Data Bank

by Tonya Sharp Hyche

At around ten in the morning, in a leafy suburb north of Dallas called "The Forest," a dry cleaning deliveryman, a pool cleaner, and a landscaper are all keying data into innocuous handheld devices. But their activities are anything but harmless-they're part of a home-service spy network that allows Data Bank to keep track of residents' every move and then sell this information to criminals to use whenever, however, and wherever they want.

Meanwhile, a client request comes into Data Bank headquarters in New Orleans for information about brain surgeons. And later that night, back in The Forest, Doctor Keri Daniels and her seventeen-year-old daughter, Wendy, are kidnapped and flown to Miami, where Keri is forced to remove a bullet from the brain of a six-year-old boy.

The couple in Miami responsible for the kidnapping are part of the colorful cast of characters based out of New Orleans that includes a curvaceous Cajun named Willow and a cadre of gambling impresarios and shady businessmen who are-somehow-connected with Data Bank.

A fast-paced tale of greed, passion, and data-for-sale, "Data Bank" is yet another suspense-filled thriller by veteran crime novelist Tonya Sharp Hyche that will keep you glued to the pages-and make you think twice about ordering out for pizza any time soon!

344 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2014

About the author

　Tonya Sharp Hyche earned her BA in secondary education from the University of Alabama and began her first career as a high school history teacher and coach in Texas. After taking some time off from teaching to live in Australia for three years, she added a new career, writing novels. Tonya is now retired after 18 years in education, lives in Texas with her husband, enjoys writing and golfing, and playing with her 4 grandchildren. Tonya's mystery and suspense novels are fast paced, unpredictable with twist and turns along the way.
Tonya has 8 stand-alone novels: Faded Memories, In Plain Sight, Data Bank, Intersection of Lies, Swept Away, Glass Shadow, and the Play novels: Trick Play and Death Play both starring FBI Agent Jemma Rhodes

Tonya has one Trilogy- The Just for You Trilogy
Just for You book 1, Fearless book 2, Painted Fear book 3

Last, Tonya has a series that will take you to Australia where she enjoyed living for 3 years. Broken Promises Series: Breathless book 1 and Till Death, Love book 2

Tonya is currently working on Southern Gentlemen Don't Lie- (Late 2025)

Follow me on Facebook at Tonya Sharp Hyche

Watch Data Bank, my top seller to book clubs, book trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47N3H...

Find my episode of House Hunters International: Season 54 Episode 10 A Crime Novelist in Caloundra
Episode filmed while living in Queensland, Australia

Reviews

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy to read book. And one that will suck you in! Started reading this book, and before I realized it, hours had passed and I was halfway into the book. Took a break, and then went to read a chapter before bed. Well, suprise.....hours later I was finishing the book. Twists and turns up to the very end. Very enjoyable read.

We received this book for free via Goodreads First Reads.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won Data Bank in a GoodReads Giveaway. I received a moderately-sized trade paperback, glossy and black, of independent design and 330+ pages of thick yellowish paper and plain Times Roman font. Data Bank sports a double-spaced-between-line-breaks format that reads quickly like a script.

Data Bank is a straight-forward tale of a plot gone wrong when a crime-ring boss' wife uses an elaborate system of stolen personal data for use in high-end organized crime for her own means to kidnap a brain-surgeon to save the life of her child.

Data Bank goes through a lot of effort to establish this immense personal-data-stealing crime-ring, only to use it to support a story-arch that seems somewhat incidental and could have served as a subplot to a bigger arena of crimes and the eventual calamity of unintended consequences. As it is, Data Bank is kind of limp-wristed in premise and ends pretty-much like you expect.

Data Bank is well thought-out and does a good job of setting the stage without poking too hard or too deeply into the pretense. The scenario is plausible and familiar in today's technological landscape, and events unfold in a way that accounts for detail while glossing over simple realities.

Spanning locations from North Dallas to New Orleans to Florida and Off-shore accounts - filled with gambling, police, FBI and murder - Data Bank strives to be a fast-paced crime thriller of high order. However, the pedantic prose, precise and sometimes obvious, comes off not really cliche'd but kind of generic, leaving Data Bank to read like a novelized form of a made-for-TV movie.

Data Bank works best when you imagine the characters casted by your favorite actors from similar prime-time network TV dramas. Recommended as a good read for purveyors of fan-fiction and self-published thrillers.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading Data Bank by Tonya Sharp Hyche. I could not put it down. A Great unpredictable, fast paced, page turner with a few twist and turns in the plot. Kept me on the edge on my seat. Great characters, both good and evil. You never know what to expect next. This book will meet all your expectations of a suspenseful, crime thriller. Tonya Sharp Hyche has become my new favorite author. By the way I won this book in the good reads giveaway. Great book- I can't wait to read the rest of Tonya's books. Thank you, Tonya & keep up the tremendous writing. Cindy

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it but the premise is too easy to see happening. Saw her on House Hunters International and decided to try a book. Book had a great start, great premise and continued throughout the book. Definitely recommend.

[Caren Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for my book club and while I kind of wanted to give it three stars, I did 4 because the author was kind enough to come to our meeting and she was lovely.
It was a fast paced, fast read with an interesting story. I thought it became a little bit “thin” about two-thirds in and while I absolutely did NOT see the twists coming, one or two felt “manipulated”. I like it when a twist instantly makes sense even though I wasn’t expecting it.
After hearing about the author’s process, I am very interested in reading her again as this was one of her earlier books.
I think anyone who is brave enough to put a piece of themselves out in the public to be scrutinised deserves kudos!

[Courtney Friess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Great read with excellent twists you won’t see coming! Kept me engaged the entire time! About to start another book of hers!

[D.H. Hanni · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shallow, one-dimensional characters living in a world where everyone is polite and nice. Even when committing crime. Somehow this is set in modern times so not sure how everyone can be so nicey-nicey. Intriguing concept but the software program Data Bank and its creator play a very small percentage of the book's plot.

The book focuses too much attention on Willow Bradely, an ex-stripper with a degree in architecture in a bad marriage with an abusive jerk, yet still has at least 2 other guys still pining for her. Even when her child is shot, necessitating the need to access Data Bank to find a doctor who can be persuaded to be perform emergency surgery, she's stupid and self-centered.

The rest of the characters are cardboard and have no development. The dialogue is generic and people say "Oh, my God!" way too much. The writing style is boring and too much time is spent explaining mundane details. This slows down the pace and drags the story. Instead the time could have been spent adding depth to the main characters and making a more plausible story.

[Brie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won the book in a Goodreads First Reads Contest.

I tried to get into this book but it was just not my style of book. I will be passing it on to another reader.