‘Foolproof’ entertaining, frightening

  Could the scheming and delusions of one man really affect everyone in the world? It did on Sept. 11, 2001. 

  The events of Sept. 11 changed the lives of everyone in the United States, in some form or fashion. Everything about our culture and our history changed.

  In their book, “Foolproof,” authors Barbara D’Amato along with Jeanne Dams and Mark Zubro, take a fictional look at how that life-altering day affected two people's lives so profoundly that their very presence could change the world forever a few years later. And how the actions of one deranged man could alter the world again.

  Brenda Grant and Daniel Henderson made it a daily habit to stop for coffee before going to work at the software firm housed in the World Trade Center. On Sept. 11, holding their coffee in their hands, Brenda and Daniel watched as the twin towers were hit, and then watched as the buildings collapsed, killing all of their co-workers, friends and Brenda’s fiance. Brenda and Daniel were the sole survivors of the company.

  Fast forward a few years, and Brenda and Daniel have formed their own company, DB Security, providing software security consultations for many companies. But they also quietly specialized in tracking terrorist activity in an attempt to prevent a repeat tragedy from occurring, with modest success.

  They are approached by Allen Cooper, a high-placed government official, with a request to check out a computerized voting program about to be put into use for the upcoming presidential election. Working to track down any bugs in the system, Brenda and Daniel begin to notice a curious series of circumstances that just don’t fit together. The program designer, a former classmate of Brenda’s, dies in a mysterious fashion, setting off a chain of events that will find Daniel running for his life in Cairo and Brenda dancing on the edge in the swirl of Washington politics.

  Not only is the presidential election in jeopardy, the entire world is facing disaster, all at the whim of one man — the last person imaginable to be behind the chaos. It’s up to Daniel and Brenda to flush him out and prevent another global catastrophe.

  “Foolproof” is a fascinating look into the securities and insecurities that surround the very computers we work on every day and how just a small glitch can affect our lives. D’Amato, a prolific mystery writer in her own right, teamed with fellow mystery authors Zubro and Dams to create an intriguing, well-paced novel that is as entertaining as it is frightening.