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Encryption
In a small software engineering company in England, a game changing algorithm for encrypting data has been invented, which will have far reaching consequences for the fight against terrorism. The Security Services of the UK, USA and China all want to control the new software. The Financial Director has been murdered and his widow turns to her brother-in-law to help discover the truth. But he soon finds himself framed for his brother’s murder. When the full force of government is brought to bear on one family, they seem to face impossible odds. Is it an abuse of power or does the end justify the means? Only one man can find the answers but he is being hunted by the same people he once called friends and colleagues.
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First published February 23, 2014
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About the author
Bill Ward
9 books177 followersBill’s love of reading commenced at a very young age. He credits his Gran for encouraging his interest by regularly taking him to the local library after primary school. At boarding school, when the lights went out in his dormitory, he was often encouraged by the other boys to tell stories. English Literature was always his favourite school subject.
A long and successful career in IT saw him live and travel all over the world. With hindsight it was the start of his writing fiction but they were called business proposals in those days! Having always enjoyed different cultures, the one life lesson Bill has learned is “wherever you go you will find good and bad people. This is not determined by colour, race, religion or country.”
Bill has finally fulfilled his lifelong ambition to become an author and has now written nine thrillers including seven in the best selling Powell series.
Bill lives near Nottingham, UK with his German wife and has seven daughters, a son, a stepson, three horses, a dog, two cats and two rabbites! When he’s not writing he’s probably watching his football team West Brom, who he has now been supporting for over fifty years!
A long and successful career in IT saw him live and travel all over the world. With hindsight it was the start of his writing fiction but they were called business proposals in those days! Having always enjoyed different cultures, the one life lesson Bill has learned is “wherever you go you will find good and bad people. This is not determined by colour, race, religion or country.”
Bill has finally fulfilled his lifelong ambition to become an author and has now written nine thrillers including seven in the best selling Powell series.
Bill lives near Nottingham, UK with his German wife and has seven daughters, a son, a stepson, three horses, a dog, two cats and two rabbites! When he’s not writing he’s probably watching his football team West Brom, who he has now been supporting for over fifty years!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
May 19, 2016
I like a book with a lot of plot twists throughout and this fantastic novel written by Bill Ward didn't disappoint from the beginning there was an air of mystery and suspense that astounded me throughout the book, very descriptive, fast paced, character driven, the characters were very layered and extremely interesting. Hammond is on a quest/journey and Bill Ward takes us on that journey with several characters in tow. It expresses a mixture of genres and subgenres which is a exceptional treat as well but, I also like the psychological thriller part of it that adds a varied profoundness that makes you think and also in that we are not as secure as we think and that is a thought creepier than fiction. Pay Attention! We have no privacy anymore whether individual or international. There are watchers everywhere and even the watchers of the watchers are being watched. Beware! A spine-tingling read for our current times and future generations. Excellent! I see a blockbuster hit coming.
December 9, 2014
From the onset, the author raised not one but two eyebrows with his unconventional approach to thriller genre writing. For one, the first chapter was quite long. I had to put the book down more than once before admitting to myself that I was just going to need a longer stretch of time to tackle this book. Then there was the fact that several chapters passed without so much as a line of dialogue. Add to this the amazing amount of backstory he stuffs in these early chapters that borders on info dumping, and well, it was strange that I was so completely engrossed in the book. By surrendering my expectations about genre writing and keeping an open mind I finally came to appreciate the smartness of his decisions. So much so that as a writer myself, I’m thinking of adopting his methods in at least one thriller I’d like to write down the road. Long story short: this is an outstanding book that is well worth your while. But let me delve into a little more detail to help sell why I feel that way.
Like most people, most of what I know about intrusive government snooping into private citizens’ every piece of communication, from emails to cell phone calls to data sent back and forth over the internet in virtually any form, comes from the news. And there has been quite a lot of it lately regarding hacks, information leaks and so on. Which is why I found this book all that eye opening. Apparently I still had no clue of all that was going on. Since I take our privacy rights rather seriously (last I checked it was protected by the constitution), I suddenly was not only highly curious but that much more passionately engaged with the reading.
