a work of fiction, it will leave you questioning are we really that vulnerable? The plotting of this story was superb with each chapter practically bringing some new element into Alex's world. Each character was layered and complex and so much different than they first appeared. Alex was brilliant, perhaps a genius but that may have been her biggest downfall. I was reminded as I was reading of the TV show Scorpion telling us that people with high IQ's will have low EQ's. Alex demonstrated that because she was so focused on what she could do she didn't stop to think if it was something she should do. Her motives were pure but she was operating from a place where she assumed everyone else was too. It left her easy picking for a betrayer or more than one.
Returning to her motives for a minute, the idea of pausing society to realize we are vulnerable makes sense on paper but not in reality. She didn't realize the villains would take that a step forward beyond pausing society to its total collapse. The book details the collapse first near to Alex and then spreading out. I found the story fascinating and it appealed to the inner geek but wow was it scary. One small worm could destroy so much, one small worm could shape society for decades to come and one small worm could end lives in a dozen different ways. One woman will have to find the strength to stand against her creation and stop it at least for now. The ending for Alex was a bit surprising, I almost expected her to be locked up or pressed into service for her unwitting part in this. However, knowing as we do at the end that this isn't over will allow just that to happen, it will allow Alex to be at the root of stories to come as she once again will pit her skills against another bent on destruction.
I really did enjoy this book a great deal and would recommend and will be anxiously awaiting this story to continue.
Thanks to NetGalley and Henrik Davidsson and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book had good energy, excellent pacing and even the short sentence paragraphs I don't normally like fit in here well. While books don't always smoothly translate from one language to another, this one did. The only complaint I had was it's length (closer to novella than full-length novel). It felt more like an entire two-hour movie was adapted into this book without any parts left out. Other than that, I liked this more than I thought I would.