Publisher: The Rubriqs Press Limited
Publication Date: 25th May 2024
Genre: Thriller
Summary:
When customer complaints on Christmas Eve about tenfold inflated bank balances herald not early gifts, nor a botched system upgrade, but the most sophisticated cyber attack in history, National Bank Chief Operating Officer Rob Tanner finds himself in the eye of a ‘Black Swan’ storm no one predicted, but anyone could have anticipated____________________________________
23 December 2024… Rob Tanner should have been enjoying a rare day off from his life-consuming work as Chief Operating Officer at one of the country’s largest banks. But a panicked phone call from a senior colleague forces him to put his Christmas plans on ice: more than a thousand of the bank’s accounts have seen their balances increased by a factor of ten. Exactly ten.
Tanner enlists the help of brilliant American cyber security expert Ashley Markham, but the attacks only worsen: bank balances rise remorselessly and spread to all the nation’s banks. The only clues to the hacker’s intentions are cryptic daily emails, centred on Hieronymus Bosch’s medieval representation of the seven deadly sins—and packed with colourful artistic and cultural references—taunting Tanner and the newly incumbent Prime Minister, James Allen.
With financial markets—and the very world as he knows it—on the brink of collapse, Tanner races against the clock to decode not just the bizarre emails but their deeper meaning, and the implications for who he can really trust. All the while, his former boss “The Toad” is seeking revenge... and answers of his own.
Review:
Firstly thank you to Literally PR, The Rubriqs Press Limited and Simon Hayes for having me on this tour and sending me a copy of the book.
Ok so this is a thriller so this is a no spoilers review, which isn't saying much because I do try and always do no spoiler reviews but this is all about the writing and nothing about the plot because I really do want you all to read it for yourselves!
I got the teaser of this at Christmas from Literally PR and practically flew through that first 80 pages, getting to the end of it really annoyed actually that I had to wait until May to read the rest! But it was definitely worth the wait but boy was I surprised by the length of it when it came 780 pages! But if I'm honest I barely noticed the length once I got into it and that didn't take long, much like the Teaser I felt like I flew through it in record time ( it was probably the best part of a week but it didn't feel that long) and the length is defiantly needed to get across all the different layers to this story. It has so many different issues woven through the story that made it an enjoyable read that kind of felt like it was still making your brain work in a way that it normally doesn't when reading a fiction book. Simon Hayes's writing style is so enjoyable and easy to read that I was drawn in so quickly, like I said I read the teaser so quickly because I was hooked from page one. And from reading the first 80 pages I had ideas of who I thought had done it which made waiting to find out who it was so frustrating, but when I got to find out I thought it was worth waiting for, but I won't tell you if my ideas were right.
I really enjoyed the pacing of the book, I thought it was spot on. The emails from the hacker were absolutely one of my favourite parts, i loved the riddles they threw in and I stopped at each one to see if I could puzzle out what they were trying to tell Rob/The Toad.
I've really enjoyed this and I definitely can't wait to see what Simon Hayes writes next.
Krystina xx
Firstly thank you to Literally PR, The Rubriqs Press Limited and Simon Hayes for having me on this tour and sending me a copy of the book.
Ok so this is a thriller so this is a no spoilers review, which isn't saying much because I do try and always do no spoiler reviews but this is all about the writing and nothing about the plot because I really do want you all to read it for yourselves!
I got the teaser of this at Christmas from Literally PR and practically flew through that first 80 pages, getting to the end of it really annoyed actually that I had to wait until May to read the rest! But it was definitely worth the wait but boy was I surprised by the length of it when it came 780 pages! But if I'm honest I barely noticed the length once I got into it and that didn't take long, much like the Teaser I felt like I flew through it in record time ( it was probably the best part of a week but it didn't feel that long) and the length is defiantly needed to get across all the different layers to this story. It has so many different issues woven through the story that made it an enjoyable read that kind of felt like it was still making your brain work in a way that it normally doesn't when reading a fiction book. Simon Hayes's writing style is so enjoyable and easy to read that I was drawn in so quickly, like I said I read the teaser so quickly because I was hooked from page one. And from reading the first 80 pages I had ideas of who I thought had done it which made waiting to find out who it was so frustrating, but when I got to find out I thought it was worth waiting for, but I won't tell you if my ideas were right.
I really enjoyed the pacing of the book, I thought it was spot on. The emails from the hacker were absolutely one of my favourite parts, i loved the riddles they threw in and I stopped at each one to see if I could puzzle out what they were trying to tell Rob/The Toad.
I've really enjoyed this and I definitely can't wait to see what Simon Hayes writes next.
Krystina xx
Thank you Krystina. Reading your review has made Monday morning a very good start to the new week. When I wrote Zero Ri$k it was in the hope that readers would just "enjoy the ride" but I particularly hoped that the quirkier bits like the emails would appeal to some readers. The fact that you mention them specifically makes it even sweeter. Similarly, I hoped that some of the issues raised as the story progressed would have readers pause for thought. Again, thank you! I know how many books you have to choose from as a member of the review comunity, so am honoured you chose mine. The fact that you took the time to read—it's not small, as you say—and to review is beyond words. But I will just say again, thank you, from the heart. Simon x
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