Luckily for me I got to get educated by way of a novel, which is a hell of a lot more entertaining than a news brief. An exceptional novel at that. The author delivered better fleshed out characters who were far more compelling, believable, and original than I’ve found in any number of bestsellers. I also enjoyed his virtual sixth sense as to when to drop in key information to further the plot and to spice up the story both; the reader knew just what they needed to know at that point in the story, no more, no less, which contributed greatly to the forward momentum despite so much time devoted to vivid character portrayal. The story also had a very robust, full-bodied flavor to it, like a fine wine, with no important dimension left out. Once case in point are some powerfully portrayed sex scenes, that were explicit without being over the top, something you see increasingly less in mainstream fiction anymore for fear of offending someone (unless we’re talking a romance novel.) And even when the characters were engaged in very questionable behavior, I found myself empathizing with them due to the nature of their thought processes, again so realistically conveyed that it was hard to believe I wouldn’t have done or thought something similar under the circumstances. What’s amazing is that despite being all of this, relevant and topical, profound and literary, the book also fits the bill as highly enjoyable escapist fiction for folks who just want to escape for a few hours as opposed to change the world. That’s saying a lot considering it’s very hard to rope in human rights activists in the same story with those who couldn’t be bothered.
My one nitpick is a fairly minor one indeed. The book is released as something of a British/American hybrid, meaning you’ll find vocabulary, spelling, and use of the vernacular from both schools. It makes for the occasional sentence that reads a bit irregularly for us yanks. I.e. “The previous evening, they had eaten dinner sat outside…” In America we would say “seated outside.”
Like most people, most of what I know about intrusive government snooping into private citizens’ every piece of communication, from emails to cell phone calls to data sent back and forth over the internet in virtually any form, comes from the news. And there has been quite a lot of it lately regarding hacks, information leaks and so on. Which is why I found this book all that eye opening. Apparently I still had no clue of all that was going on. Since I take our privacy rights rather seriously (last I checked it was protected by the constitution), I suddenly was not only highly curious but that much more passionately engaged with the reading.
Luckily for me I got to get educated by way of a novel, which is a hell of a lot more entertaining than a news brief. An exceptional novel at that. The author delivered better fleshed out characters who were far more compelling, believable, and original than I’ve found in any number of bestsellers. I also enjoyed his virtual sixth sense as to when to drop in key information to further the plot and to spice up the story both; the reader knew just what they needed to know at that point in the story, no more, no less, which contributed greatly to the forward momentum despite so much time devoted to vivid character portrayal. The story also had a very robust, full-bodied flavor to it, like a fine wine, with no important dimension left out. Once case in point are some powerfully portrayed sex scenes, that were explicit without being over the top, something you see increasingly less in mainstream fiction anymore for fear of offending someone (unless we’re talking a romance novel.) And even when the characters were engaged in very questionable behavior, I found myself empathizing with them due to the nature of their thought processes, again so realistically conveyed that it was hard to believe I wouldn’t have done or thought something similar under the circumstances. What’s amazing is that despite being all of this, relevant and topical, profound and literary, the book also fits the bill as highly enjoyable escapist fiction for folks who just want to escape for a few hours as opposed to change the world. That’s saying a lot considering it’s very hard to rope in human rights activists in the same story with those who couldn’t be bothered.
My one nitpick is a fairly minor one indeed. The book is released as something of a British/American hybrid, meaning you’ll find vocabulary, spelling, and use of the vernacular from both schools. It makes for the occasional sentence that reads a bit irregularly for us yanks. I.e. “The previous evening, they had eaten dinner sat outside…” In America we would say “seated outside.”
January 13, 2015
Reviewed by Ray Simmons for Readers' Favorite
Encryption by Bill Ward is a great book with a very likable hero in Peter Hammond. Encryption is a little hard to categorize. It is a murder mystery and finding out who killed the victim and why is the engine that drives the story. I really liked this novel, but I don’t want to give any details about the plot or even the characters because a big factor in how much you enjoy Encryption is the deftness with which Bill Ward unveils each character and the surprise when the story suddenly reveals another layer. These characters aren’t wild and unlikely literary creations, they are very much like people you know. They seem to lead a normal life, but they all have secrets and when one of them is killed the secrets start to come out and their normal lives begin to unravel.
Bill Ward’s style reminds me a little of that of the late great Michael Crichton. He takes cutting edge technology and creates a story that could have been torn from today’s headlines. In this case, the story is about internet privacy or, better yet, the lack of real internet privacy. A small software company in England has invented encryption software that even the NSA can’t break. In the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations, this software becomes something people and nations will kill for. This is the story at the heart of Encryption but relationships and secrets make things much more complicated than they appear on the surface. Five stars.
