‘Come and Find Me’ a tech-heavy suspense story

"Come and Find Me" by Hallie Ephron isn't your normal suspense tale.

First of all, it takes place primarily in a suburban and rural setting with not many humans around. Loneliness spills from its pages, especially in the early chapters.

Secondly, it embraces the high-tech world. So much so that it could turn off less sophisticated readers, especially those who don't understand avatars, virtual reality and the intricacies of the Internet.

Besides those differences, Ephron's story has the requisite mind-bending plot twists (although a few of them stretch believability) and a surprising but satisfying ending.

Ephron, who reviews mysteries for the Boston Globe, scored critical success with her previous stand-alone thriller, "Never Tell a Lie," and "Come and Find Me" should please her growing fan base. She hasn't reached the level of Harlan Coben, who has written many superb suburban thrillers. But she's off to a good start.

The first few chapters of "Come and Find Me" are reminiscent of Robert Neville's dilemma in Richard Matheson's horror novel "I Am Legend." Diana Highsmith doesn't have to face zombies, but she has to confront her demons — on a deeply personal level.

Highsmith, an expert computer expert and reformed hacker, lost her husband, Daniel, in a freak climbing accident a year earlier, and she has not adjusted well. She's barricaded herself in her New England home and refuses to go outside. She surrounds herself with high-tech toys and has security cameras everywhere. She's on the verge of a meltdown.

When there's any sign of commotion outside, she flips out.

"The Klaxon alarm startled Diana. ... Her palms turned sweaty and the back of her neck felt like someone laid an ice pack across it. ... Had to be a false alarm, the calm voice in her head reasoned, but she could barely hear it over the alarm that kept right on screaming inside her head."

She spends a lot of time playing with her avatar Nadia in a virtual world called OtherWorld. She also works with Daniel's best friend Jake on a growing Internet security firm.

But things go south. Her sister Ashley pays her a short visit (she calls OtherWorld "video conferencing with cartoon characters") to cheer her up. But when Diana tries to call her the next day, she discovers that Ashley has disappeared without a trace. Diana is scared to death for her but is even more scared to leave home and search for her beloved sister.

To tell much more than that would spoil the story. Let's just say Diana has a lot of obstacles to overcome if she's ever going to have a normal life again, much less solve the mystery of her missing sister.

"Come and Find Me" is tightly written, enjoyable to read but has some flaws. Because of the technical aspects of Diana's job (surfing the Net, procedural stuff with OtherWorld, etc.), the story slumps in spots. It's gotta be difficult for a writer to incorporate 21st century technology into an old-fashioned psychological suspense story without boring the reader and/or being overly simplistic.

But Ephron manages to do it without a lot of trouble.