Online (edition 2011)

The story of Brendan Lowe and his search for a life without leaving the hometown that he had grown up in and still lived. His wife divorced him because he was stuck in the same place that he had always been in. As an at-home data-based engineer he does not feel the need to go any where except out to the local coffee shoppe for his late night jolt of caffeine. He has fallen love with his boss whom he sees occasionally but he is too stuck in his life to try to start a relationship with her. He is comfortable in his little world and really does not want to upset it in anyway.

That world changes when Brendan is involved in an accident that is not his fault, but the richest man in town wants him to take the blame to exonerate his grandson. Everyone in the town turns against him and he is left with the Sheriff, who was at the scene of the accident, his boss, Cara, his ex-wife and her boyfriend as the only ones in his corner. Once released from the hospital with the town against him and the town benefactor pressuring him, Brendan finds a "friend" online.

When Cara and Brendan begin seeing each other he rejects the online "friend", Alexa and that is when his real trouble begins. Everyone that he cares about is in danger as well as those who are putting pressure on Brendan to accept blame for the accident. The different strands of the story come together in a climatic conclusion that is difficult to foresee. Mr. Blackburn had done an excellent job weaving the stories and lives of his characters together and to keep the reader interested and wanting to know how it all ends. A very good read. ( )

Although the writing is not the best, it is reasonable but doesn't flow as well as a more polished author, the story is interesting.

The book has a good pace, just as I was starting to feel the story was flagging a new spark caught my interest, so I never felt the urge to give up.

The ending was a bit of a let down, there was no hint of supernatural through the book and it seemed to be thrown in as a better ending couldn't be thought of.

Overall an enjoyable book worth a read. ( )

This book very much surprised me. It was not what I expected, but better. I loved the suspense. The several storylines were woven together nicely. Just as I was starting to get into what I thought was going to be the whole plot, Mr. Blackburn adds a twist, and then another, and then even more. The characters are written so well that you feel emotional about what happens to them, good or bad.

I do admit, as a computer geek, it was a little creepy for me. It made my imagination run wild. As with Asimov and his stories being fodder for the future of science, I can somewhat foresee this happening as computer technology advances. ( )

Online was a different kind of book for me. It was really good book very suspenseful and exciting,it kept me wondering what was going to happen next. There was alot going on in the book so it kept me on my toes to know what was going to happen next.

Online has one of those expansive plots that covers multiple storylines which eventually are all woven together to form a larger picture. As such, it makes it a bit difficult to sum it all up in a review without giving anything away or ending up writing a synopsis by mistake, but I will try.

All the storylines advance simultaneously, which makes for interesting reading. The author did a good job of never leaving one storyline for very long while he was advancing the others. He strung out enough detail and action in each scene to keep me hooked, but not so much that I couldn't remember where things had left off upon returning to a particular storyline. I was equally fascinated by Alexa's downward spiral into madness as I was about following Brendan's interactions with Edgar Sarasin and his crew as they plotted to run Brendan out of town. And I found the budding romance between Brendan and Cara equally touching and frustrating – just like a real relationship in the beginning stages where you think you might have met The One but you're still getting familiar with that person. Like most real-life relationships, both Brendan and Cara have some baggage to deal with.

So what do all of these story threads have in common? Brendan. Ultimately, Brendan must fight against the corrupt politicians trying to sully his name, keep his friends and family safe from a woman hell-bent on destroying everything he loves, and contend with a new world created by technology. He must decide what is most important and what is worth fighting for. In doing so, he finds himself.

I was enjoying the story as it advanced and then about a third into the book, the suspense that had been slowly building suddenly ratcheted up and I found myself turning page after page to find out what happens next. I ended up staying up waaaay past my bedtime to finish because I couldn't put it down.

There is a little bit of something in this book for everyone. It's not straight horror, nor a straight suspense/thriller nor a straight romance, although there is a fair amount of all of these in it. All combined, it made Online a fun read. ( )