Encryption by Bill Ward is a great book with a very likable hero in Peter Hammond. Encryption is a little hard to categorize. It is a murder mystery and finding out who killed the victim and why is the engine that drives the story. I really liked this novel, but I don’t want to give any details about the plot or even the characters because a big factor in how much you enjoy Encryption is the deftness with which Bill Ward unveils each character and the surprise when the story suddenly reveals another layer. These characters aren’t wild and unlikely literary creations, they are very much like people you know. They seem to lead a normal life, but they all have secrets and when one of them is killed the secrets start to come out and their normal lives begin to unravel.
Bill Ward’s style reminds me a little of that of the late great Michael Crichton. He takes cutting edge technology and creates a story that could have been torn from today’s headlines. In this case, the story is about internet privacy or, better yet, the lack of real internet privacy. A small software company in England has invented encryption software that even the NSA can’t break. In the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations, this software becomes something people and nations will kill for. This is the story at the heart of Encryption but relationships and secrets make things much more complicated than they appear on the surface. Five stars.
February 23, 2016
Chris Hammond, the Financial Director of a software company is murdered and his brother Peter tries to find out why.
I enjoyed reading this crime thriller that involved murder, betrayal, the work of the intelligence services and a hint of romance. This is a current day novel, set mostly in the UK. Although people nowadays love social media where they share their lives with the whole world through the internet, there is a demand to keep some data secret. This book taps into the wish for governments to be able to read all data and the lengths they will go to get their access.
I liked the plot of Encryption and loved the way Bill told his story. Slowly the story unfolded with dramatic revelations of the workings behind the scenes. This is a Spooks drama that shows how vulnerable society can be to attack from all corners. It was a pleasure to read and asked questions about how far you would go in your workplace.
I liked how Bill told his story on a strict need-to-know basis. Governments love keeping the public in the dark and Bill taps into this by making Peter’s quest awfully difficult. There is no freedom-of-information request here, just a case of work your contacts with the people you trust.
Bill leads you to suspect different bad guys as his story progresses and at the end you think “Oh dear, some people are just…”. Encryption has a good plot, asks lots of current day questions and is a pleasure to read. I found this novel to be a 5 star read and as good as another Brighton based author Peter James in delivering top product to his fans. Encryption is a great book for lovers of crime fiction and if I had to pick holes, it would be Peter’s problem with car rental. Through the course of this novel, Peter hires two cars but no mention is made of his return of these cars to the hire shop! The charges must be mounting and the cars either attracting parking tickets or spotted on the network of ANPR cameras that blight our road junctions. But will Peter give Jenny the Christmas present she really wants or will it be the one Jenny offered Grant? Ho! Ho! Ho!
I enjoyed reading this crime thriller that involved murder, betrayal, the work of the intelligence services and a hint of romance. This is a current day novel, set mostly in the UK. Although people nowadays love social media where they share their lives with the whole world through the internet, there is a demand to keep some data secret. This book taps into the wish for governments to be able to read all data and the lengths they will go to get their access.
I liked the plot of Encryption and loved the way Bill told his story. Slowly the story unfolded with dramatic revelations of the workings behind the scenes. This is a Spooks drama that shows how vulnerable society can be to attack from all corners. It was a pleasure to read and asked questions about how far you would go in your workplace.
I liked how Bill told his story on a strict need-to-know basis. Governments love keeping the public in the dark and Bill taps into this by making Peter’s quest awfully difficult. There is no freedom-of-information request here, just a case of work your contacts with the people you trust.
Bill leads you to suspect different bad guys as his story progresses and at the end you think “Oh dear, some people are just…”. Encryption has a good plot, asks lots of current day questions and is a pleasure to read. I found this novel to be a 5 star read and as good as another Brighton based author Peter James in delivering top product to his fans. Encryption is a great book for lovers of crime fiction and if I had to pick holes, it would be Peter’s problem with car rental. Through the course of this novel, Peter hires two cars but no mention is made of his return of these cars to the hire shop! The charges must be mounting and the cars either attracting parking tickets or spotted on the network of ANPR cameras that blight our road junctions. But will Peter give Jenny the Christmas present she really wants or will it be the one Jenny offered Grant? Ho! Ho! Ho!
