While this story is a little bit far fetched - why would a venture capital lawyer collaborate with the FBI for a murder investigation? - the book shows a lot of the intricacies of startups, with their weird and interesting founders and directors. It is, at the end, a murder investigation, that will for sure leave you wondering who did it, even after the truth is unveiled.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Dead Money.

The premise was intriguing and though I don't care about the tech industry and the bros who run it, the narrative quickly drew me in.

Mackenzie Clyde is a fixer who has worked her way from humble beginnings to the top as the right hand woman to a ruthless venture capitalist.

When the founder of a hot start-up is murdered, Mackenzie works alongside the federal agent investigating the death. She soon discovers the feds aren't being honest with her, but then neither is she.

I liked the police procedural aspects of the narrative as Clyde and the federal agent speak to witnesses and colleagues.

The flashbacks provided context and insight into Mackenzie's motives and ambitions, which I guessed early from the start.

I did find the narrative toward the end dragged on and the suspense and urgency suffered.

I also got annoyed and bored of everyone describing the dead CEO and Yoo as geniuses, brilliant, etc.

I matched Mackenzie when it came to rolling my eyes.

I did like Mackenzie and her mom, and the writing style and tone.

I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Mackenzie is a young woman who has clawed her way to the top and is now the lead investigative lawyer for a very rich VC. She fixes his problems, investigates possible ventures and makes sure they have all the dirt on the people they’ll be investing in. When one of their clients is murdered she is placed with the FBI’s investigation team to liaise and help solve the murder as quickly as possible. What follows is a cat and mouse game full of twists and turns that will leave the reader trying to figure out who to trust.

A highly engaging Silicon Valley murder mystery with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, all while peeking into the innerworkings of the tech industry.

Mackenzie Clyde is investigating the death of tech CEO Trevor Cannon. His assets were in some sort of agreement that, if anything happened to him, the assets would be frozen, becoming dead money This is where the title of Dead Money comes from. Clyde is not really a detective, but a lawyer and the personal employee of tech mogul Roger Hammersmith. He has an interest since his investments are tied up with the dead money left behind by the murder victim. So, Clyde is sent to investigate and represent her boss' interests.

The book takes the reader through the world of Silicon Valley and its tech companies. There is a ruthless element there. The reader gets good insight into the character of Mackenzie Clyde through flashbacks that show her growth and development and how she got where she is. The characters even visit the Burning Man festival. It was interesting seeing this event through their eyes. The plot has plenty of exciting twists and turns. I thought the ending was well done too.

This is a great novel of suspense, mystery, intrigue, and I enjoyed reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Mackenzie is a lawyer/nvestigator who reports directly to Roger Hammersmith, the president of a venture capitalist
firm. When the CEO of a startup firm is murdered, Mackenzie is sent in by her boss to work with the FBI in
exposing the murderer. Mackenzie is under pressure to produce results as the firm as over $5 billion dollars
invested in the startup. When it is determined that one of the executives is most lkely the killer, the chase is
on to reveal who and why. Mackenzie's backstory is also revealed. Engrossing fast paced thriller.
#DeadMoney #Random House #Ballantine

I enjoyed this book, is creation of characters, and the plot twists. A great vacation read, definitely keeping you on the edge of your seat.

Dead Money follows Mackenzie Clyde as she assists the FBI in investigating the murder of a Silicon Valley tech genius/CEO, Trevor Cannon. Prior to his death Trevor changed his will to lock his assets in a "dead money" clause, and appeared to have been hiding something important to cause his paranoia. The twists and turns of this story were enjoyable all throughout. The author skillfully alternated between the present timeline, and various points in Mackenzie's life leading up to her becoming an investigator for an important venture capital firm that financed Trevor Cannon's tech company. Not everyone's motivations are clear, and the twists and turns kept me invested in this book from start to finish. I could see where the author was leading us with the ending, but the way he wove it all together didn't make it an obvious conclusion by any means, which made it all the more enjoyable for me to read.
Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

rating: 4.25 out of 5

Overall, this was a pretty good read. It reminded me of a John Grisham book like “The Firm.” Both were high stakes reads with plenty of murder and intrigue. I did like the different timelines that we had and it was a great tease in building the story for the reader.

