The Devil’s Code (Kidd and LuEllen #3)

I’ve got nearly all of John Sanford’s books but he must have used a ‘sub’ for this one. He clearly has an expert on tap for his computer technicalities and his details of Gov. Departments but, equally obviously, he doesn’t have an elevator expert – I am one with better than 30 years experience. Just about everything that he got his heroes to do with that elevator as they were breaking into a building were either wrong or totally, laughably, impossible. Also – the whole novel was boring and nothing like his Davenport and Flowers books of which I’m a big fan and which, incidentally, I find are worth re-reading every 4 years or so.

….my favorites of Camp’s (Sandford’s) work. I just wish he’d write more of them, as there are only four and I’ve read all of them more than once. More than twice, I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit. Always written in the first person, they are very….well, personal. And his growing relationship with LuEllen is always intriguing, like, when are they going to actually commit to one another? A great read. Thanks, Camp.

Having read all the prey series and the flowers books John Sandford has written this is a real treat. This time we have a character walking outside the law to accomplish actions that need to be done. I was hoping and look forward to all the books sandford writes and really enjoy the 2 Kidd books Ive read so far. Im wondering if LuEllen is the same woman mentioned in the prey novels. Guess Ill have to go back and reread them to find out. Anyway keep up the good writing Mr. Sandford. Ill keep reading.

An

I am an unabashed fan of John Sandford. I find his work quite entertaining. The Devil’s Code (Kidd Book 3) was entertaining and had all the characteristics of a Sandford book. It was a page turner. There were surprises and unexpected twists and I would certainly recommend this book. That being said … for an “old” guy limited in technological skills, I found some of the detailed computer references somewhat above my level of comprehension. In the end though, I plowed through those details and had an enjoyable experience.

This is another good one in the Kidd Series. Give him an open port and Kidd has the software that gets him into any computer anywhere and takes control of it. But sometimes getting to the open port takes some hard work. That’s where his buddy LuEllen comes in. She is an expert crook. Kidd is an artist who could support himself selling paintings. He hacks for the fun of it. The two make a cute couple – during the brief periods when LuEllen decides to be part of a couple.

In this case the goal is not clear. Kidd figures it out as he goes and we find out at the very end after he accomplishes it. You have to play a little loose, hang in there and believe it will make sense. It does. A pretty professor of Computer Science at Stanford comes to Kidd’s St Paul home and asks him to find out who killed her brother in Dallas a few days before and why. OK – That’s a goal. But he finds out within a few days who did the deed. Then he learns that he will have to do some 8-story work to get the details so he calls in LuEllen. There is some indistinct tie-in to the NSA (National Security Agency) that Kidd uncovers. So he gets the name, address and phone number (via a hacker friend) of one of the executives in the NSA. He confronts the executive on one of her evening jogs, wearing a Bill Clinton mask and tries to get her to look differently at a group of benevolent hackers. This is not entirely successful because then when he contacts her by cell phone as he and LuEllen are driving along an Interstate, she sends a pair of helicopters after them. He gets lucky and finds a mall just near an exit with an inside garage where he can park and burn his rental car, go through the mall and steal a car on the other side.

And so it goes. This book is a collaboration with the author’s son, Ros, and so it indicates that there will probably be Sandford books around for a long time. That’s great. You don’t have to be a computer nerd to enjoy these stories. Just follow the action as Kidd and LuEllen climb 8 stories on elevator cables above an unused freight elevator, and crawl around the sage brush on a Texas ranch with night-vision equipment when the Bad Guy has better equipment. It is not vital that you read these in order. There is only minor connectivity.

So take a guess: Does Kidd end up a burned hulk in a Texas ranch house, a dead body in a vast field on the ranch, or keeping himself warm snuggling against LuEllen’s backside in his St Paul flat?

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