September 7, 2016
A Great English Spy Thriller
This is a great book. The story is timely, important, and relevant. Not only does the author tell a great murder story involving spy agencies but he also addresses the moral issues and the privacy issues of the government's right to monitor electronic communications for national security versus individual rights to privacy. On the surface the story is about a business executive Chris Hammond, the financial manager of a small software company, who is murdered one night in his home, in Brighton, England. Chris's brother, Peter, lives in Rome and works for MI6, the British spy agency. He comes home to help Jenny, Chris's wife, deal with the tragedy, and he begins his own investigation of the murder. The software company where Chris worked is in the final stages of development of an encryption technology that will secure Internet communications and prevent the NSA and England's CGHQ from monitoring private citizens and corporations Internet communications.
Bill Ward does an excellent job of character development and links many of the characters together through past and present sexual relationships with Chris's wife, Jenny. The author spends a lot of time describing the scenes of the book and the characters. But he keeps the story moving along, taking many twists and turns, and keeping the reader guessing.
This is a very well written book, about a very timely intelligence issue of the power of governments to use electronic surveillance for national security versus the right to privacy of private citizens.
I highly recommend this book.
This is a great book. The story is timely, important, and relevant. Not only does the author tell a great murder story involving spy agencies but he also addresses the moral issues and the privacy issues of the government's right to monitor electronic communications for national security versus individual rights to privacy. On the surface the story is about a business executive Chris Hammond, the financial manager of a small software company, who is murdered one night in his home, in Brighton, England. Chris's brother, Peter, lives in Rome and works for MI6, the British spy agency. He comes home to help Jenny, Chris's wife, deal with the tragedy, and he begins his own investigation of the murder. The software company where Chris worked is in the final stages of development of an encryption technology that will secure Internet communications and prevent the NSA and England's CGHQ from monitoring private citizens and corporations Internet communications.
Bill Ward does an excellent job of character development and links many of the characters together through past and present sexual relationships with Chris's wife, Jenny. The author spends a lot of time describing the scenes of the book and the characters. But he keeps the story moving along, taking many twists and turns, and keeping the reader guessing.
This is a very well written book, about a very timely intelligence issue of the power of governments to use electronic surveillance for national security versus the right to privacy of private citizens.
I highly recommend this book.
August 31, 2016
Talk about government conspiracies. Living in a time of Julian Assange and a very dynamic Edward Snowden, I couldn’t help but think as I read: at an individual level, are we still equally entitled to our human rights without any discrimination at all?
Universally, I recognize things have changed. Espionage is acceptable, and depending on how high up the corporate food chain you are, surveillance stats obtained through the means of software are admissible almost anywhere. We’re all cyberpuppies one way or another; safety in this cyberworld is as fleeting as a rainbow after a good rainfall. So yes, Bill Ward certainly strikes home with his latest English spy thriller novel. Invasion of privacy is just that, whether carried out by the Five Eyes or a dude living in his mother’s basement. Through complex characters, the writer shows us that the twists and turns life takes depend on particular choices people make. Peter, Chris’s brother, sets out to bring his sibling’s murderer to justice. Where he was a character I enjoyed, Jenny—Chris’s wife/new widow—was one that I found too aloof at times.
I would highly recommend this book to those who love a good mystery thriller. Give it a read, you won’t be disappointed!
Universally, I recognize things have changed. Espionage is acceptable, and depending on how high up the corporate food chain you are, surveillance stats obtained through the means of software are admissible almost anywhere. We’re all cyberpuppies one way or another; safety in this cyberworld is as fleeting as a rainbow after a good rainfall. So yes, Bill Ward certainly strikes home with his latest English spy thriller novel. Invasion of privacy is just that, whether carried out by the Five Eyes or a dude living in his mother’s basement. Through complex characters, the writer shows us that the twists and turns life takes depend on particular choices people make. Peter, Chris’s brother, sets out to bring his sibling’s murderer to justice. Where he was a character I enjoyed, Jenny—Chris’s wife/new widow—was one that I found too aloof at times.
I would highly recommend this book to those who love a good mystery thriller. Give it a read, you won’t be disappointed!
February 2, 2015
This is a very good book. At its heart, "Encryption" is about a man trying to solve his brother's murder, but it's also a fast-moving story of espionage, love, betrayal, and regret. The story is engaging and topically relevant to current events surrounding debates over government's actions and intentions around data security, and the technology involved.
Bill Ward has created well-developed characters in an extremely efficient manner, and he effortlessly weaves them into this intriguing whodunnit. The dialogue is plentiful and almost perfect, and the relationships are realistic. Ward deftly explains complex technology in such a way that it is fully accessible to a casual reader, which is not an easy feat. Plot twists are effectively peppered throughout the story, adding to the "I can't put this down" aspect. The action-packed scenes in the last few chapters are satisfying and rewarding. I thoroughly enjoyed "Encryption" and I highly recommend it.
