The Facebook Killer: Part 1. Social Networking - Hannibal Lecter-style.

Facebook Killer #1

by M.L. Stewart

Dermott Madison has lost everything. His wife, his daughter, job and his cherished home. One man is responsible; Abdul Hamid. When his Old Bailey trial collapses, due to a technicality, Madison takes matters into his own hands.
His manner of revenge comes to him in a dream; but how can you track down someone's nearest and dearest? You log in, look closely and let the devastation begin.
Madison takes you on his journey from being a middle-class banker to a serial killer, through his own eyes. You will feel his emotions, the hatred and rage, pain and guilt, culminating in his descent into absolute obsession itself.
This book will leave you with one fear..... Should I ever log in again?

PLEASE The early versions of FBK series contained spelling & grammatical errors. These have been edited and corrected. Please take this into consideration when browsing the reviews.

The Apple iBook Bestseller (over 800 four & five-star ratings)
50 five and four-star reviews on Amazon UK.

·Brilliant book - couldn't put it down

·I absolutely loved this book; it was so easy to read and I just could not bear to put it down for more than a few minutes at a time.

·If you like thrillers with a real human interest factor then you will love this book.
·Brilliant book! So cleverly plotted and a unforgettable read!,

·ML Stewart is an amazing writer

·Gripping! I couldn't put it down - I found it very well written

·Love it. Enough I received my kindle as an early birthday present on Saturday and I haven't put it down since. The reason? M.L Stewart.

·the best you will not be able to put this book down . I am sad that I dont have another book of this style to read now .

·Couldn't put it down Well done to the author I say and hurry up and write some more please ;o)

·Great could not stop reading this book - on the tube; drying my hair; in bed; watching tv - any chance I got I just had to race to the end!

·Gripping read and a well thought plot – Brilliantly written and a fantastic style!

·A Fantastic I was hooked from the start and, like many others, found it difficult to put down.

·Excellent read!!!!: really good gripping book.

·I could hardly sleep with the story line going through my mind, wondering what was going to happen next. Loved it 10/10

·could not put it Totally brilliant!

·product of a very strange mind....But very compelling.

·Cracking good It is very well written... it is a very compelling story

·The storyline is fast moving and keeps you interested all the way through - well done to the author and I am looking forward to the next story.

·Gripping This was the first book I downloaded on my new kindle, and I'm sure glad I did. I literally couldnt put the thing down. I was so intrigued to find out what happened next.

·Riveting!!!: This is my kind of book. VERY unputdownable.

·Wow, very This book is immensely powerful, due to the detail and the emotions you feel as you read it.

Genres: Thriller, Crime, Fiction, Serial Killer

145 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Since first self-publishing in mid-2011, M.L. Stewart's bestselling crime thrillers have been enjoyed by some 90,000 readers worldwide, often dominating the Apple iBook charts for months at a time.

With a less-than-angelic past, Stewart often draws on real-life experience for his gritty storylines.

"Hard-hitting...written with flair." Stephen Leather.

Born in London in 1968, Stewart retired to mainland Europe in 2004. He now lives in Croatia, where he divides his time between writing novels and pacing the room.

Represented by the Mulcahy Agency - London

Reviews

[Sea Caummisar · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this story is bittersweet. It's a classic tale of revenge. The writing is very straightforward.... Tell not show.. Which isn't a bad thing.. I enjoy that from time to time. Anywho, a man who has too much money extracts revenge from someone who killed his family. He starts by killing all his Facebook friends. It's pretty fun to read about him 'picking apples',. But I do wish the kills would have been more graphic or more creative. Still, it's not a bad read

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This (on kindle)is in two parts - The first part starts off well and is actually quite gripping - but the second part just dragged for me, and the killers indifference to 'collateral damage' didn't sit well with me, so much so that I lost the sympathy that I initially had for the main character. The author/publisher seemed to play simple trick of cutting a book in half so that people would have to spend more money to find out the ending - wanting to know the ending doesn't always mean that a book is good, it can just be a case of wanting not to have completely wasted your time wading through a book - there is always an element of thinking that the story may well pick up again. In this case, for me, it didn't.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book, Could read it all over again.

I was initially put off by the name and didn't think it would be up to much, But when I started the book I realised I was very wrong, Couldn't put the book down from start to finish.

Recommend to people who like a book with suspense and twists and turns.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great psychological crime thriller - there were parts where I could have read more! Brilliant read!!

[Bookindle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read... Great idea to use social media to encourage paranoia! Enjoyed it, although far too gruesome in places for me.

[Colette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!!!!!!

