J.D. Lasica

I write about the dark side of high tech. Dystopia is near. San Juan and San Francisco
About the author

J.D. Lasica leads a double life as an author of high-tech thrillers and as a tech entrepreneur. He has spoken at the United Nations, Harvard, Stanford, and on four continentsand would love to chat on Facebook Live with your book club.

Genres: ThrillersInternational Crime & MysteryCrime & MysterySci-fi Action & AdventureConspiracy ThrillersCrime FictionHigh-tech & Sci-fi ThrillersMedia ThrillersVigilante Thrillers

Books by J.D. Lasica

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Shadow Operatives

Reader buzz

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Comments & recommendations by this author

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Looking forward to reading this ... it's getting great buzz!
I'm a big fan of A.R. Torre's suspense novels, and her newest release, "A Familiar Stranger," didn't disappoint. The protagonist, with the old-timey name Lillian (my mother's name...
more

I'm a big fan of A.R. Torre's suspense novels, and her newest release, "A Familiar Stranger," didn't disappoint. The protagonist, with the old-timey name Lillian (my mother's name), finds herself going through the motions in her distant marriage and her career as a celebrity obit writer for a major metropolitan newspaper in Los Angeles. The conflict is as much internal as it is external as she wrestles with infidelity after meeting someone who reawakens her passions. There's a whodunit element that the author signals early on, and I won't spoil it for you. Torre's writing is crisp, her characters' dialogue believable and the story moves at a brisk clip. Go ahead, grab a copy now!
Fantastic read from a talented storyteller.
Finally got to Brad Thor’s 2017 thriller “Use of Force,” and it’s a solid read. Readers who enjoy quasi-military action thrillers won’t be disappointed – there are plenty of actio...
more

Finally got to Brad Thor’s 2017 thriller “Use of Force,” and it’s a solid read. Readers who enjoy quasi-military action thrillers won’t be disappointed – there are plenty of action scenes pitting protagonist Scot Harvath against fighters led by Ravshan Tursunov, an ISIS mastermind who orchestrated terrorism plots in France, Italy and beyond. The usual bromides apply here. CIA bureaucrats = gutless pussies. Hired mercenaries = the good guys who follow only their own code of honor.

Don’t expect shocking plot twists (there are none), inner conflict (nada), character growth (nil) or captivating prose (the writing is sparse and workmanlike – perfectly suited for this genre). But you’re probably coming for the story, and here Thor delivers, with a well-researched and believable tale that exposes how vulnerable Western nations are to enemies that use our freedoms against us.

I do have two complaints, though.

There’s a lot of head-hopping in “Use of Force” – a lazy shortcut that takes us from one character’s interior monologue to another character’s thoughts within the same scene via omniscient point of view. Fine for 19th century novels, not so fine for contemporary novels. Many readers hate it.

More important (warning: spoiler ahead), the hero and antagonist never meet. How in the world, in a 443-page paperback, do Harvath and Tursunov never come to direct blows? We do learn, indirectly, that Harvath gets to interrogate his antagonist, but the climactic scene – where Tursunov is off camera – falls a bit flat as a result. That said, “Use of Force” is a fast-paced, engaging page-turner that should entertain fans of the genre.
One of the narrators on our site asked us this: "Will there be a way to link to Chirp or Kobo or some other site instead of Audible if that would be preferable? Many of us are st...
more

One of the narrators on our site asked us this: "Will there be a way to link to Chirp or Kobo or some other site instead of Audible if that would be preferable? Many of us are still pretty unhappy with Audible and would rather steer potential listeners elsewhere."

We're still on a learning curve here. Is that a widely shared sentiment about Audible and ACX? We don't have partnerships with anyone other than Findaway Voices at this point. If there are other audiobook services we should connect with, do let us know. Meantime, do narrators sometimes point readers to your audiobook pages on Chirp or Kobo? Please let us know, and whether we should add a field to let you show off those links.
I didn't realize the breadth of Adjoa Andoh's audiobook narrations across so many genres. Wow, so impressive!
Two authors mentioned this week that they weren't able to add narrators to their audiobooks. Our developers are working on adding a narrators section of the site, so yes, you spot...
more

Two authors mentioned this week that they weren't able to add narrators to their audiobooks. Our developers are working on adding a narrators section of the site, so yes, you spotted a new bug! Our development team fixed it last night so all should be working now. Thanks for letting us know!
Here's the video of our author chat with Julianne MacLean ... we had loads of fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-voc9ZZF0bI
Looking forward to the BingeBooks Book Club discussion of "These Tangled Vines" with Julianne on June 29. Sign up for the free event.
I'm nearly done with it but already know I'm giving it 5 stars. Moving and captivating, with masterfully drawn characters. The BingeBooks Book Club chose "These Tangled Vines" as ...
more

I'm nearly done with it but already know I'm giving it 5 stars. Moving and captivating, with masterfully drawn characters. The BingeBooks Book Club chose "These Tangled Vines" as the Book of the Month, and I can't wait to hear Julianne discuss it on June 29: Live Author Chat .