July 25, 2020
Purchase Verified Format: Kindle Version
A methodical financial director of a small software company starts probing unexplained details on the company accounts and is murdered for his efforts and his widow Jenny seeks the help of his brother-in-law Peter who is determined to seek the truth and find out who is responsible.
As usual with Bill Ward’s stories, what starts as a straightforward murder enquiry turns into a full-blooded international spy thriller with all the trimmings. He discovers that the company has invented a formula for encrypting data that is impenetrable against any form of hacking, an invaluable asset to any government in the fight against terrorism.
While the story unfolds and he begins to pick up the scent, the opposition does its best to thwart his moves at every turn, to the point of trying to get him framed for his brother’s murder. Undaunted, he ploughs on exhibiting many of the characteristics we come to expect in the subsequent Powell series and in doing so he uncovers a trail of deceit and assassination plots conducted at the highest levels of security.
Following my normal practice, I started reading the story with mounting interest and found that I was unable to stop until I had reached the last page. As with all Bill Ward’s stories, I found it completely absorbing and highly recommended.
A methodical financial director of a small software company starts probing unexplained details on the company accounts and is murdered for his efforts and his widow Jenny seeks the help of his brother-in-law Peter who is determined to seek the truth and find out who is responsible.
As usual with Bill Ward’s stories, what starts as a straightforward murder enquiry turns into a full-blooded international spy thriller with all the trimmings. He discovers that the company has invented a formula for encrypting data that is impenetrable against any form of hacking, an invaluable asset to any government in the fight against terrorism.
While the story unfolds and he begins to pick up the scent, the opposition does its best to thwart his moves at every turn, to the point of trying to get him framed for his brother’s murder. Undaunted, he ploughs on exhibiting many of the characteristics we come to expect in the subsequent Powell series and in doing so he uncovers a trail of deceit and assassination plots conducted at the highest levels of security.
Following my normal practice, I started reading the story with mounting interest and found that I was unable to stop until I had reached the last page. As with all Bill Ward’s stories, I found it completely absorbing and highly recommended.
December 6, 2014
The story opens with Chris Hammond in his office in Appleby Engineering Co, an engineering firm that has recently come up with the latest revolutionary new algorithm that encrypts data before it’s passed across the Internet, keeping it safe. He’s been the Financial Director for the past six months, since starting at the company, hired on to keep costs down. He doesn’t like his boss, who dresses in jeans and t-shirts, wears an earring and large rings on all fingers, and who turned slightly aggressive when challenged about a lie he told to Chris. And so the story begins, filled with fast-paced intrigue. We learn that Chris—who’s been married to Jenny for fifteen bland years, has two teenage boys and who wears a suit to work, while all the other Oxford and Cambridge geeks dress casually—is trying to keep an ethical eye on the finances. The brilliant algorithm software had been purchased by the government and top companies, which pulled Appleby Engineering out of a financial slump. Chris feels responsible to the company’s investors, which makes waves for Grant when a discrepancy is found in the amount of contractors hired not matching up with the amount of money spent on them. Author, Bill Ward, weaves a beginning filled with intrigue that grabs hold of the reader from the beginning with lines like, “was he shoveling money to a bogus cost center for personal gain” and no sooner is this thought by Chris than he is found murdered in his home. His wife Jenny, out cheating with another man she met at a local gym, missed a deadly fate to return to find Chris dead and one of her sons, Danny, wounded. This tragedy brings Chris’ older brother Peter into the story line; he was in a relationship with Jenny before she hooked up with Chris and hasn’t seen them for sixteen years. The death of Chris brings them back together with Danny healing. The story continues with twists and turns as Peter undertakes his own investigation, with the police, with Grant Appleby, and to a disclosure that was a surprise this reader did not see coming. Nor was the fact Grant Appleby is a puppet to a mysterious Mr. Smith imagined as the story unfolds. Revelation upon revelation with entanglements and surprises continue page after page up till the satisfying ending, making this a really great read.
September 15, 2014
Bill Ward's spy thriller "Encryption" is a really nice read with some really interesting characters, the kind you don't always see in novels about the shadowy people who slink around doing what governments want done but can't really acknowledge publicly.
There is, for example, a straight-arrow accountant; his wife who has a very kinky - hidden - sex life; a secret agent who used to date that same wife; another secret agent with the unlikely name of "Smith" who is more than a little ruthless; Chinese businessmen who may or may not be secret agents themselves and a few hard-working cops who don't know just what the heck is going on.
