The App

Stuart James

Publication Date: 26/10/22

Publisher: independently published

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

SYNOPSIS

The App…

Once you’re in, they’ll never let you leave.

Whatever happens, don’t download The App.

* It will come in the form of a link. Maybe in your DM’s on a social media account, the junk folder of your emails or a WhatsApp message from a friend.

* You’ll be enticed by the chance of winning one hundred thousand pounds on offer every Friday, wired straight into the winner’s bank account.

* It’s not a joke.

* This part is genuine.

* Someone can and will win the money.

* But at what cost?

Marty Benson gets the link sent to him by a friend. So what is the harm in looking?
He clicks it, downloads the app and enters a few basic details.
A message prompts him to wait while he’s loaded onto the system.
An hour later, another message.

• Do not delete the app.

• Do not tell anyone outside of your family about the app.

• Send the link to one person who is close to you.

* Do not throw your phone away.

* Always narrate while streaming.

• If you break any of the rules, we’ll kill a member of your family. Then we’ll kill you.

Marty is sent a picture of his wife, who is shopping with her mother in Oxford Street.

As Marty struggles to breathe, he clicks the links and watches the most recent streams, realising what happens within the
app.

Every Friday morning, a person is randomly picked from social media.

They now have a bounty on their head—a death warrant. But they don’t know it.

Their profile appears on the app’s main page; all their details are displayed.

Every app member must play the game at least once a month or face the consequences.

Kill the person randomly selected from social media.

Win one hundred thousand pounds.

As Marty watches the terror unfold and everyone streaming the hunt within the app, he realises he has to do something.

But how do you stop a murder, when everyone could be the killer?

MY REVIEW

We begin by learning about 16 year old Jonathan Rushmore. He adores his mother. Hates his father, who puts Jonathan down every time he speaks to him.

Jonathan has a sick fascination with watching people being murdered, and is delighted when he witnesses one of his neighbours stabbing her husband. If only he had recorded it to watch again and again.

Forward a few years and Jonathan is now a wealthy and talented techie. He has found a way of satisfying his craving of watching murders as they happen.

Welcome to The App. 

Marty receives a message on his phone from his best mate and clicks on the link to download The App. His mate sent it so it must be safe. Right? Wrong. As Marty enters his name into The App, he unwittingly enters a living nightmare.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fast paced psychological thriller. I read it in just two sittings as I just had to know how it ended! 

It is a scary storyline, but there is some light relief in the form of Marty’s mother-in-law, Ethel. She had some amazingly hilarious stories and one liners. The banter between Marty and Ethel had me laughing out loud a fair few times. She was absolutely my favourite character and she kept everyone else grounded during what appeared an impossible situation.

When I thought I knew how it would end, there was a huge bombshell.

Moral of the story NEVER click on links in messages!

Thank you Zoe at Zooloos Book Tours for my spot on the tour and thank you to the author for my e-copy of the book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I have always loved scary stories, especially ones that shocked me, left me terrified, looking under my bed or in the wardrobe before going to sleep.

There was just a fantastic buzz whenever I watched or read something that took my breath away.

I remember going to my nan’s house in Ireland as a youngster with my mother and sister, on the West Coast, staying in a cottage, surrounded by miles of fields and my family sitting around the table in the kitchen at night telling ghost stories. Going out and exploring derelict farmhouses in the middle of nowhere. I remember clearly the field at the end of the road was supposed to be haunted by headless nuns. My cousins often remind me of the great times we had, frightening each other and running for our lives whenever we’d see something that didn’t look right.

This is why I love nothing more than to tell a story.

I’m so grateful when people not only read my thrillers but also take the time to get in touch and leave a review. To me, that is the greatest feeling, hearing from people that have enjoyed my work. I know then that I’m doing something right.

I’m 49, married and have two beautiful children. Currently, I’m a full-time plumber but would love nothing more than to make a living from my writing. I hope I write stories and people continue to enjoy them for years to come. That would be completely amazing and a dream come true.

Follow Stuart at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/StuartJames73

Website: https://www.stuartjamesthrillers.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stuartjamesauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stuartjamesauthor

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stuartjamesauthor

Buy Links – https://geni.us/ECGl2m