Vanished (Black Hat Thriller, #4) by Karen E. Olson
Severn House, 2018
Crime Fiction; 224 pgs
Source: I received an e-copy from the publisher via NetGalley

Karen E. Olson’s 4th and most recent book in her Black Hat series, Vanished, was another next to impossible book to put down. I was caught under its spell from the start when Tracker appears on the first page. Hacker Tina Adler is living under yet a new alias, trying to blend into a small South Carolina town, selling her art and doing what she can to stay off the radar. A chance meeting with an elderly gallery patron, however, derails all her best efforts, and Tina finds herself on the run again. This time she has a destination though. Someone she loves may be in trouble, and she is not going to leave him high and dry.

If you have not read any of the previous books in the series yet, I recommend you start with the first book, Hidden, in which Tina is first introduced to us. This is a series best read in order. Each book builds on the next.

I have not read too many thrillers involving hackers, but just enough to know I enjoy them. It’s scary to know how easily someone can get into your computer or steal information from an ATM. It’s a good thing Tina has a conscience. There are plenty of twists and turns in Vanished as Tina travels from South Carolina to New York and onto Paris. Memories of her childhood and her grandmother come flooding back, adding a closer look at the life Tina lived before she became a hacker.

Spencer returns in Vanished, a character I have grown more and more curious about. He’s extremely talented with computers and technology and well-connected with the dark web. Tina can’t help but be curious, but knows she is on a need to know basis. She is still unsure how much she can trust him, but needs his help.

In Vanished we see the prey turn into the hunter as Tina tries to stay hidden from those out to get her and find out what’s happened to her friend. The stakes have never been higher for Tina. Vanished is entertaining and fast-past. I enjoyed spending time with Tina again—although am glad I don’t lead her life!

I absolutely loved this book. I picked it up yesterday and wolfed it down by the end of the day, barely managed to put it down to eat something. The story was good, the characters were interesting and fun to be with, and I was really invested, wanting to know more about the characters and what was going on. The plot was well written and the novel was well research, with thorough details on hacking and computer knowledge. There were red herrings everywhere and at some point I gave up trying to guess because my head went on a spin thinking who dunnit (or more accurately, who was doing it).

funny enough, I have not read the beginning of this series, however it did not diminished my enjoyment of this story. Yes, I would've liked more on the romantic background between the main character and the FBI dude, however it is not the fault of the current book that I haven't read it (I'm actually giving it props for making it like it so much although I haven't read the other books!!)

Vanished kept me turning pages and eager for more. The hacking detail was strong but not overwhelming. The suspense was intriguing and unique. I've not read a story like this one in the past, so it is fresh and fun to read.

I didn't even realize this book was 4th in a series, but it holds up well as a stand-alone. It's easy to catch on right away what Tina is doing. It's interesting to have a 40-something average-looking woman as the main character and gratifying to see her portrayed as an intelligent hacker (though that's not exactly a worthy occupation!)

This is a fast-paced thriller that's hard to put down. I know nothing about hacking so don't know how realistic it is, but that doesn't really matter to me. What matters is that the characters are interesting and the story kept me engaged all the way through. I'll be looking forward to the next book in the series.

A very topical thriller with an interesting character in female hacker Tina. I'd not read the earlier books in this series but I think there's enough back story to make you appreciate what's going on in Tina's mind when Zeke, her FBI SA lover goes missing in Paris. Parts of this are somewhat unrealistic but the hacking info is informed. There's a good mystery here and it's fun to see an outlaw female protagonist. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Although the book was fast-paced, and I enjoy books about hackers, Vanished seemed more surface than anything else. Maybe this is because I have not read any of the previous books in the series, but I couldn't really connect with the characters.

