A USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts bestseller.International bestselling author Patricia Cornwell delivers pulse-pounding thrills in the first book in a series featuring a brilliant and unusual new heroine, cutting-edge cybertechnology, and stakes that are astronomically high.On the eve of a top secret space mission, Captain Calli Chase detects a tripped alarm in … mission, Captain Calli Chase detects a tripped alarm in the tunnels deep below a NASA research center. A NASA pilot, quantum physicist, and cybercrime investigator, Calli knows that a looming blizzard and government shutdown could provide the perfect cover for sabotage, with deadly consequences.
As it turns out, the danger is worse than she thought. A spatter of dried blood, a missing security badge, a suspicious suicide—a series of disturbing clues point to Calli’s twin sister, Carme, who’s been MIA for days.
Desperate to halt the countdown to disaster and to clear her sister’s name, Captain Chase digs deep into her vast cyber security knowledge and her painful past, probing for answers to her twin’s erratic conduct. As time is running out, she realizes that failure means catastrophe—not just for the space program but for the safety of the whole nation.
Brilliantly crafted, gripping, and smart, Patricia Cornwell’s cliffhanger ending will keep readers wondering what’s next for Captain Calli Chase.
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To me, this story is more psychological suspense than anything else. The first-person perspective puts the reader into the mind of the main character, Captain Chase – a woman of multiple talents, who from the beginning of the story is ‘up against the clock’. Time is ticking down for a NASA mission that has an added layer of secrecy. The day of the launch, a series of events occur which she is tasked to investigate. In between events, Captain Chase begins to wonder if they are related. But is she right or is the mounting stress of the day blunting her thought process?
If you choose to read this story, read with an open mind as this is unlike any other story Ms. Patricia Cornwell has written.
Quantum was written in a timeless fashion – one never knows if the events in italics already occurred or when in a timeline they would be listed. It’s an interesting style of writing and made the events actually occurring somewhat more frightening as a result. Even tho the story takes place in present time (2019) it has the feel of a futuristic novel and/or there is simply that much more happening in the technological field than I ever imagined.
I always felt a bit off-balance from the beginning of the novel, and that is always a good thing for an author — to keep her readers guessing. However, what I did NOT know, and I definitely wish I had going into the book, is that this is only the first part of two books; that this would end on a cliffhanger. That is not to say I never read books that aren’t open and closed within one novel. But I like to know that that is what I’m doing when I start the book, rather than suddenly realizing that I’ve reached, say, 93% of the book and thus it couldn’t possibly wrap things up in the next couple of chapters.
There were a few other features that caused me to not rate the book higher: I felt that while some characters were fleshed out in detail, others were not given more than a sentence or two of explanation, leaving them more two-dimensional that I would have liked. Also, for people like myself who are, let’s say, technologically-challenged, I would have liked more of an explanation of some of what the narrator discussed: it would t have taken much more than perhaps putting her together with someone not used to that type of technology and simply asking questions about how it worked. That is to say, they are easy ways to explain those things without leaving the reader in the dust (or forcing them to google different types of technology in order to follow what’s happening in the novel).
Overall, I am quite likely to read the sequel (or continuation of this novel) when it comes out, but more bc I already put so much time into the novel that I don’t wish to feel short-changed. At the very least, I hope my review stops someone from ending up in my position; suddenly realizing that the book will not end happily or otherwise – it will require you to read another novel to find out what occurs.
I realize that I haven’t put in any details about the storyline, but for me, that was probably my favorite part of the novel — learning what the narrator and others were doing — and only actually getting a real glimpse about a fifth (maybe a quarter) of the way through. Learn that part yourself. I found it fascinating- and remember, I have no real knowledge in that field.
I have been a fan of this author but this book was a disappointment. The book just rambles on with no apparent story line that makes sense and has no ending.
I always love Patricia Cornwell’s writing. I look forward to each new book. They are both educational and entertaining.
Love everything Pat Cornwell writes. Her books are always interesting and the recurring characters make the stories more believable. Can’t wait for her next publication.
Intricate, too much dialogue that didn’t really add to story, didn’t reveal whereabouts of one of the key characters.. it was a struggle.
Well, this was a very hard book to read. I love Patricia Cornwell and have read every one of her books in the Kay Scarpetta series. That said, I only give this one three stars because of the gigantic amount of research she did on the subject of NASA’s space program. Her character, Captain Calli Chase, reminds me a lot of Dr. Scarpetta. She is very smart, tough, and thorough to the point of exhaustion, but where Kay is also fun and interesting, Calli is neither. The entire story covers about twelve hours and is painstakingly delved out little by little through Calli’s inner thoughts and a small amount of dialog. I felt like I was reading this while dangling in outer space and running out of air. Half way through I was begging for some action, but instead got more information on scientific facts, crime scene protocol, and how electronic gadgets work. And, while some of it was interesting, it did little to propel the plot. I don’t think I’ll be following this series because I have completely lost interest.
I was hoping this would be more like Cornwell’s earlier works. Not so. So much of this took place inside the main character’s mind it was really hard to follow. I wanted to like it but that didn’t happen. I will not be reading anymore of this series.
I found that this story is not a Kay Scarpetta tale. I’ve become accustomed to the way these tales flowed. I was disappointed.
Seems to me that much was made of Calli’s cut finger. Appeared to be much ado about very little.
What was described as a cliffhanger ending was just abrupt. Again, I was disappointed. I like my novels complete, not a prelude to a series.
The best part was I found no errors. In digital books errors are too common.
Awful
Not much, to much angst on part of main character.
I liked the Kay Scarpetta novels much better
As a fan of Patricia Cornwell, I cannot stress enough the level of disappointment in this novel. I was unable to finish.
Slow, endless (literally!) slog that resolves nothing in the plot and the sequel is hardly any better.
This is not a fast moving book. Nothing like her previous books. Too much gabbing
and not a lot of progress on the plot
Not in the same league as Cornwell’s Scarpetta Series. Difficult to read as the story line dragged on & on. Finish was not clear.
Not much!!
Boring, slow, not a single likable character. Did I say Boring?
As always she comes thru once again. This is why she is a favorite author.
Couldn’t finish. Used to love reading Cornwell until her later books in the medical examiner series