Just about everybody knows John Sandford for his long and successful Prey series. But just as well written and maybe more fun are his Kidd books, of which this is the fourth. Kidd is a professional thief for the Internet age: a cyberprowler, a hacker extraordinaire. In The Hanged Man's Song, he gets word that one of his key contacts--a superhacker known only as Bobby, whom Kidd has never met but has relied on many times--has disappeared. Kidd and an old buddy, both of whom could be compromised by data in Bobby's files, go looking for him. Finding his brutally murdered body draws them into a Hitchcock-esque intrigue that eventually involves stolen government secrets, crooked politicians, and a rogue CIA agent who's as crafty as he is creepy.

While filling his tale with fascinating and authentic-sounding lore about the hacker subculture, identity theft, and security cracking, Sandford keeps the action brisk with plenty of white-knuckle chases, tense stakeouts, and hairsbreadth escapes. Couple that with a smart, agreeable narrator and a cast of vivid characters evoked with an old pro's ease, and you've got one winning thriller. --Nicholas H. Allison

From Publishers Weekly
This series of techno-suspense novels featuring artist, computer wizard and professional criminal Kidd (The Fool's Run; The Empress File; The Devil's Code) and his sometime girlfriend, cat-burglar LuEllen, are far fewer in number and less well-known than Sandford's bestselling Prey books. In this entry, Bobby, Kidd's genius hacker friend ("Bobby is the deus ex machina for the hacking community, the fount of all knowledge, the keeper of secrets, the source of critical phone numbers, a guide through the darkness of IBM mainframes"), goes offline for good when he is hammered to death by an intruder. Bobby's laptop is stolen, which is bad news for Kidd as several of his more illegal transactions may be catalogued on the hard drive. Kidd needs to find the computer, break the encryption and revenge Bobby's death. The trail leads from Kidd's St. Paul, Minn., art studio to heat-stricken rural Mississippi and on to Washington, D.C., where Kidd uncovers a government conspiracy that threatens the reputations and livelihood of most of the nation's elected representatives. One of the joys of the series is learning the tricks of computer hacking and basic burglary as Kidd and LuEllen take us to Radio Shack, Target, Home Depot and an all-night supermarket to buy ordinary gear, including a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew, to use in clever, illegal ways. The action is as hot and twisted as a Mississippi back road, but the indefatigable Kidd eventually straightens it all out and exacts a sort of rough justice that matches his flexible moral code. The early entries in this series have aged badly because of the advances in technology, but this latest intelligent and exciting thriller proves a worthy addition to Sandford's overall body of work.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
John Sandford's latest Kidd novel is a thriller for the computer age. Someone has killed Kidd's cyberfriend, and he's determined to solve the mystery. In the process, Kidd must deal with assassins, politicians, and a coterie of other suspects. Although his actions and insights are nothing short of astounding, the book remains thoroughly enjoyable, and computer lovers will enjoy all the geeky detail. Richard Ferrone's gruff voice fits the novel's tone. His intense style keeps the story moving and gives the characters vitality. Sandford's fans will not be disappointed with the conclusion, when all the pieces finally fit together. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Bobby is the Houdini of computer hackers: no password too cryptic, no firewall too sophisticated. When he disappears from cyberspace, Kidd is the man to find out why. To the straight world, Kidd survives as an artist, but in fact he's a criminal. Most of his crimes are committed with a computer, but sometimes he subs bullets for bytes. With help from LuEllen, his sometime lover and forever partner in crime, Kidd determines that Bobby's hard-copy life ended violently, after he tapped into a sophisticated government surveillance system. Attempting to turn the system--sort of a Total Information Awareness on steroids--against the elected officials who favored it, Bobby ran afoul of those he hoped to expose. Kidd and LuEllen take on the entrenched power structure with a combination of computer wizardry, cat burglary, and chutzpah. Kidd doesn't yet have the street cred among mystery fans of Sandford's other protagonist, Lucas Davenport, but give him time. Ultimately, thrillers are defined by the scariness of the villains, and the bad guys Kidd contends with are a special breed indeed, capable of rendering lives meaningless by the thousands with a few key strokes. Clear a spot on the best-seller lists for this timely and entertaining thriller. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Entertainment Weekly
Hard-boiled computer hacker Kidd and his sometime girlfriend LuEllen...a refreshingly roguish couple.

People
Exciting.

New York Times Book Review
Smart.

Cleveland Plain-Dealer
Fast-paced

Book Description
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the phenomenal Prey novels returns with The Hanged Man's Song.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the phenomenal Prey novels returns with The Hanged Man's Song.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This series of techno-suspense novels featuring artist, computer wizard and professional criminal Kidd (The Fool's Run; The Empress File; The Devil's Code) and his sometime girlfriend, cat-burglar LuEllen, are far fewer in number and less well-known than Sandford's bestselling Prey books. In this entry, Bobby, Kidd's genius hacker friend ("Bobby is the deus ex machina for the hacking community, the fount of all knowledge, the keeper of secrets, the source of critical phone numbers, a guide through the darkness of IBM mainframes"), goes offline for good when he is hammered to death by an intruder. Bobby's laptop is stolen, which is bad news for Kidd as several of his more illegal transactions may be catalogued on the hard drive. Kidd needs to find the computer, break the encryption and revenge Bobby's death. The trail leads from Kidd's St. Paul, Minn., art studio to heat-stricken rural Mississippi and on to Washington, D.C., where Kidd uncovers a government conspiracy that threatens the reputations and livelihood of most of the nation's elected representatives. One of the joys of the series is learning the tricks of computer hacking and basic burglary as Kidd and LuEllen take us to Radio Shack, Target, Home Depot and an all-night supermarket to buy ordinary gear, including a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew, to use in clever, illegal ways. The action is as hot and twisted as a Mississippi back road, but the indefatigable Kidd eventually straightens it all out and exacts a sort of rough justice that matches his flexible moral code. The early entries in this series have aged badly because of the advances in technology, but this latest intelligent and exciting thriller proves a worthy addition to Sandford's overall body of work. (Nov.) Forecast: Sandford's fans have shown a willingness to embrace the Kidd series in the past. The author, who will make only limited personal appearances for this book, is working on the 15th in the Prey series. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

AudioFile