DEVICE FREE WEEKEND

3.5 stars out of 5

If I've learned anything after reading several books in which a villain "captures" a character or group of characters and challenges them in some way to get out alive (think: escape rooms and elevators), it's that they grab you by the teeth from the git-go. But there's a catch: that kind of a start requires an in-your-face ending as well; when that doesn't happen - and for me it didn't here - a good bit of that early magic disappears.

Anyway, here's the deal: Ryan Cloverhill, a sort of blend between Elon Musk and Bill Gates with a touch of Larry Ellison, has invited six close friends from college to stay on his private island in the Puget Sound area. It's to be a great reunion with all expenses paid - but the guests must leave all their electronic devices at the door. With so much to see, do and talk about, no one seems to care about staying connected; until, that is, the second day of their somewhat mysterious adventure when Ryan has gone missing and they realize they're isolated from all other humankind.

Finally, Ryan touches base (by way of extremely high-tech equipment he's installed in the mansion in which they're all imprisoned) and hints at what's to come. At first, it all sounds like some kind of game (Clue, perhaps?); but it soon becomes clear something far more macabre is in the works. Collectively, Ryan informs them, they must make a decision that has no "good" outcome.

There's no shortage of action, some of it devastating, but as the story progressed it began to challenge believability. With the possible exception of one character, I never really warmed up to any of the college buddies - especially after details of their private lives began to be revealed. And besides wondering how in the world Ryan could possibly have pulled all this off, I kept hoping he'd somehow get bumped off and the story would end happily ever after.

Stuck in between is a ton of technology explanations, most above my intellectual pay grade. The actual ending, which did wrap things up somewhat neat and tidy, seemed more of a rationalization for the chaos Ryan's actions unleashed than any retribution he (IMHO) deserved. Despite all my misgivings, though, I'll say this is a well-written, well-thought-out book worth reading; if nothing else, it highlights the seedier side that technological advances can bring - and looking at those from both sides now really isn't a bad idea. Thanks go to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with a pre-release copy to read and review. Oh, and to the author: This former copy editor says you need that hyphen.

Device Free Weekend by Sean Doolittle (Grand Central Publishing, February 2023); 288 pp.