Spider's Bait - Book Review

Fans of Miguel Angle Hernandez, writer of mystery thrillers with complex characters and arresting plots, will grab his newest suspenseful novel, “Spider’s Bait. A Risky Alister Knight Mystery”.

Hernandez is recognized for his Griffin Knight character and his exploits in previous novels. While Griffin is on another case, his brother Alister is sent to Seattle to investigate the tragic “ accidental” death of one of Seattle’s police officers. Valentina’s death has been blamed on Sapphire, a wheeling-dealing ruthless mastermind behind Seattle’s underworld.

Arriving in Seattle, Alister is entangled in a web of mysterious and dangerous drug trafficking, a new drug called Ravenous Heaven, and in a turf war between the Webheads and the Back Widows. Not for arachnid phobias or squeamish, Alister’s investigation leads him to the gang leader, Spinner, his brother Daddy Long Legs, and their ruthless, and not too bright, gang of Spiderlings.  As a backstory, Aurora, alias Warhead and black hat hacker has given Alister a new identity to aid in his surveillance of Sapphire to prove she was behind Val’s death.  She connects Alister to Xavier, a private investigator, for his aid.

The multiple characters intertwine in the web of stories. Xavier is another high-tech hacker who is familiar with cyber verse. In this digital world, his virtual reality Cyberdeck plugs into Cyberspace and permits him to make a mental link into Backroads to access business systems. This leads to a cyber fight with avatars and high-tech weapons, including a web gun that shoots out a fake sticky spiderweb.

Fast-paced, full of intrigue, and told from alternate viewpoints, this gripping novel will cocoon the reader in a web of fantasy.  Can Alister bring justice to Seattle?  With fine lines between good and evil, Hernandez writes a thrilling read for fanciers of crime fiction.