Mirage

by Don Passman

Book Overview

Cyber-encryption whiz John Berger competes in a weekend chess tournament. Returning to work the following Monday, he finds his office building destroyed by a bombing. Berger becomes the cops' prime suspect--all evidence of the chess tournament has disappeared. Only rookie FBI agent Jill Landis believes him. Together, they challenge a conspiracy whose secret weapon is more terrifying than the most powerful nuclear bomb.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446610402
• ISBN13: 9780446610407
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Warner Books (NY)
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

MIND CONTROL WITH DEADLY CONSEQUENCES

This is a very fast paced and excellent thriller. John Berger is a struggling computer encryption specialist on the verge of a breakthrough on the program he has been working on. One morning he goes to work only to find out that his office and building have been blown up. Everything starts to unravel at this point. His girlfriend Linda who was about to break up with him is missing, his job is on hold until the company rebuilds, he has no money, the FBI has him on their list of suspects for the bombing and the chess tournament he thought he went to over the weekend never happened.John starts to think that he is going crazy. He starts to hear voices in his head and starts having attacks of extreme anger.In Orlando, Florida a Mr. Simms goes to work one day and blows up his place of business as well as all but one co-worker. Are the two bombings connected? The FBI sends out agent Jill Landis to investigate the bombings as well as John Berger.This book was very enjoyable and portrayed some ideas about mind control that are very shocking. Can these things happen? Probably. Are they already happening? I sincerely hope not.

couldn't put it down

I just read Mirage by Don Passman and it was a great read. It's about a brilliant computer cryptographer who is the unwitting victim of a brainwashing project, as the FBI engages a cult deprogrammer/mind control specialist to unlock what's in his mind. The book is a real page-turner which I definitely recommend. ...

Great Book, Recommend it!

I just read Mirage by Don Passman and it was a great read. It's about a brilliant computer cryptographer who is the unwitting victim of a brainwashing project, as the FBI engages a cult deprogrammer/mind control specialist to unlock what's in his mind. The book is a real page-turner which I definitely recommend. ...

An exciting thriller

A bomb explodes in the Los Angeles office of EXC. The law enforcement experts trace the location to the desk of computer cryptographer John Berger. A few hours later, a bomb erupts in Orlando. Though dissimilar in most ways and no terrorist group claims credit for either one, the FBI wonders if there is a link between the incidents.Not considered important enough, they assign the investigation to a minor leaguer, LA agent Jill Landis. The EXC incident leaves her questioning what really happened as the prime suspect Berger, an intelligent Stanford grad, provides a terrible alibi. He claims to have played in a chess game at the Convention Center. Not only was there no game, but many of his named opponents were in other parts of the country and even outside America. As Jill digs deeper, she begins to see a connection between the bombings and a military experiment shut down three years ago. However, as John becomes a target of killers, Jill concludes that the two bombings were a pre-test for a much more dangerous terrorist act that she must uncover and stop with her only lead being Berger, whose mind is rapidly deteriorating.MIRAGE is an exciting thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seat throughout the tale. The story line moves rapidly forward, but in logical steps as subplots cleverly rejoin the main theme. Fans who enjoy a combination terrorist-medical "brainwashing" thriller will believe that Don Passman is a VISIONARY who brings freshness and light to the genre.Harriet Klausner

FAST-PACED ACTION THRILLER

Kenneth Combs is the director of a government project called MIRAGE, and after the project is shut down-he remains the only person with knowledge of the project...knowledge he will use for his own master plan.John Berger works for EXC, he is a computer cryptographer, and upon arriving to work one Monday morning he finds the building has been destroyed by an explosion. The explosion was caused by a bomb that has been traced back to his desk.After explaining to the FBI that he was attending a chess tournament over the weekend, he is shocked to find out that the tournament did NOT exist.Agent Jill Landis is assigned to the case, and although Berger is the number one suspect, her instinct tells her he is innocent.Landis must begin a search to find out who is behind the bombing and why, and stop them before they set forth an attack on the United States. Her search will lead her to an evil she is not prepared for."Mirage" is a good thriller, keeping the reader on the edge of their seats by disclosing plot twists a little at a time, and throwing in cliffhangers in each chapter. The puzzle of this novel keeps readers guesing until the last page has been turned.Don Passman has created a good read, although it is different from his previous novel "The Visionary". Readers looking for something different in the thriller genre should enjoy this.Nick Gonnella