It's also got an interesting plot that revolves around the development of a super-secret algorithm that can protect Internet correspondence from government snoopers. Assorted governments don't want it on the market, of course, and billions of dollars hang in the balance.
To me, however, the strength of Ward's book - and the scariest thing about it - is the fact that the plot is so damn plausible.
That's not something I say lightly. Rather, it's something I say from the perspective of having spent nearly a half century as a journalist during which time I covered the Pentagon and the defense industry, Operation Desert Storm, the invasion of Panama, unrest in Haiti and the Rwandan civil war in addition to spending time undercover with white-power extremists while investigating, among other things, their links to governments both in the United States and abroad.
It's because of those and other experiences that I had during my career that I had absolutely no difficulty believing Ward's premise that the development of that super-secret algorithm could lead to the murder of innocent civilians by government agents who have lost sight of the reason they do what they do.
If you're a fan of sexy, high-speed spy thrillers with more than a little violence and some surprising twists I urge you to take a look at "Encryption." I think you'll be glad you did and maybe, just maybe, it will start you thinking about whether having government agencies monitor your email traffic and the websites you visit is a good thing or not.
There is, for example, a straight-arrow accountant; his wife who has a very kinky - hidden - sex life; a secret agent who used to date that same wife; another secret agent with the unlikely name of "Smith" who is more than a little ruthless; Chinese businessmen who may or may not be secret agents themselves and a few hard-working cops who don't know just what the heck is going on.
It's also got an interesting plot that revolves around the development of a super-secret algorithm that can protect Internet correspondence from government snoopers. Assorted governments don't want it on the market, of course, and billions of dollars hang in the balance.
To me, however, the strength of Ward's book - and the scariest thing about it - is the fact that the plot is so damn plausible.
That's not something I say lightly. Rather, it's something I say from the perspective of having spent nearly a half century as a journalist during which time I covered the Pentagon and the defense industry, Operation Desert Storm, the invasion of Panama, unrest in Haiti and the Rwandan civil war in addition to spending time undercover with white-power extremists while investigating, among other things, their links to governments both in the United States and abroad.
It's because of those and other experiences that I had during my career that I had absolutely no difficulty believing Ward's premise that the development of that super-secret algorithm could lead to the murder of innocent civilians by government agents who have lost sight of the reason they do what they do.
If you're a fan of sexy, high-speed spy thrillers with more than a little violence and some surprising twists I urge you to take a look at "Encryption." I think you'll be glad you did and maybe, just maybe, it will start you thinking about whether having government agencies monitor your email traffic and the websites you visit is a good thing or not.
December 9, 2014
There are a lot of Spy Thrillers out there and they need to be ‘different’ from the rest in order to stand out. I’ve read many spy thrillers that had the ‘been-there-read-that’ kind of feel to them; a lot of them kept recycling the same plots. However, Encryption wasn’t that kind of story. Bill Ward did an amazing job writing a spy thriller that a lot of us can relate to in these present times. The book asks the question about security and if it’s right for governments to keep an eye on private lives through electronic means. I mean, come on, we’ve all had that nagging feeling that someone, possibly the government, is reading our emails or text messages, right? Lol!
The story starts when Chris Hammond is murdered in his own home and that leads to the arrival of his older brother, Peter Hammond, a British agent. I’m not a fan of stories that have a lot of description in them but Bill Ward’s way with words made me turn the pages in curiosity. Yes, he spends a lot of time giving readers details but it’s all good because it adds to the story being told. I mean, if he hadn’t told all that detail about Chris’s life in the beginning I wouldn’t have felt sorry for him when he got killed and kept feeling sorry for him as I kept reading.
Peter Hammond is a well fleshed out character and I liked following his journey as he tried to uncover his brother’s murderer and the mystery behind a unique algorithm. Jenny, Chris’s wife comes across the character that links almost everyone. For some readers she can seem like a convenient ‘plot’ device, someone who sleeps around just for the sake of connecting characters. But the way Bill handled her character made her actions seem reasonable to me. Reading about her in the story I thought: yeah, someone like Jenny would actually do such a thing. Now, what’s she going to do next?
Encryption is a very exciting thriller especially if you like one man’s struggle to get to the truth when everyone else is corrupt and against him. Definitely give it a read!