[Miss ja Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read

Really good storyline. Fast paced, and edge of your seat stuff. Great characters especially the 'main' character. Superb thriller. Give it a go, its well worth it

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. Interesting premise, wacky sidekicks, drama, tension, but still just a run-of-the-mill mystery. However, institute some privacy measures on your FB account today.

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started well but about a third of the way through I got very bored with it and stopped reading.

[David Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Facebook Killer is a murder novel in three parts about a man who loses his family and takes revenge in Hannibal Lecter-style.

Dermott Madison is a workaholic banker. On his daughter’s 18 birthday he misses her party as he is working yet again. On arriving home he finds his house on fire and his wife and daughter are dead inside. His daughter has been raped and murdered before the house was set on fire to destroy any evidence. After rushing into the house to try and save his family half his face is burned off and he spends weeks on hospital.

A man is arrested and charged with the double murder but due to a technicality is found not guilty so on Dermott’s release from hospital he decides to get revenge on the murderer. He wants him to suffer as he has suffered, losing his friends and family before he exacts his ultimate revenge. Armed with millions in insurance payments he sets out on a deadly course to find the friends and family of his families murderer using the world’s largest social media networking site; Facebook.

His revenge plan comes to him in a dream with the murderer becoming an apple tree, his friends and family becoming apples, making Madison the apple picker and the police becoming he farmer. His plan is to pick all the apples from the bottom of the tree working his way up to the top.

Overall, The Facebook Killer Part One is an excellent murder thriller told from the prospective of Dermott Madison. It follows his life from a workaholic, mild-mannered banker to a dangerous and deadly serial killer who is losing his grip on reality by creating 3 extra personas to carry his revenge.

This first part has some detailed descriptions of brutal murders and if you are squeamish may not be for you. Although some of the murder situations, electronic gadgets used and the latex masks used to change personas are unbelievable, it is a work of fiction and escapism and does make for a good read.

There were several spelling and grammatical mistakes in the version that I read (these have been corrected in later editions) and there are some problems with attention to detail but as these can be overlooked.

The story ends without conclusion so you do need to purchase the second and I guess third parts to reach a final conclusion so maybe it would be better to just combine in to one novel as this is slightly frustrating.

Despite the small problems I still found this to be a book I couldn’t down and I cannot wait to start reading the second part. If you want a 100% believable story then this is not for you, if you want a read of pure escapism with a good story and don’t mind a spot of brutal murder and revenge that I highly recommend it.

[Lainy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time Taken To Read - 3 days (although started 11 ago)

Blurb From Goodreads

Dermott Madison has lost everything. His wife, his daughter and his cherished home. One man is responsible; Abdul Hamid. When his Old Bailey trial collapses, Madison takes matters into his own hands.
His manner of revenge comes to him in a dream; but how can you track down someone's nearest and dearest? Friends & Family? You log in, look closely and let the revenge begin.
Madison takes you on his journey from being a middle-class banker to a serial killer, through his own eyes. You will feel his emotions, the hatred and rage, pain and guilt. But at the end of the day. You will still be haunted by the question. Would I have done the same?

My Review

Take a man who loses his wife, daughter and identity when a criminal rips his life apart. This is what happens to Dermott Madison who takes matters into his own hands. Using the social network Facebook Dermot begins to pick off people and become quite an elusive serial killer to pay back the people responsible (in his eyes) for his loss.

Well I started this on and off on my phone but a quarter of the way through I read it on my kindle as it got quite interesting. It is pretty far fetched in some parts but still an engaging story. Some of it is rather brutal and may be too much for some readers but for those who like their murders grisly this book is for you.

I think the fact it ends on a cliff hanger and is really only part of a story seems to have annoyed some people but I think for £0.77 (and the same for part two) it isn't that big a deal. If you get by the improbability of the stalking process it is actually really well done showing how one person can spiral so quickly and violently through grief and you get to watch as his reality alters and 1 becomes 3 (I can't explain that without spoiling some of the story, sorry).

This was my first encounter with this author and I got the story when it was free, I am intrigued to see what happens next so may well buy the next one, watch this space. A respectable 3/5 for me this time.

[Juliet · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Facebook Killer is a little different; I give it that. Darkman meets Taken with the help of social media if I were to put it in movie terms.

The story is good although at times becomes quite formulaic. It’s semi-plausible if you can forgive no explanation for useful ‘contacts’. Perhaps they’re linked in some way to the sparse history of Dermott Madison, but we can’t quite tell. The means of killing are certainly varied with some quite gruesome moments. If you’re sensitive, don’t read this while you’re eating.

