The Trojan Dog
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
"I should ask your department's accountant whether he's missing nine hundred thousand bucks." This is the anonymous message that will change Sandra Mahoney's life. When a powerful but unpopular bureaucrat is accused of theft and computer fraud, Sandra is convinced that the charge is false. But how to track down the culprit when almost anyone could be an enemy? In her search for the truth, Sandra finds herself in a battle of wits against an elusive and unscrupulous opponent, a battle in which no-one's allegiance can be taken for granted. In the first of a remarkable new series, Dorothy Johnston has produced a compelling story of computer crime, loyalty and betrayal against the backdrop of a city - and a country - on the cusp of political change.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Australian author Johnston's literary, character-driven crime debut explores white-collar corruption as well as a modern woman's personal transformation. Sandra Mahoney, a self-described "wife on pause," is feeling stifled after her husband departs Australia to work in the States for a year, leaving her behind to take care of their young son. Sandra takes a job at Canberra's Department of Labor Relations, where she oversees a report on discriminatory wage practices against home-based workers. Her boss, the cool and reserved Rae Evans, has been suspected of siphoning off department money by illegally adjusting a large grant given to a bogus company. Convinced that Evans has been framed, Sandra devotes herself to quietly investigating the case. Readers will applaud as she comes into her own, aided by a gregarious and eccentric co-worker, Ivan Semyonov, who soon becomes her lover. Though there are a lot of interesting technical details about computer hacking and fraud, the sluggish, murder-free plot may frustrate some American mystery readers. Another weak point is a largely unexplored plot strand involving Rae and Sandra's now-deceased mother. Still, to quote from Ken Bruen's blurb, Sandra is "a terrific creation and achingly real."
