What if someone wanted to harm you… What if they hacked your smart phone, your email account, your address book, your calendar?
These questions are answered with disturbing clarity in a new book “Best Eaten Cold” by first-time novelist Tony Salter (59), from Oxfordshire.
They’re clearly questions that worry a lot of us, as his book was downloaded by over 42,000 readers in 48 hours, taking it to the top of the Kindle bestseller charts in multiple countries.
Worryingly, most of the events in Tony’s novel are based on fact.
“First I thought of nasty and devious things which could happen to my main character relating to online stalking and hacking, then I found out how to do each one within about five minutes of Googling!” he said. “It was frighteningly easy. People don’t think about the creeping reliance they place on technology, and mobile phones in particular. They use the same, simple password again and again, and after the tenth time an app asks to have permission to know your location, access your calendar and address book etc., most of us give up and just click OK without even reading the list.”
Tony has headed up many leading dotcom companies throughout his career – and is currently chairman of a successful global technology business based in Witney.
He was inspired to write his novel after a number of global hacking scandals hit the headlines last year. He started with the premise that most ordinary people assume it will never happen to them.
“Normal people don’t have the time or inclination to worry too much about privacy or online security. After all, who gives a damn about them and their ordinary lives … But what if someone did?” he said.
Tony’s novel gives a clear warning about how reliant we have become on technology, with almost no understanding of the risks and dangers.
2017 has seen a marked increase in the scale of cyber attacks globally, such as the malicious software which took down computer systems in many UK hospitals earlier this year.
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REVIEWS
“OMG, I could not put this book down, swallowed it in two bites! It’s scary because in the world we live in, this stuff could happen to any of us.”
“The comparisons with ‘Girl on the train’ are interesting and relevant but ‘Best Eaten Cold’ feels like a bigger book.”
“Funny, gripping,sad and terrifying, once in, you’re hooked to the characters, the locations and the intrigue. You will never quite look at your phone the same way again!”
“A great holiday read that makes you reflect on your own online life for a while after. Perhaps this should be made compulsory reading!”
“Outstanding thriller, Salter’s characters got right under my skin, and he brings to life a side of the digital world that could really threaten any of us.”
“A great read that will make you consider your digital security!”
“I can’t let my husband read this; he is paranoid about internet security as it is.”
“Good characterisation and a troubling insight into modern cybercrime and the havoc it can wreak.”
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Best Eaten Cold (published by ETS Ltd) is available for £7.99 on Amazon and in most bookstores.
For interviews and features, please contact:
Tony Salter
www.tonysalter.com
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