"A wildly fun and thrilling read in this age of digital theft, Ruth Run introduces us to an irresistible heroine and, in Elizabeth Kaufman, a scintillating new voice in contemporary fiction." —Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette and Today Will Be Different Cybercrime leads to a cross-country pursuit as an ambitious, misfit young thief exploits a hacked microchip to rob banks, and learns too late that the wrong people have been watching her Twenty-six-year-old Ruth excels at microchip design but decides to get rich the old-fashioned way: robbing banks. She becomes a cybercriminal and devotes five years to siphoning more than $250 million out of the banking system using a hacked firewall chip that she created and only she knows how to access. Then one night an alarm goes off and she realizes she’s been discovered. Five hours later she’s on the run, chased across California and the West by a slew of government agents who see her as both a high-level national security threat and a potential intelligence asset. They’ll catch her dead or alive—whatever it takes to make sure no one else discovers what she knows. Each of these men is obsessed with the woman he’s hunting, certain he knows what makes her tick. But Ruth, always a step ahead, armed with her ironic wit and a reluctant dog, eludes their understanding; can she elude their capture, too? A nonstop oddball thriller for the age of digital theft, Ruth Run introduces an irresistible new heroine and a fantastic new voice in contemporary fiction. “Ruth emerges as a savvy and seductive heroine — an American Lisbeth Salander, with swagger for days." — Oprah Daily “This debut from a network security specialist is drawing comparisons to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo .” — NY Post “Kaufman debuts with an irresistible cat-and-mouse thriller about a cybercriminal and her stalker . . . Kaufman’s plucky heroine and slimy villain are both perfectly drawn, and the pedal-to-the-medal pacing never lets up. This is impossible to put down.” — Publishers Weekly “Cat and mouse take turns narrating this cunning and constantly surprising novel, giving readers a passenger-seat view from which to witness each adversary’s missteps and monitor their weaknesses . . . No tech expertise required to enjoy this diverting and funny-as-hell cyber caper.” —Kirkus “Readers who loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will enjoy the tech-savvy protagonists, madcap circumstances, and ethical dilemmas in this fresh addition to the genre, a debut thriller in which every character's motives and methods are equally up for debate.” — Booklist (starred review) “Kaufman has created a compelling and complex character in Ruth, and watching her outwit and coordinate her surroundings to stay alive while being in control will endear her to readers. The motivations behind the people after this protagonist, and her inability to trust those she enlists for help, keep the paranoia above a level ten. Hopefully this terrific debut will launch a series featuring Ruth and her adventures.” —firstCLUE "Kaufman has created a compelling and complex character in Ruth, and watching her outwit and coordinate her surroundings to stay alive while being in control will endear her to readers. The motivations behind the people after this protagonist, and her inability to trust those she enlists for help, keep the paranoia above a level ten. Hopefully this terrific debut will launch a series featuring Ruth and her adventures." —Jeff Ayers, First Clue Reviews Elizabeth Kaufman had a career in data networking, specializing in network security products and architectures. She now lives in rural northern Colorado. 1 Ruth The Cookie Vanishes I was dreaming about a ginger cookie-soft-centered, crunchy with sanding sugar-when the alarms went off. It was three a.m., and somewhere someone had hit one of my electronic tripwires, triggering phone alerts that shocked me awake. I flung my arm to mute them, then lost a moment wondering what thief falls asleep mid-thievery. In my defense, a yearslong cybercrime can get dull. I checked my laptop. Someone had poked the software that transferred money from my East Coast accounts through the hacked firewalls. They'd halted a funds transfer. Had they found any of the offshore accounts? Either way, it was time to delete everything and go. Past time. My years of peaceful bank robbery were done. As I started removing scripts and scrubbing log files, I asked myself for the hundredth time: cover-up first or getaway? That answer should be in some crime FAQ. But a compelling advantage of digital theft is that your hunters rarely start where you live. Someone had discovered my work and was probably searching for me, but my apartment was dim and quiet. I ordered myself not to freak my shit. I still had time to clean up and get out. No one could see me here. 2 Mike Watch Her Run Ruth adjusted her shoulder bag and turned a slow 360. She wore