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.

This is a very good book, an intelligent book, with an interesting premise and an interesting lead character It was a little slow for the first half and at times the description were more than i wanted, ie the book was long and would have been stronger if it was a little less wordy at times The second half moves faster and I loved the twists and turns and the tie ins to the earlier themes 4.5

Dead Money by Jakob Kerr is a captivating thrilling suspenseful novel.
Not my typical read (Silicon Valley), but i am so glad I gave this one a chance.

Filled with twists and turns this book does not disappoint.

The characters are well written, flawed and fleshed out.

I will look for more books from this author.

Dead Money was an excellent book that combined so many elements I love into one - thriller, many big twists, a fast pace, Silicon Valley, strong characters, an underlying, insane mystery...I absolutely loved it and could not put it down! It was super helpful to have Mackenzie's character need to explain many things about how the tech world works to Danner and I think the technique worked well; I didn't know a lot of those things either, but it was easier for me to read their dialogue to get an explanation, rather than having it in the narration. The dual timelines also worked really well.

As anyone how reads a lot knows, it’s always a gamble when you pick up a book from an author you’ve not read before, let alone any writer’s first effort. And as it happens, Dead Money was well worth that gamble. Dead Money is the debut novel from Jakob Kerr, and one hell of a read. Jakob Kerr’s professions have given him the expertise to provide readers a well crafted novel set in the tech world, a novel that has all the tech right and feeling as legitimate as it can.

Dead Money is a story inside a story, inside another story. The pacing is swift and his characters are multi layered. The twists were many, the surprises shocking, and near the end it has the complex feel of the movie Inception. The story centers around the mystery of a dead tech industry CEO. A character who is bit Elon Musk and a bit Steve Jobs.

As our protagonist, Mackenzie, works her investigation we learn nothing is as it seems. Mackenzie has a few secrets of her own, as well do several characters. This is a plus that only adds to the mystery. The world Jakob Kerr builds is as complex as his characters. The story takes sharp turns and held my attention throughout. This was a hard book to put down. Being the nerd I am about all things tech, Dead Money was right up my alley. The mystery had me guessing, and was honestly not one I could not solve. If you love technology, and thrillers then this will be your next perfect read.

While Dead Money by Jakob Kerr started off strong and kept my interest in the first quarter of the book, some parts in the middle felt a bit drawn out. Nevertheless, the overall story is well-crafted, and the complications of Silicon Valley's power dynamics added a layer of depth to the narrative.

In her job solving problems for Silicon Valley’s most ruthless venture capitalist, Mackenzie Clyde’s used to playing for high stakes. Even if none of the jaw-dropping sums in play ever seem to make it into her hands.

But her new assignment is something else entirely. The lightning-rod CEO of tech’s hottest startup has just been murdered, leaving behind billions in “dead money” frozen in his will–and as the company’s chief investor, Mackenzie’s boss has a fortune on the line. Which means that solving this impossible crime has just become her problem.

Dead Money delivers a compelling and unique perspective on crime, power, and ambition in the tech world.

#DeadMoney #NetGalley @atrandom

✨️ ARC Review ✨️ Dead Money by Jakob Kerr

☆☆☆☆☆

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for this great advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

And honestly... what a phenomenal edge-of-your-seat thriller all the way through.

I won't lie, I was sold on this one by the cover and that the MC is a woman (I prefer women-led and women-written books), but I dont usually go for corporate, tech thrillers. At least, I haven't read many, if any. But I was hooked on this one from very early on.

Mackenzie works for a Capital Venture firm, but she's more of an investigator. She uncovers the dirt and puts the pressure of new and existing clients. But when one client ends up dead, she must work with the FBI to uncover the killer, and maybe save Silicon Valley in the process. Or at least leave her indelible mark.

What follows is a fast paced, intense game of cat and mouse, as Mackenzie turns over every stone to find the killer, makes some shocking discoveries, and has to look over her shoulder every way as there are forces at play that have their eyes on her.

Switching betweent he present-day investigation, and key events in Mackenzie's life that made her who she is today, I was hooked on every chapter. I was captivated with every reveal and surprise and rabbit hole she went down. There are some pretty big twists in this one, and when all is said and done, Mackenzie has become one of my favorite protagonists in recent years.

This is an easy 5 out 5; pick this up as fast as you can when it's finally on shelves.

So, I am a big thriller reader, but to be honest did not vibe with this book. There's nothing wrong with it, but it just fell flat and the conversations between characters wasn't for me.

Such a good read that I enjoyed! I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!