Murder in Silicon Valley. As competitive as it is, not surprising. But the reasons will shock you.

If I hadn't just finished watching Silicon Valley for the first time, I probably would have given up in this book. It was a lot of things I just learned , so it was engaging. I like the female characters the most in the book. Didn't always love ALL the dialog that just was never ending, but I did like the multiple times.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel. This was fantastic. One of the best thrillers I've read all year. It is an inside job heist tale in Silicon Valley that keeps you guessing until the end. The author is clearly a tech insider because the atmosphere and the mechanics and the characters ring true. I was glued to the pages until it was over. It reminded me of Ocean's Eleven except that the cards are definitely not on the table in this one.

I support women's rights and women's wrongs in a protagonist and the main character of this story scratched that itch. It was a fun ride, a book with a lot of specificity about the tech world the author once worked on without bogging it down by too much technical jargon. The chapters interweaving moments in the past first may feel extraneous but they pay off for the plotting, with a resolution that is hinted at throughout to pick up on — which I appreciate a lot in how an author takes a reader through it instead of adding an out of left field twist.
If I had to mention a gripe, I'd say maybe there is too much detail (especially for the first half when laying out the suspects and notably when painting the picture of how Burning Man is usually organized), but the second half has pretty great pacing and the epilogue nailed it for me.

Thanks to Bantam Books/PRH and netgalley for the opportunity to read this before release in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. It was everything that I look for in a thriller, and I had so much fun with it. I love tech thrillers, and this one delivered for me. The writing was so well done in this book. I was hooked right from the beginning and stayed engaged the entire time. The pacing is incredibly quick, and you won’t feel like you’ve read over 400 pages by the time you’re done, or at least I didn’t because it felt like it was over in the blink of an eye. To me this book wasn’t about not being able to guess who committed the crime, it was more about the journey and the twists along the way, and it was great. There was a lot going on and a lot of moving pieces. As the author meticulously crafted their tale, things started to click and fall into place, and then the twists started happening. The final scenes were great, and I didn’t see everything coming, so while I think you will figure some of this book out, there is plenty to leave you guessing and waiting to figure out.

I didn’t realize until after I was done that this is a debut novel for this author, they are going places.

I highly recommend this one to those who love thrillers about tech, or who just love fast paced thrillers.

So good! This takes place in Silicon Valley, and surrounds tech billionaires. There is a murder in the lose, but those with money have all of the power.

Jakob Kerr's mystery novel Dead Money is one of the few, if any, Silicon Valley novels I have read over the years. While I am a big fan of Silicon Valley the television show, Dead Money has a bit more murder mystery than the hit HBO comedy, but is equally as entertaining.

A Silicon Valley fixer investigates a billionaire founder's death while pursuing her own agenda in this twisty, sharply observed debut mystery from a tech world insider.

In her job as unofficial “problem solver” for Silicon Valley’s most ruthless venture capitalist, Mackenzie Clyde’s gotten used to playing for high stakes. Even if none of those tech-bro millions she’s so good at wrangling ever make it into her pockets. But this time, she’s in way over her head—or so it seems.

The lightning-rod CEO of tech’s hottest startup has just been murdered, leaving behind billions in “dead money” frozen in his will. As the company’s chief investor, Mackenzie’s boss has a fortune on the line—and with the police treading water, it’s up to Mackenzie to step up and resolve things, fast.

Mackenzie’s a lawyer, not a detective. Cracking this fiendishly clever killing, with its list of suspects that reads like a who’s-who of Valley power players, should be way out of her league. Except that Mackenzie’s used to being underestimated. In fact, she’s counting on it. Because the way she sees it, this isn’t an investigation. It’s an opportunity. And she’ll do anything it takes to seize it. Anything at all.

Dead Money is a particularly engaging novel with Jakob Kerr's keen ability to weave in sharp observations about Silicon Valley’s culture seamlessly into his plot. Kerr's background in the industry allows the author to paint vivid pictures of the inner workings of this unique landscape—where coffee-fueled brainstorming sessions are juxtaposed against opulent parties hosted by eccentric moguls—and does so with such authenticity.