Perhaps the version has been updated since I download the book, but formatting is hard going with a fixed font, in places falling into standard and then back again, which is not so easy on the eye and isn’t helped by the left justified text with few clear paragraph breaks. It might also have benefitted from a proof reading to weed out a generous helping of grammatical and linguistic issues. These things detract for me from what wasn’t a bad story.

If you download this and want to know how it ends, be prepared to buy parts two and three also. Part one ends quite abruptly then tells you part two can be downloaded now. A bit annoying.

So all in all and taking reading experience as whole into account I have to go middle of the road. It bodes well for a new writer but I’m not blown away.

[Godzilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has an interesting premise, in terms of a vengeful man tracking down the friends and family of the man who ruined his life via Facebook.

However, and it's a big however, for a book based around social networking and the reality of modern life, as a reader you have to suspend your sense of reality.

We're meant to believe that a fairly wet sounding main character can develop a network of criminal contacts at the drop of a hat which can supply all manner of illicit goods and services.

A banker suddenly becomes adept at all manner of practical skills, and no-one apparently follows up on unusual deaths that closely.

Whilst some of the methods of dispatching the victims are inventive and novel there isn't much of a writing style to talk about.

It seems very linear and stilted, and the dialogue certainly doesn't crackle. The switch between personas feels too forced and repetitive, when it could have been handled much more cleverly.

But hey, I paid nothing for this, which is why I'm giving it 3 stars and not 2.

Having said that, I don't think I'll be paying for part 2, I just wasn't gripped by it enough.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being so low-priced on iTunes, I thought I'd give it a go. The book came in two parts, and I simply couldn't put my iPhone down. The story has deep, disturbing meaning behind it and although the author describes every detail and the idea is so well thought out, he handles the idea of several murders in a very 'easy' manner. The main character wants revenge for his wife and daughters death, which is understandable, but the author never really seems to justify the revenge killings (referred to as Apple Pickings) of 20-odd innocent people.
Although he does create, occasionally, the idea that this man has been, quite understandably, disturbed by his family's deaths and hints that he might have developed some sort of psychological problems that justify his behaviour. The only negative comment I have of this book is the ease of murder, other than that it is well written and definitely a compelling read.

[Vi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was definitely different and a little crazy. The father sure makes it clear that he will get revenge on the person who murdered his wife and daughter. I understand that he is hurt and wants justice but seems to take it a little to far I do enjoy it and thought it was interesting and as I got further into the story it seemed like the father started developing some mental disorders and one of the characters he was soon started becoming more dominant then the rest.

[Charlotte Walker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this because my phone kept recommending part 3 to me. Apparently I read parts 1 & 2 in 2014, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember a single thing about them so I re-read part 1 and it was AWFUL. It was also quite racist so despite what my phone keeps telling me, I won’t be reading the rest of them.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

bit scary about how someone can find out so much about you just from facebook. I haven't yet read part 2, so will need to get it to finish the story. As you can see, it was good enough to make me wish to find out what happens next.

[Maggie Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed this thoroughly excellent read. I received this as a freebie on amazon and it kick started the use of my new kindle. A fast paced read following 'The Facebook Killer' - no spoilers here as this book just needs to be read! Am off to start the sequel!

[Faith Jarrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book I would actually give 5 stars as I downloaded for free on amazon and was hooked. I was hungry for the second and third books so paid 99p for each small price to pay really. I love the way it played on my mind about the stuff I load on Facebook !! Truly gripping and entertaining.

[Keita-Eiri Kettlewell-Scarbro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote this review a while ago, but here you go at last everyone!

The Facebook Killer - M. L. Stewart [[REVIEW]]

If I remember correctly, I really enjoyed it!

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful plot and fascinating main character, but the delivery was a little naive, and there were a number of spelling errors that need fixing.

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read, compelling story - had to go straight off to Amazon to purchase the sequel.

[~ Cariad ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good, I've bought the second one!
Who cares that it's farfetched, it's a cracking good read.

[Hollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book. Who cares about spelling when a book is this good?

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book was ok but at some points it good very confusing. Can't wait to read the next one.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't put this down once I started. Is a pretty easy read but a great story. Not for the faint hearted as rather gruesome and disturbing at parts.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

good read, very addicting

[Anya Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not put this down even though it not my usual thing, definitely worth a go

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Story, not my usual genre. Kindle edition could have done with editing but I hear that this has now been rectified.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it - read on holiday, couldn't put it down so finished it in a day then just had to download the next two! Which I also finished on the same holiday!