This book is very much linked with the events of 9/11, opening with a scene from inside the 2nd tower as the first is hit and people try to get out. It deals with the events of the day and builds a story around the actions of someone (albeit a fictional someone) who died in the attack.
If this is an issue for you, then this is not the book for you.
If you are okay with someone making a story based around this sacred cow, then this is a good thriller.
A year after 9/11 our hero, Alex, gets a call from an anonymous source directing him to look into a murder trial that is currently happening, suggesting the person on trial is innocent. This sends Alex down a rabbit hole of investigation and danger as he searches for answers that may only be found in the rubble of the Twin Towers.
It is also set in the start of “online news media” and speaks of the great potential that the internet news can cover that traditional media won’t. It’s interesting seeing this from the point of view 15 years later seeing both the failures and the successes of non mainstream media online. But the book presents the optimism that was seen back them.
The story is well told, with interesting (although generally unlikable) characters. The plot is tight, with a few good twists in it.
Hays does great work (as always) with the narration, sound production and music. He provides various voices for characters, making it clear and easy to understand who is talking. Once or twice the ‘anonymous source’ was hard to understand due to distortion, but once I slowed the narration playback speed (I listen at a fairly high playback speed) it became understandable. So maybe that issue is mine, not the narrators.