Five in a Row

Five in a Row by Jan Coffey (husband and wife writing team of Jim and Nikoo McGoldrick) is about DBW systems. DBW or drive-by-wire technology is based on its forerunner, fly-by-wire. Basically in planes, helicopters, and cars parts like gears and wires have been replaced by computer functions. When you push the gas or brake pedal in a newer car, there is no cable pulling on a gear or pad that changes the speed of the car. Instead, a computer signal is sent to the ECM (computer brain of the engine). So, when you step on the brake a message is send and then another message is sent to the braking system that applies that much pressure. Think of the modern gas and brake pedals as the equivalent of a volume dial on a stereo.

In Five in a Row someone has put a trojan virus into the computer system of nearly all cars manufactured in the last decade. The virus lies dormant until the evil hacker wakes it up, at which time he can control the car like a video game. Computer Emily Doyle is brought in to help investigate how to stop him. With more than 4 million cars effected, will she ever know where to look?

Coffey, Jan. (2005). Five in a row. Ontario, Canada: Mira.