Book Review: 1st Case

Genius programmer Angela Hoot has always been at the top of her class, but now she's at the bottom of the FBI food chain—until her first case threatens everyone around her. Angela's graduate school days at MIT come to an abrupt end when she uses her hacking skills on another student's computer. Yet her mentor, Eve Abajian, arranges a new beginning for her—as an intern in FBI's Boston field office.

Her new supervisor, Assistant Special Agent in Charge William Keats, one of only two agents in the Northeast to make his rank before the age of thirty, sees in Angela a fellow prodigy. But Angela's skills come with a natural curiosity, which is also a dangerous liability. With little training, Angela is quickly plunged into a tough tracking murderous brothers who go by the Poet and the Engineer. When Keats tells her to "watch and listen," Angela's mind kicks into overdrive. The obsessive thinking that earned her As on campus can prove fatal in the field.

1st Case by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts was published in July 2020 by Little Brown. The mass market paperback was published by Grand Central Publishing in March 2022.

January is my month to run our mystery book club at the library, so this was my pick. Turns out it is also the very first James Patterson book I have ever read (a real feat since he has been publishing works since 1976 - close to five-sixths of my lifetime).

This also happens to be Tebbetts first foray into the mystery genre. Prior to this, he has only done young adult novels (something Patterson has also done). In fact, the two have collaborated in that space previously. I believe this is a little important for readers of this book to know.

At age 19, Angela could very much be a YA protagonist. She is an intellectual prodigy, but she still lacks life experience to make wise decisions. This weakness leads her to putting herself into some very dangerous situations without thinking them through first. This might turn off hardcore mystery/thriller readers, but for me it works to show how out of her depth she is in the world of FBI investigations.

There is also a thematic commentary on the usage of apps and social media by the younger generation (Generation Z) and the potential for dangers that come from it. Again, if this book were leaning more towards a YA audience, it would certainly be a fitting topic.

In the end, the story was good - straight-forward in plot, wrapped up neatly in the end. Enough action to keep me engaged as a reader. Hopefully my book club group will feel similarly.