Cold Eyes

By Romina Wilcox

Book Overview

A prominent Stanford researcher, Dr. Brett Russell, is found dead the morning he is scheduled to reveal his medical breakthrough to a worldwide conference in San Jose. The night of his murder, his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1425731686
• ISBN13: 9781425731687
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Xlibris
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Cyber Murder

A body washed up on the shore. A love lost and still longed for. A few highly intelligent individuals hold extraordinary knowledge about computers and electronics. A group of characters with secrets they dare not reveal. A love yet to be won. In the very middle of this constellation of data, yet to be information, is Joanne Gravitz. Joanne is a software developer and adroit in the use of Cold Eyes, software that helps track computer hackers. The body on the beach is but the beginning of a chain of events that will involve hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of people. For an unfortunate few, the chain of events may lead to the last moments of their life. Only one person stands between the progenitor of the chain of events and the next victim of the chain: Joanne Gravitz. Romina Wilcox has crafted a marvelous thriller that contains elements of cyberpunk. Romina first introduces her characters. Then she begins to feed you pieces of information about each of the characters, but just enough to keep you wondering who the criminal is. Romina also does sneaky things by having things happen to the characters I thought were the criminal to prove they were not the criminal, but I still wondered whether Romina was pulling a fast one (she does). Regardless of whether you guess the ending of this book, an honest person will have to admit that it was a guess. Throughout the book, Romina injects significant knowledge of computers and software, knowledge that is key to the success of Cyber God and the reason I claim that this book contains elements of cyberpunk. I loved this book and found myself glued to the last 100 pages. However, I have a few, small complaints. The story started very slowly, and though the slow start helped build up the backgrounds of the characters to permit Romina's clever mis-directions, the slower pace required a bit of enthusiasm to get through. I think it helps if you like computers and software. My second complaint regards the dialogue, about which I have two complaints. First, some of the dialogue bordered on being unrealistic. I suppose unrealistic dialogue tends to be a hallmark of new writers. You should read some of the dialogue I have written! Second, the dialogue had a definite female slant in it, particularly in the first half of the book, regardless of whether the speaker was female or male. I also notice that Romina spent more time describing things like relationships, outfits and makeup than a male author would have. Even so, men who enjoy action and mystery stories should enjoy this book as much as women - though they may learn a few things about style and relationships along the way. I have read very few stories where knowledge of electronics and computer hacking have been credibly written about. Once Philip K. Dick wrote "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and William Gibson wrote "Neuromancer," books such as "Cold Eyes" were inevitable, once the right author set pen to paper, or fingers to

Great Read

I just finished the new novel by Romina Wilcox entitled COLD EYES and was pleasently surprised! This was a first novel and frankly, I think it could win an EDGAR!! The storyline was very complicated with a lot of twists and turns. It was briming over with cybertechnical information. Even though much of it was high tech, the reader is able to decipher it all. She did a good job of simplifying the complicated. I just didn't see the ending coming. It was a total surprise when I learned 'who done it'!! Would have never figured it out myself. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good read. Quite an adventure all the way through. Thanks Romina....please keep the words coming.

An Exciting Technical Thriller!

If you like fast paced, edge of your seat style mysteries, this book is for you. While technology is at the core of the story, you don't need to be a computer buff to enjoy it. This is one of those stories that starts up, and never stops going. It's blistering fast, and very hard to put down. The plot in this novel is outstanding, and far from simple. The author twists and turns, and leads you around like you're being dragged from the back of a speeding car. I had no less than three suspects total by the end of the book. If I were an investigator, I would have went after the wrong guy a couple of times. I was lead to mistrust every character involved, sans the protagonist. I did not guess who the killer was early, and I was surprised by the great twists at the end. The characters are well developed, believable, and distinguished. You really get to know some of them well, and by the end, you feel like a part of a group, or a part of the story. Character development seems to be a very strong point for this author. Another area she excels in is description. The author is very descriptive, but rarely focuses on irrelevant items. You are easily lead to picture every scene as if you were there. A great "escape" type book, as another reviewer stated. The author knows her tech also. Either by learning through osmosis living in the valley or performing good research, the tech in this book is accurate and believable. It shows the author knows technology enough to wrap a story around it. The only real complaint I had was the dialog. Some of it seemed unnatural, or over descriptive. It's as if some of the story was being told through the dialog rather than narrative. At times the exchange between "best friends" seemed more like random colleagues. Not all of the dialog is this way, it's sporadic. In the end, it's not so bad that it would cost a star, it's just an area that needs a little polishing. In summary, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a fast paced and smart mystery novel. It's a story that hooks you immediately, and leaves you longing for more. It has a strong plot, and will get you emotionally involved with it. Reading this first novel by Romina Wilcox definitely leaves me wanting to see what she comes up with next. She has the potential to run with the big leaguers in this genre. This was an excellent first novel and introduction ,I'll pick up her next book sight unseen.

Cold Eyes - A Must Read!

I was a little worried at the beginning... I thought it was going to be predictable...WRONG! I am usually pretty good at unraveling the cloud-covered truth to a plot. Throughout this book, I made several wrong presumptions and took the bait of each clever twist. I was pleased with the nice blend of action, mystery, suspense, and romanticism that Romina was able to weave into a beautiful story. I highly recommend this book! I look forward to any future novels by Romina Wilcox.

Intriguing cyber-thriller...

Dr. Brett Russell, a prominent AIDS researcher, is murdered on the eve of a conference to present his breakthrough discovery to the world. His computer is hacked by someone calling himself CyberGod and Russell's research is obliterated. Uber-programmer Joanne Gravitz is called upon to help find CyberGod and solve the mystery. COLD EYES, Romina Wilcox' debut novel, is fast-paced, suspenseful, and full of twists with a surprise ending. Techies will appreciate the computer details more than will non-techies, but the mystery and romance aspects will capture readers' attention. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Wilcox!