One author wrote:

>I'm a member of BookBrush and about once a month, they put up videos which walk members through new updates on the site. I'd love to see BingeBooks do the sam...
more

One author wrote:

>I'm a member of BookBrush and about once a month, they put up videos which walk members through new updates on the site. I'd love to see BingeBooks do the same thing when new content is created. This Zoom has been helpful but I'd also like to have access to a video that I could play multiple times or refer back to when I had questions, much like Alessandra's intro video.

Yes, we agree! So far we have video walk-throughs on a number of subjects:

Setting up your author profile — first video: https://bingebooks.com/pages/welcome-authors

Editing books and series on BingeBooks — video #2 at: https://bingebooks.com/pages/welcome-authors

Reader-oriented videos:

How to binge on BingeBooks (video 1): https://bingebooks.com/faq

Explore BingeBooks' social features (video 2): https://bingebooks.com/faq

Create reading and book lists on the site (video 3): https://bingebooks.com/faq
An author asked, I’m curious about what types of things are best to post in articles from your author page?

That's up to you. Be creative. I posted articles about books being tur...
more

An author asked, I’m curious about what types of things are best to post in articles from your author page?

That's up to you. Be creative. I posted articles about books being turned into movies, and another one about books being turned into TV series this year. Personally, I think the more you can write something engaging and that has wide appeal, the more likely it'll be read by others. We tend not to promote things to the main Articles landing page if it's 100% self-promotional. It should offer value to readers or even to fellow authors.

NY Times's best books of 2024 — so far

Here is the NY Times's roundup of the best fiction of the year to date. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/24/books/best-books-2024-so-far.html#link-4729bcd2
The Hunter Tana French
Wandering Stars Tommy Orange
Good Material Dolly Alderton

5 gripping new mystery novels

Genres: Mystery
From the Washington Post: 5 new mystery novels whisk readers around the globe. https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/03/23/mystery-novels-raybourn-piazza/
A Grave Robbery Deanna Raybourn
The Road to Murder Camilla Trinchieri
A Deadly Walk in Devon Nicholas George

Six new thrillers for the holidays

Genres: Thrillers
The NY Times's books columnist recommends six new suspenseful reads. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/01/books/review/new-psychological-thrillers.html
Kill Show Daniel Sweren-Becker
The Christmas Guest Peter Swanson
The Paleontologist: A Novel Luke Dumas

Best thrillers of 2023 (Washington Post)

Genres: Thrillers
Here are the best thrillers of 2023, according to the book editors of the Washington Post (with the caveat that these are from the publishing houses and don't include indie authors).
All the Sinners Bleed S.A. Cosby
Exiles
2 Exiles
Jane Harper
Bright Young Women Jessica Knoll
Looking forward to reading this ... it's getting great buzz!
I'm a big fan of A.R. Torre's suspense novels, and her newest release, "A Familiar Stranger," didn't disappoint. The protagonist, with the old-timey name Lillian (my mother's name...
more

I'm a big fan of A.R. Torre's suspense novels, and her newest release, "A Familiar Stranger," didn't disappoint. The protagonist, with the old-timey name Lillian (my mother's name), finds herself going through the motions in her distant marriage and her career as a celebrity obit writer for a major metropolitan newspaper in Los Angeles. The conflict is as much internal as it is external as she wrestles with infidelity after meeting someone who reawakens her passions. There's a whodunit element that the author signals early on, and I won't spoil it for you. Torre's writing is crisp, her characters' dialogue believable and the story moves at a brisk clip. Go ahead, grab a copy now!
Fantastic read from a talented storyteller.
Finally got to Brad Thor’s 2017 thriller “Use of Force,” and it’s a solid read. Readers who enjoy quasi-military action thrillers won’t be disappointed – there are plenty of actio...
more

Finally got to Brad Thor’s 2017 thriller “Use of Force,” and it’s a solid read. Readers who enjoy quasi-military action thrillers won’t be disappointed – there are plenty of action scenes pitting protagonist Scot Harvath against fighters led by Ravshan Tursunov, an ISIS mastermind who orchestrated terrorism plots in France, Italy and beyond. The usual bromides apply here. CIA bureaucrats = gutless pussies. Hired mercenaries = the good guys who follow only their own code of honor.

