Dark Network is James McCrone’s second novel, but the story reads like the work of a veteran author. In this political crime thriller, America is a divided country in the wake of a hotly contested, possibly rigged election. The people are angry, dissent has spread across the nation, bodies are piling up, and the fate of the country hangs in the balance. Imogen Trager, a beautiful, clever FBI analyst, is racing to uncover the bigger conspiracy hiding behind the front of voter fraud.

This is an intelligent, politically savvy read with exploration of issues that resonate in the current climate of the US. The electoral college is pitted against the popular vote, and Imogen is forced to play fast and loose with the amendments as she investigates the conspiracy. She is a driven character, skilled at seeing patterns but always standing slightly apart from others. Soon she finds herself questioning her own ethics even as suspicion mounts against her.

McCrone’s writing is solid, his pace tense, the plot taut. Details of information retrieval and data analysis, the role of the media in either cutting through the noise or being sordid accomplices to the destabilization of the country, and the politics of organizations are skillfully woven into the plot. This is a high level detective procedural where instead of tracking footprints in dust, the FBI throws the full weight of their “IT department” into the mystery.

The tale is engagingly written with an open ending that brings the current issues to a satisfying resolution but the overall conspiracy to undermine Americans’ faith in the electoral system still unsolved. McCrone’s Dark Network is a winning read, timely, thought provoking, and suspenseful. The next installment in the series is highly anticipated.

Highly recommended for fans of classic political crime thrillers in the vein of Tom Clancy