The story starts when Chris Hammond is murdered in his own home and that leads to the arrival of his older brother, Peter Hammond, a British agent. I’m not a fan of stories that have a lot of description in them but Bill Ward’s way with words made me turn the pages in curiosity. Yes, he spends a lot of time giving readers details but it’s all good because it adds to the story being told. I mean, if he hadn’t told all that detail about Chris’s life in the beginning I wouldn’t have felt sorry for him when he got killed and kept feeling sorry for him as I kept reading.
Peter Hammond is a well fleshed out character and I liked following his journey as he tried to uncover his brother’s murderer and the mystery behind a unique algorithm. Jenny, Chris’s wife comes across the character that links almost everyone. For some readers she can seem like a convenient ‘plot’ device, someone who sleeps around just for the sake of connecting characters. But the way Bill handled her character made her actions seem reasonable to me. Reading about her in the story I thought: yeah, someone like Jenny would actually do such a thing. Now, what’s she going to do next?
Encryption is a very exciting thriller especially if you like one man’s struggle to get to the truth when everyone else is corrupt and against him. Definitely give it a read!
January 25, 2015
I don't normally read straight action suspense novels, I tend to find them tedious and I can normally figure out the twist too early. Encryption was a fantastic surprise. I've found some real gems among the indie/self published author shelves, and this book was no exception.
The thing that really caught me immediately was the style of writing. It was like sitting around a campfire, listening to a master at narrative story telling. The book is written in the third person, which usually diminishes the reader's insight in the the inner workings of the characters. This was not the case. In the first chapter you are introduced to Chris, and he's fleshed out thoroughly, *spoiler* which is interesting because he's the victim and the reason for the book *spoiler*. Another character Jenny, Chris' wife is handled masterfully ... the reader will start off indifferent toward her, but quickly hate her, then feel sorry, then love her, then you'll loathe her, and the feelings keep changing almost by the chapter ... all the while you'll be trying to figure out how she fits into everything.
The plot is tight, fast paced and engaging ... almost to a fault. I lost too much sleep to this one. I wouldn't recommend starting this book, unless you can finish the last hundred pages in a sitting.
The imagery painted by the author is detailed, and his understanding of the inner workings of British security factions (MI5, MI6) were well done. I would absolutely recommend this book, and have already several times.
The thing that really caught me immediately was the style of writing. It was like sitting around a campfire, listening to a master at narrative story telling. The book is written in the third person, which usually diminishes the reader's insight in the the inner workings of the characters. This was not the case. In the first chapter you are introduced to Chris, and he's fleshed out thoroughly, *spoiler* which is interesting because he's the victim and the reason for the book *spoiler*. Another character Jenny, Chris' wife is handled masterfully ... the reader will start off indifferent toward her, but quickly hate her, then feel sorry, then love her, then you'll loathe her, and the feelings keep changing almost by the chapter ... all the while you'll be trying to figure out how she fits into everything.
The plot is tight, fast paced and engaging ... almost to a fault. I lost too much sleep to this one. I wouldn't recommend starting this book, unless you can finish the last hundred pages in a sitting.
The imagery painted by the author is detailed, and his understanding of the inner workings of British security factions (MI5, MI6) were well done. I would absolutely recommend this book, and have already several times.
April 14, 2014
Peter Hammond is a British secret agent who returns to the UK from a life abroad after his accountant brother Chris, whom he hasn’t seen in 16 years, is murdered. Chris was the financial manager of a high tech firm developing an encryption algorithm that would shut out government attempts to access private sector data. Chris found an accounting irregularity; his boss denied it, and after sending an email to an unknown recipient, Chris is shot in his own home.
Peter starts searching for answers, using his agency’s resources to help. But he’s walking into a rat’s nest of complicated relationships; the centerpiece is the one between Chris’s widow, Jenny, and Chris’s boss, both of whom like a little S&M. Peter used to be in love with Jenny and her marriage to the brother caused the 16-year break and he feels more than a little protective of her and her children. But Peter is past his prime as a secret agent, and he’ll make some rookie mistakes before he solves the crime.
The tech details are well written and the plot devices are spun out at the right intervals. The connections between players are ingenious—be prepared not to see a number of them coming—although the pace is not swift or staccato but mellowed by quite a bit of description and backstory throughout. More of the tech angle would have been welcome, not because the book needed it, but because the author was able to provide better explanations of complicated concepts than most of today’s news shows.
