Lexi Carmichael is twenty five years old with a degree in mathematics and computer science. She works for the NSA but prior to that she did some hacking until she got caught.
When it comes to social situations, she has no idea how to relate. She'd rather be on her computer, doing her thing than try to interact with normal people. She has three best friends, one is female who helps her navigate normal society while the other two are guys who used to work for the NSA but left to work in the private sector and are more geeky and hacker like than her.
Lexi ends up involved in mysteries where she has no idea what is going on at the beginning but ends up using her math and computer skills to solve it. Being into math myself, I follow the logic and knowing something about computers, I understand the talk. I feel as if she is someone I could be friends with and hang out with.
Aside from the three best friends, she ends up working for a former MI-6 agent who left there to start his own company with one of the original hackers after working for the NSA. When things get dicey and she needs additional help, she brings in the other two guys because they are considered the absolute best of the best when it comes to hacking. These guys are twins and they work may be a bit more socially inept than her. The last main character is an Italian guy, Slash, who works for NSA and apparently used to work for the Vatican in computers. He is also a hacker, carries a gun, and ends up protecting her.
There are currently 12 books in the series. I am on book number three where she ends up helping Slash find out who broke into the Vatican coffers to steal a bunch of money and frame his uncle. Unfortunately, the person who installed the gate way is found dead, someone tries to sedate and kidnap Lexi, and Lexi managed to find three encrypted files that lead them to the instigator and the actual crime.
I'm always on the lookout for books I can recommend to my female students to read. Books the have a female protagonist rather than a male. Books that might encourage them to think of going into math, science, or computers. Honestly, I relate to Lexi when it comes to preferring to hang out on computers rather than trying to read those signals put out by society.
I also admit to enjoying it when the character begins to think about statistics, number patterns, and such. It's also nice when Lexi's best friend often asks everyone to speak in English because she doesn't understand Geek Speak. I felt that way in high school when I was around other girls. I didn't relate to the whole dating thing. I didn't know how to wear make-up, fix my hair, or even manage to look totally put together. Reading that Lexi feels weird when dressed up and doesn't feel outside of her normal jeans and t-shirt, makes me feel like I'm not that weird.
Amazon had the first volume with the first four books on sale and I purchased them. I started reading and I'm hooked. I will probably work my way through all 12 volumes because I want to see what the next situation she'll end up in and what skills both math and computer she'll use. Check it out, enjoy, and next week, I'll be back to normal topics. Thank you for letting me share a series with you. Let me now what you think, I'd love to hear.
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