This is the fourth in the Black Hat Thriller series but my introduction to Tina Adler who is a computer hacker living on the edge. It quickly becomes apparent that Tina is hiding in South Carolina and earning her way by painting and then selling her artwork. She is guilty of hacking and moving millions of dollars from unsuspecting accounts and for this she has been hiding in public view for a number of years avoiding the authorities and also some other rather unsavoury characters from the criminal fraternity. Tina is hiding to keep alive. Time to introduce the love interest, Zeke who works for the FBI – or does he? Tina is unsure.

Let me say from the outset that I didn’t enjoy this book. I really did feel that a lot of the text was spent in referring back to what had happened to Tina before. I never got the excitement or the build-up to what would happen next; who can she trust – I just never cared enough? I quite enjoyed the computer bits but even that got tedious with the repetition of the RAT, the Trojan etc., and some of it quite clearly went over my head but that is what I would expect when reading about computer hacking. By the way, if you are a computer hacker would you forget about the GPS on the phone? I didn’t care about Tina, even less about Zeke but I did quite like Spencer who, for me, was the most interesting off-beat character. Sorry Ms. Olson but I even found the dialogue a bit flat. For me there was no tension, no excitement; I just felt that I was missing out. Here’s a thought – perhaps if I had read the preceding books I might have enjoyed it much more because I would have been in a relationship with Tina… That is the only food for thought I brought away from reading this. Huge apologies to the author but sadly this one just wasn’t for me. Bet there will be plenty who will love it though.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

This is book four in the series and so usual series rules apply. Yes, you can probably read this book in isolation as there is enough catch-up from previous books for it to make sense, to get the very best from the storyline and indeed the characters, it really is better to start from the beginning.
Tina has re-invented herself once again. This time living in South Carolina, again making ends meet with her paintings but all the time still living with the price on her head from her past, shall we just call them, shenanigans. All is ticking along as well as can be expected until the day she's been dreading comes to bite her in the face once again. Literally as she is recognised from a blast from the past. On further investigation, she catches sight of another face from her past; one who she'd rather be in her present, one time fellow hacker and FBI agent and also love of her life Zeke. From the picture and the story that goes with it, it appears he is in trouble again. Further investigation leads her once again to another old friend and the situation escalates until they literally bump into eachother and are forced to flee and go on the run. A situation that forces Tina to once again enter the black hat world of hacking as it appears she is being targeted and this is the only option available to her to reach out for help. But is it help she really finds, or has she made things a whole lot worse?
I do love this series. There's obviously a lot of computer stuff, especially hacking, contained within the story but it is all explained very well for the uninitiated like myself so it is always easy to follow. Not being in the world myself, I can't speak for the validity of what I am reading but it does come across as completely plausible and credible throughout.
Pacing is good throughout. There are some quite fast pace action scenes to be found as well as the nitty gritty slower paced computer time which slowly builds up the tension. All totally in keeping with the actual story being told. We also travel back to Paris which is where Tina spent a lot of time and so we get to unpeel another layer of her character there too.
As per previous books, there is quite a bit unresolved at the end which is a little annoying but, as I have learned with this series, the whole world in which the characters live is all a bit convoluted and interconnected and, to be honest, there's enough in each book to make it a complete story in itself but the whole story will take a bit more telling until it all comes to a head. I've invested my time willingly and enjoyed each book enough for that to be totally OK and, as such, I really can't wait to see where the author takes me next time.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The blurb promoting this book was irresistible. A female computer hacker with enemies offering a bounty for her death. An old boyfriend who's an undercover agent for the FBI. And she thinks someone's watching her right now.

Well, I found myself knee deep in the drama and the obligatory chase quite quickly. Karen Olson hooks you with her words and just doesn't let go. A skillful writer, Ms. Olson keeps the pace moving, the suspense steady and tension tight.

References to earlier adventures made me regret I had not read the first three books in this series, Black Hat Thrillers. While this is a very good read on its own, I believe you will find it a better experience if you read the first three volumes.

This is the 4th in the Black Cat thriller series. Tina Adler still has a price on her head, so when her lover Zeke Chapman goes missing she must risk her life and her friends live to find and help the man she loves.

