Hench
Summary:
Anna does boring things for terrible people because even criminals need office help and she needs a job. Working for a monster lurking beneath the surface of the world isn’t glamorous. But is it really worse than working for an oil conglomerate or an insurance company? In this economy?
As a temp, she’s just a cog in the machine. But when she finally gets a promising assignment, everything goes very wrong, and an encounter with the so-called “hero” leaves her badly injured. And, to her horror, compared to the other bodies strewn about, she’s the lucky one.
So, of course, then she gets laid off.
With no money and no mobility, with only her anger and internet research acumen, she discovers her suffering at the hands of a hero is far from unique. When people start listening to the story that her data tells, she realizes she might not be as powerless as she thinks.
Because the key to everything is data: knowing how to collate it, how to manipulate it, and how to weaponize it. By tallying up the human cost these caped forces of nature wreak upon the world, she discovers that the line between good and evil is mostly marketing. And with social media and viral videos, she can control that appearance.
It’s not too long before she’s employed once more, this time by one of the worst villains on earth. As she becomes an increasingly valuable lieutenant, she might just save the world.
A sharp, witty, modern debut, “Hench” explores the individual cost of justice through a fascinating mix of Millennial office politics, heroism measured through data science, body horror, and a profound misunderstanding of quantum mechanics. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
This was a very different and intriguing one! I have read a few books with a premise about working for villains and they always give me a giggle. This one was done better than others giving a more realistic origin story on how Anna might turn to working for the dark side. A caveat – I was expecting something a little more lighthearted, and it did have funny moments, but the end of the book is a bit more ‘serious’ than the write up would immediately indicate. In particular, the ending had me really wanting to root for Anna, but kind of confused as to how she ended up in the position she did?
This one got three stars from me because I think there were a few flaws in plot and focus (is there a commentary? Is Anna fixated on her boss?) All in all, it was a fun light read and I would recommend it, but when you have some time and not at the top of the stack.
Rating: 3 stars!
Who should read it? Folks looking for an antihero origin story.
Want to read the whole series?
Right Hand (Hench #2)