Task Lyst

In Hylbert’s intriguing and timely debut, the premise of Task Lyst, a new internet app, seems straightforward: jobs—such as dog walking—are offered in exchange for payment in either cash or bitcoin. All transactions can be carried out anonymously, if either party so desires. Elliott Temple, a musician who’s barely making ends meet, takes to the new app with gusto, even when the jobs he accepts start bordering on illegality. Alice Seegar, senior associate of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, is analyzing the potential of Task Lyst with an eye to taking the app to an international level. Tim Middleton lands a job as project manager for the new venture. All three are willing to put aside their initial doubts about the moral and criminal implications the app displays in exchange for substantial monetary gain—until a Task Lyst user kills a Russian dissident. The frequent song references, notably to the works of Bob Dylan and Jerry Garcia, will keep music lovers of a certain age humming along. Hylbert sheds light on the problem of internet privacy while astutely capturing the details that define the lifestyle of the too rich and yet still greedy. (July)