Trapped by JERAT

Sinopsis (from fixi.com.my):

Apakah kaitannya dua pembunuhan kejam dan satu kemalangan (atau mungkin juga sebenarnya percubaan bunuh yang gagal) dengan sebuah tender IT bernilai RM400 juta?

Kemalangan itu meragut ingatan Shereen. Apabila terjaga dari lena yang panjang, semuanya hilang. Dia perlu bangun semula dan bina kehidupan dan kenangan baru. Tetapi kini dia tidak pasti, siapa kawan, siapa lawan. Siapa Tash? Siapa Melia? Siapa Adele? Siapa Rizwan Zakaria? Siapa Datuk Hasnoor? Siapa Rahmat Hamidi? Dan siapa pula Pak Ya?

Di tengah-tengah kekalutan itu, dia juga perlu membongkar kegiatan penyeludupan kod-kod program ke luar negara yang didagangkan di pasaran gelap. Mampukah kepakaran IT Forensiknya membantu? Mungkinkah dia akan melepasi JERAT, atau akhirnya kecundang?

 

I received this book last week, on Thursday, from the author, Dayang Noor. Her blog is The Red Sandal Diaries. I started reading that night, and finished it the following night.

And I love it.

I very rarely read novels written in Malay. They are either soapy love stories, or soapy love stories. The thickest book I have read that was written in Malay was Hikayat Hang Tuah, and that was soooooooo long ago when I was in primary school.

So, JERAT. We have established earlier that I love it. Not because the author is my friend, but because the story line is refreshing. Being published from FIXI should already give people the idea that the book will be different. This is the first book from FIXI that I’ve read, although I was planning to get the other books since earlier this year, but never gotten to doing it.

The story is set in the IT world, something that I am familiar with. Kesian the PM pening kepala trying to get the project back on track, although the story is not about him at all. He he he…

I like the pace of the story. It keeps you on your toes and the linking between the scenes are interesting. Cehh… aku cakap macam aku dah expert je kan? What I mean is that, the story is engaging to me, it keeps me glued to it. Take for example on Friday night. The Hubby was taking The Baby and I out, but I kept going back to the book in between getting ready. Ha ha ha… Siap baring atas katil and curling to the book occay!

For a debut novel, I feel that Dayang Noor did very well. She has been blogging for years, and she has written a successful screenplay before (you can read this in her biography). So knowing that, it’s not so surprising that she’s able to craft something that I tweeted as “a mash between CSI and Digital Fortress”. Granted Dayang is no Quentin Tarantino or Dan Brown, but to me, she has what it takes should she continue doing this. :-) And I’m not saying this just because she’s a friend. Hahaha…

If you like suspense, conspiracy, modern themed book; and you don’t mind using Mr. Google to search for IT terms that are alien to you, this is a book that you should not miss. Yes, there are a lot of IT jargons in there, but without understanding them, you can still enjoy the book. It’s like reading John Grisham with the endless law terms (kan?). You can get JERAT from FIXI or Amazon. Yes people, it’s in Amazon!

The book launch will be at Annexe Gallery, Central Market this weekend, 17th September 2011. I hope I will be able to make it there.

To Kak Dayang, congratulations on this achievement! I am waiting patiently for your second book. And 5 weeks to write a book takes lots of discipline! I really admire your perseverance and dedication. :-) Here’s to more and more. I sincerely hope that I will follow your footsteps and be brave enough to send my attempts for review. He he he…