This mix of Silicon Valley elements with murder mystery was such a unique take on the genre and was exactly what I was hoping for when cracking open the book. Dead Money gives us a fresh new and innovation story in a wide world of mystery novels. While it took a few chapters to get going, the pacing throughout the remainder of Dead Money kept me glued to its pages long after I should've put the book down. Initially slow-building yet never dull, Dead Money hits full speed ahead midway through the book and never looks back.

Some may have discovered the whodunnit of it all earlier in the novel, I was still in the dark until the big reveal. This allowed me to enjoy the journey, no pun intended, of Dead Money all the way until the end. Each new twist and turn just added more depth to the narrative to keep me hooked. Truly was one of the few novels I have read this year where I did not want to put down for any reason.

Dead Money by Jakob Kerr emerges as more than just another murder mystery novel; it stands a testament to Kerr's outstanding ability to craft a story that is both filled with knowledge of the industry and an entertaining whodunnit at the same time. The author's history in Silicon Valley brings credence to the inner works of the industry and adds authenticity that those outside the world of tech don't have. Kerr deserves recognition on this debut novel that was a hit in my book.

This book was a lot of fun; full of great twists and turns. What started out as a simple murder mystery quickly turned much more complicated but, thanks to clear and concise writing, was still easy for the reader to follow. Appropriately placed flashbacks also added nicely to the story. The fast pace and believable characters, along with a solid ending made this an extremely enjoyable book.

I want to thank NetGalley and the author for providing me with an advanced review copy of this book.

I really liked this book. The context of technology, AI, venture capital, crime, Russian oligarchs, conspiracy, and plots within plots keeps you hooked and moving forward in the story very effectively. It had a good sequence of plot twists and misdirection to keep the story very interesting. The characters had some depth although that element might do with a little more attention.

As I mentioned, I felt the book is definitely worth reading and entertaining. Although I give it a rating of 5 stars, there is one element that I think lets it down just a little. That is the ending. It seems a little bit like it's just attached at the end of the story like an appendage. A bit of an element of lets wrap it all up with a jump from the story conclusion to solving the crime perfectly with not a lot of connection between the two. Still, I do recommend the book. This is the writer's first book and endings are always hard to implement so I'm sure his next effort will get better.

Title: Dead Money
Author: Jakob Kerr~ Debut Author
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine/Bantam
Genre: Mystery Thriller,
Pub Date: January 28, 2025
My Rating: 3
Pages 416

Mackenzie Clyde us a Silicon Valley lawyer a fixer, not a detective but finds herself investigates murder victim billionaire Trevor Cannon who states in his will his billions is ‘dead money’ in other words frozen.
Next Stanley Yoo Journey’s chief technology officer who oversees all the engineering and all the code is missing. Yikes what is going on?

I am a big Mystery Thriller fan. I suspect everyone you may have whodunit in mysteries and love the twists and turns in thrillers. This one had the twists and turns but a lot of conversation.
Have to admit some was a bit of a struggle understanding what was going.
I have read other AI stories but there was a lot going on in this one!

There was reference to ‘Burning Man’ - so I looked it up

Burning Man is a week-long festival in the Nevada desert. The festival's main event is the burning of a large wooden sculpture called "the Man" on the Saturday night before Labor Day.

I was also curious about the author - so read his bio
Jakob Kerr is a lawyer and communications executive in San Francisco's tech industry. He was one of the first employees at Airbnb and
spent a decade shepherding the company from tiny startup to global phenomenon.
Jakob has also been a bartender, sportswriter, and—for one disastrous afternoon—the driver of an ice cream truck.
He recently returned to his native Pacific Northwest where he lives with his wife Meghan and two young sons Teddy and Sam (he asked that
they not read this book until 2036!)
This made me laugh!
I did finish and things became much clearer however it was pure determination plus I wanted to support a debut author! I

Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group ~ Ballantine/Bantam for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 28, 2025.

An intriguing concept about a murder in Silcone Valley and a fixer named MacKenzie. A little drawn out and alot of info about the tech world. Well written but not my favorite setting.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.