GOING ZERO by Anthony McCarten, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, is definitely a suspenseful, action-packed story that could be translated to the big screen. Ten “zeroes” have been recruited with the goal of winning a large monetary prize if they stay hidden for a month from the CIA and the private industry counterparts at WorldShare/FUSION. Some of these “zeroes” are professionals in the surveillance field and others are more “regular” folk, including a librarian named Kaitlyn Day. This is an exciting and fun read, one where I became involved emotionally and wanted to root for the underdog and where some of the technology seemed scary, disturbing, and, of course, intrusive. Will Kaitlyn win three million dollars in prize money by evading capture? Will Cy Baxter and his company gain bragging rights and millions more in government contracts? Will privacy activists manage to upend the entire experiment? Fair warning: I personally found the ending to be a bit flat, but GOING ZERO is an intriguing read overall. Booklist gave it a starred review: “the reader is never quite sure where the story will go next. … An outstanding thriller.” I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Marin Ireland, which was very well done, reinforcing why GOING ZERO was an Amazon Best Book of April 2023 and a recommended “pulse-pounding read” from The New York Times.
As an aside, Marin Ireland has also narrated: Remarkably Bright Creatures, The Mighty Red by Erdrich (review coming soon), The Lincoln Highway, Beartown, and several more.
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