She travels to Paris where Zeke was last seen and uses her skills to search this beautiful but frightening city to save Zeke.

This is the second Black Cat book I have read and like the other one, it starts off slowly and builds to a big ending (sort of). If you understand how hacking works, then this book is a hive of information but if you don’t, like me, understand the intricacies of illicit computing you will be totally at sea.

The story overall is good, but Tina is so unlikeable that it is hard to root for her and the never-ending story of how she ended up running for her life is getting a little wearing.

Shesat.

Breakaway Reviewers were given a copy of the book to review.

Really enjoyed this story! Well written! Looking forward to reading more by this author!

Vanished is the fourth novel in the series about hacker Nicole Jones alias Tina Adler. As a young woman in her early twenties she and a fellow hacker she only knew as Tracker broke into eight bank accounts and transferred the funds just because they could. They returned the money in all but two accounts. Unfortunately, those two accounts belonged to a crime boss and her father’s partner Tony DeMarco. Nicole was forced to get off the grid to avoid being murdered. She managed to survive by living on various small islands, doing odd jobs, and selling her paintings of the local scenes to tourists for cash only. For Nicole, computer use meant the internet and the internet meant hacking. She was addicted to hacking as much as an alcoholic to liquor or an addict to drugs and didn’t touch a keyboard for almost fifteen years. Until one day she was found.

Vanished follows the same pattern as the earlier novels. Nicole has to get back into hacking to avoid her pursuers and, in this fourth novel, to find the FBI agent who is her lover and has disappeared. It is a fast-paced and fun novel. The computerize is simplified so that the average reader can grasp the intricacies of Nicole’s keyboard actions as she accesses the dark web for clues to the whereabouts of Zeke Chapman. A chance photo leads Nicole and a fellow hacker to Paris and the hunt is on.

I suggest that these mysteries be read in order because the backstories are very important to understanding the plot.

This is a very well put together, well written book. Tina's search for Zeke was compulsive reading. I read this in one sitting. The short chapters made it fast paced and I just kept wanting to read more. There is a lot packed into this story. It is written without using a lot of computer jargon. This means hopefully anyone should be able to understand what Tina and Spencer are doing. I really hope that there is a sequel to this book.

Tina Adler was a teenage hacker savant who managed to steal millions from some unsavory characters. Ever since, she's been on the run both from her victims and the FBI.
This novel moves quickly with Tina navigating the complex world of hackers. Most of it was like a foreign language to me! BUT the author did an amazing job at making it easy to understand! :D

I love all the characters, and Tina was really relatable, and you can't help but root for her! :D
I highly reccomend it!

Thanks to netgalley and Severn House to the opportunity to read the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. When I saw it listed on netgalley, I pounced on it as I loved the previous Black Hat thrillers.

Tina Adler was a teenage hacker savant who managed to steal millions from some unsavory characters. Ever since, she's been on the run both from her victims and the FBI. I don't know if everything is possible or accurate. But, in Olson's hand, it seems plausible.
And incredibly exciting. Her heroine, who changes names and identities while on the run, is resourceful and intelligent. You can't help but root for her while she figures out what is happening, and if there is anyone she can trust.

Highly recommended.

LOVED this book! This novel picks up with Tina going about her daily life when she gets the sense that someone's following her. For a normal person this would be cause for concern, but for Tina, a reformed hacker that once stole ten million dollars and has a price on her head, it is cause for terror. Almost before she knows it, she's running for her life and crossing the Atlantic, all while desperately trying to find Zeke, an undercover FBI agent and man she loves.

This novel moves quickly with Tina navigating the complex world of hackers. Most of it was like a foreign language to me, but the author made it easy to understand. I felt invested in the the characters and found Tina a relatable character and found myself rooting for her - even when she felt forced to do questionable things.

Fans of the genre will love this book. Put this one at the top of your TBR list. The author is on my must read authors' list.