The first novel by Stephen Johnson, ASSASSINS GAME takes the reader into the life of Seth Green, a University of Wisconsin graduate student doing his doctoral on unlocking secret codes hidden in web sites. Together with some of his classmates, they work around the clock in their lab on a fancy computer system Seth has created for this very purpose. However, an agency is onto his program and wants to sabotage the project for fear that their secret codes – sending targets to a hit man – will be revealed. They will stop at nothing to protect their identity.

When a very attractive and distracting Alicia Woods enters his life, the shy and unconfident Seth falls head over heels. Alicia has the looks and the brains and is extremely interested in Seth’s work - a little too interested. As they spend more and more time together, Seth starts to notice that wherever he and Alicia go, death follows. Was it just coincidence Alicia entered his life at this point or is she part of the agency out to get Seth?

Stephen Johnson has written a thriller that will keep you holding your breath with the turn of each page. He covers a topic that most people fail to think about – just how safe is the Internet and how much do we really know about it? Johnson does a great job at making Seth the unknowing bookworm turned hero. He is vulnerable yet courageous and Johnson mixes these two characteristics with such perfection.  ASSASSINS GAME is a must read.