Don’t expect shocking plot twists (there are none), inner conflict (nada), character growth (nil) or captivating prose (the writing is sparse and workmanlike – perfectly suited for this genre). But you’re probably coming for the story, and here Thor delivers, with a well-researched and believable tale that exposes how vulnerable Western nations are to enemies that use our freedoms against us.

I do have two complaints, though.

There’s a lot of head-hopping in “Use of Force” – a lazy shortcut that takes us from one character’s interior monologue to another character’s thoughts within the same scene via omniscient point of view. Fine for 19th century novels, not so fine for contemporary novels. Many readers hate it.

More important (warning: spoiler ahead), the hero and antagonist never meet. How in the world, in a 443-page paperback, do Harvath and Tursunov never come to direct blows? We do learn, indirectly, that Harvath gets to interrogate his antagonist, but the climactic scene – where Tursunov is off camera – falls a bit flat as a result. That said, “Use of Force” is a fast-paced, engaging page-turner that should entertain fans of the genre.
One of the narrators on our site asked us this: "Will there be a way to link to Chirp or Kobo or some other site instead of Audible if that would be preferable? Many of us are st...
more

One of the narrators on our site asked us this: "Will there be a way to link to Chirp or Kobo or some other site instead of Audible if that would be preferable? Many of us are still pretty unhappy with Audible and would rather steer potential listeners elsewhere."

We're still on a learning curve here. Is that a widely shared sentiment about Audible and ACX? We don't have partnerships with anyone other than Findaway Voices at this point. If there are other audiobook services we should connect with, do let us know. Meantime, do narrators sometimes point readers to your audiobook pages on Chirp or Kobo? Please let us know, and whether we should add a field to let you show off those links.
I didn't realize the breadth of Adjoa Andoh's audiobook narrations across so many genres. Wow, so impressive!
Two authors mentioned this week that they weren't able to add narrators to their audiobooks. Our developers are working on adding a narrators section of the site, so yes, you spot...
more

Two authors mentioned this week that they weren't able to add narrators to their audiobooks. Our developers are working on adding a narrators section of the site, so yes, you spotted a new bug! Our development team fixed it last night so all should be working now. Thanks for letting us know!
Here's the video of our author chat with Julianne MacLean ... we had loads of fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-voc9ZZF0bI
Looking forward to the BingeBooks Book Club discussion of "These Tangled Vines" with Julianne on June 29. Sign up for the free event.
I'm nearly done with it but already know I'm giving it 5 stars. Moving and captivating, with masterfully drawn characters. The BingeBooks Book Club chose "These Tangled Vines" as ...
more

I'm nearly done with it but already know I'm giving it 5 stars. Moving and captivating, with masterfully drawn characters. The BingeBooks Book Club chose "These Tangled Vines" as the Book of the Month, and I can't wait to hear Julianne discuss it on June 29: Live Author Chat .

One author wrote:

>I'm a member of BookBrush and about once a month, they put up videos which walk members through new updates on the site. I'd love to see BingeBooks do the sam...
more

One author wrote:

>I'm a member of BookBrush and about once a month, they put up videos which walk members through new updates on the site. I'd love to see BingeBooks do the same thing when new content is created. This Zoom has been helpful but I'd also like to have access to a video that I could play multiple times or refer back to when I had questions, much like Alessandra's intro video.

Yes, we agree! So far we have video walk-throughs on a number of subjects:

Setting up your author profile — first video: https://bingebooks.com/pages/welcome-authors

Editing books and series on BingeBooks — video #2 at: https://bingebooks.com/pages/welcome-authors

Reader-oriented videos:

How to binge on BingeBooks (video 1): https://bingebooks.com/faq

Explore BingeBooks' social features (video 2): https://bingebooks.com/faq

Create reading and book lists on the site (video 3): https://bingebooks.com/faq
An author asked, I’m curious about what types of things are best to post in articles from your author page?

That's up to you. Be creative. I posted articles about books being tur...
more

An author asked, I’m curious about what types of things are best to post in articles from your author page?

That's up to you. Be creative. I posted articles about books being turned into movies, and another one about books being turned into TV series this year. Personally, I think the more you can write something engaging and that has wide appeal, the more likely it'll be read by others. We tend not to promote things to the main Articles landing page if it's 100% self-promotional. It should offer value to readers or even to fellow authors.

Videos

'We Are Liars': TikTok review by alifeofliterature

@alifeofliterature

If anyone asks you what happens at the end, just LIE 🌊 #wewereliars #books #booktok #booker #ya #bookclub #bookworm #fyp #4u

♬ everybody wants to rule the world - madalyn

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