A quiet life but not a quiet world
All that Michael Housen wants is a quiet life with his wife Pam and their dog Cecil, but when he apparently opens a phishing email at his place of work, Armor Security, which sells security cameras used by the federal government, it triggers a devastating cyberattack that provokes the US President to start a war with Iran. The authorities come down especially hard on Housen because his wife’s parents were born in Iran, and he and his wife are thrown into prison. As he grieves over the violence happening in both countries as well as the treatment he and Pam receive, Michael muses about the email he received that seemed to have touched off the war. He cannot remember it and cannot find it on his work computer.
The experiences of Michael and his wife as they suffer the consequences of Michael’s apparent lapse of good computer security practices are described in a way that make the reader sympathize and identify with their bewilderment and distress. They are ordinary people!
On the broader front, the federal administration shown is credible but a bit scary. Federal employees are required to wear American flag pins, and many of them include the number 48, which is the presidency of the current president. As a former federal employee, I find this distasteful but unfortunately not totally unbelievable. The President is belligerent but again not unbelievable.
My kindle has a note at the end of the first chapter, “Great start”, and my enjoyment did not ebb as I read about the events that followed the cyberattack. The consequences for people in both the US and Iran were disturbing, including rogue actions against innocent immigrants in the US and official rounding up of Iranians in the US by the federal government, which I at first found incredible until I remembered that we had done the same thing to Japanese residents during WW II.
The treatment received by Michael and his wife, though, was especially sad. As the book progressed, I realized I had become very invested in the characters, especially Michael and Pam, but even the supporting roles were nicely done. They were believable, and I cared about what was happening to them and the quandaries they faced. They also are cleverly envisioned, e.g., Pam’s career in documentary films is significant.
The combination of fascinating plot and believable characters made this a delightful read, and I was considering it as a candidate for my “Best Books of the Year” list… until the very end, when it was clear from one remaining threat that the problem facing Michael and his friends and the country had not been fully resolved.
If you like a fast-paced thriller that doesn’t stint on character development, I highly recommend A Quiet Life. If you are the sort, however, who wants ALL the loose ends wrapped up, you might want to wait until the sequel comes out. Please hurry, William and Michael .
I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and the authors.
PS Originally I downgraded this book to 4 stars because the cliffhanger ending annoyed me so much, but in the next few days I found myself talking about and recommending the book to so many people I realized it probably deserved that fifth star!

Michael Housen is a regular white-collar worker until he is accused of clicking an email link that triggers a war against Iran. Quickly, Michael and his American-born Iranian wife are arrested for hacing contact with Iranian politica figures. Upon their release, Michael knows he must prove his innocence to save himself, his wife, and the world as he knows it.

This was a quick read now from Netgally that I grabbed based on the synopsis, and I'm glad I did. This was a fairly quick read with short chapters and an interesting plot line. There are hints into the author's political idealogy engrained in the story, and it will not be hard to read between the lines. One of the strongest parts of this plot was that it is not out of the realm of possibility and would be a horrible reality. The book ends on a cliffhanger and sets the reader up for a second novel, which I will definitely be reading.