Raffel blends computer world wheeling and dealing with the academic world's lust for glory and fame in his compelling second mystery to feature Silicon Valley entrepreneur Ian Michaels (after 2006's Dot Dead
). When Ian's mother asks him to find justice for his late great-aunt, Isobel Marter, a brilliant Stanford physicist whose theory of quarks was stolen by three colleagues who later shared a Nobel prize for her groundbreaking discoveries, he starts an informal investigation. Isobel, struck down in a hit-and-run accident at 38, left behind valuable documents with shocking proof of her colleagues' duplicity. As Ian struggles with the woes of his company, Accelenet, his connecting with the three Nobel winners leads to some scary repercussions. In a scintillating subplot, Ian's deputy DA wife tries her first major case and runs smack dab into danger as she prepares for the Napa Valley marathon. (Oct.)
