Zero Days by Ruth Ware

 

Jacintha "Jack" Cross and her husband, Gabe, work as penetration consultants, breaking into companies to show their vulnerabilities. After one job goes wrong, Jack returns home to discover her husband has been murdered. As the police's main suspect, Jack goes on the run to find the real murderer and prove her innocence.

Zero Days by Ruth Ware is an action-packed thriller. From the opening pages, you are pulled into the world of corporate espionage and the role of penetration consultants. You live every moment alongside Jack as she breaks into a company and tries to evade security as she heads for the computer server. There are even moments where you're holding your breath, willing everything to work in Jack's favour. It's refreshing to see a female taking on this role, showing that a woman is just as good as a man in this type of scenario.

From the very beginning, we see that Jack doesn't lead a charmed life. This isn't one of those books where the hero always seems to miraculously escape capture or has a million and one tricks up their sleeve to solve all problems. Jack comes across as very normal, which is probably why we feel her shock and disbelief at finding her husband murdered. 

With Jack as the main suspect in the murder, she uses her skills to escape a police station and go on the run. Her only aim is to find out who murdered her husband and why. In modern society it is very difficult to avoid detection, Jack knows this and uses her particular skill set to stay one step ahead of the police. The cat-and-mouse chase is adrenaline-fueled, you are constantly on edge, wondering if this is the moment the police are going to win.

We do see Jack's vulnerabilities as the story progresses, it really does become a race against time as she narrows in on the real murderer. The identity of the person responsible for Gabe's murder didn't surprise me, neither did the reasons behind it, but it fitted well into the story-line, giving an extremely relevant slant to the motive. I'd love to read more of Jack's adventures in future novels (although personally, I feel this is destined for the TV).