Jan Coffey Five in a Row

Five in a Row

Jan Coffey

Mira, Jul 2005, $6.99

ISBN: 0778321924

The first incident occurs in Albany, New York followed by Providence, San Diego and Miami. In each case the driver insisted the car drove itself. Insurance companies and car manufacturers are concerned though no one has linked the four incidents. Following the fifth event when a school principal's vehicle reportedly did the same thing, the consortium hires Colter Associates to investigate. Ben Colter heads to the new site in Wickfield, Connecticut while the other two associates split the remaining four locations.

In Wickfield, Ben meets computer guru Emily Doyle who he recently offered a job to, but she declined since she is a single parent raising a ninth grader by herself. They are immediately attracted to one another. However, unbeknownst to either, Lyden Gray, a participant in Emily's online chat, thinks she is a goddess who he must protect from evil-doers like principals who take up her time as he can hack into any computer program even those in a car.

With wireless cell phones used to set off explosions, the technology seems frighteningly plausible. Thus readers obtain a powerful scary investigative thriller that grips the reader from the moment we comprehend what Lyden achieved from a remote distance with the principal's car. Colter and Emily are intelligent likable protagonists, but the obsessed Lyden steals the show with his dangerous skills that makes one wonder about the safety of a car with all the computer gizmos inside.

Harriet Klausner