Peter starts searching for answers, using his agency’s resources to help. But he’s walking into a rat’s nest of complicated relationships; the centerpiece is the one between Chris’s widow, Jenny, and Chris’s boss, both of whom like a little S&M. Peter used to be in love with Jenny and her marriage to the brother caused the 16-year break and he feels more than a little protective of her and her children. But Peter is past his prime as a secret agent, and he’ll make some rookie mistakes before he solves the crime.
The tech details are well written and the plot devices are spun out at the right intervals. The connections between players are ingenious—be prepared not to see a number of them coming—although the pace is not swift or staccato but mellowed by quite a bit of description and backstory throughout. More of the tech angle would have been welcome, not because the book needed it, but because the author was able to provide better explanations of complicated concepts than most of today’s news shows.
April 8, 2016
Encryption probes the underbelly of the British government in the ever-changing Information Age. Mr. Ward gives us a likable, yet dangerous lead character in Peter Hammond, a man of honor who keeps some difficult secrets. The story revolves around data encryption and government access to citizens' private information, which certainly made my skin crawl a few times as I thought about the real-world instances of this occurring. I have yet to see an author treat this topic with as much care and cleverness as Mr. Ward. He weaves technical elements into the narrative with skill, never overwhelming, but always providing some sobering food for thought. At the same time, he keeps up a swift and captivating pace; his action scenes always caught me by surprise.
As I read, I was sure I could figure out what was going to happen in the next chapter, but Mr. Ward thwarted me at every turn. One of my favorite parts of the book takes place in Rome, because I expected one group of people to be patently evil (calling into question my stereotypes), only to have the complete reverse be true. That is definitely my favorite moment in reading a good book, and Mr. Ward provides that. He makes us see the grayness in the convoluted world of government operations. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys political thrillers with a tech edge, or who wants to read something new and commanding in the thriller genre. I'll be reading it a second time soon.
As I read, I was sure I could figure out what was going to happen in the next chapter, but Mr. Ward thwarted me at every turn. One of my favorite parts of the book takes place in Rome, because I expected one group of people to be patently evil (calling into question my stereotypes), only to have the complete reverse be true. That is definitely my favorite moment in reading a good book, and Mr. Ward provides that. He makes us see the grayness in the convoluted world of government operations. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys political thrillers with a tech edge, or who wants to read something new and commanding in the thriller genre. I'll be reading it a second time soon.
August 10, 2016
Is justice relative? Can it be compromised?
Encryption is a realistic spy story that exposes the crimes of government in the name of national security. A murder mystery filled with espionage wrapped around political and moral issues, Encryption forces readers to examine foreign policy and national security with a more critical eye... and in doing so, readers may find they do not care for what they see.
The plot is strong, the characters full and the concepts important. Overall, Encryption is well written, with only a few pesky errors. I didn't agree with the politics at all times, nor is that a requirement for my enjoyment of the novel. The novel did seem to take shots at the American government, sometimes perhaps unnecessarily, all the while involving a plot that portrays British government action as cold, immoral and, at times, outright devious, all in the name of the so-called "greater good."
An excellent tale set in a more realistic, less fantastical world, Encryption is sure to please fans of spy thrillers and political thrillers. It is both entertaining and thought-provoking, well worth the read.
Encryption is a realistic spy story that exposes the crimes of government in the name of national security. A murder mystery filled with espionage wrapped around political and moral issues, Encryption forces readers to examine foreign policy and national security with a more critical eye... and in doing so, readers may find they do not care for what they see.
The plot is strong, the characters full and the concepts important. Overall, Encryption is well written, with only a few pesky errors. I didn't agree with the politics at all times, nor is that a requirement for my enjoyment of the novel. The novel did seem to take shots at the American government, sometimes perhaps unnecessarily, all the while involving a plot that portrays British government action as cold, immoral and, at times, outright devious, all in the name of the so-called "greater good."
An excellent tale set in a more realistic, less fantastical world, Encryption is sure to please fans of spy thrillers and political thrillers. It is both entertaining and thought-provoking, well worth the read.
October 3, 2014
A worthy successor to Dick Francis
I couldn't put down ENCRYPTION by Bill Ward. Dick Francis never penned anything with so many twists and turns. Ward's way with words reminded me of his style-- enjoyable, suspense-filled and firmly based in reality. I couldn't put down ENCRYPTION by Bill Ward. In fact Ward's story-telling style was every bit as gripping.
So what is it about?
Peter Hammond, MI6's agent in Rome returns to the UK to investigate his brother's murder, a pernickety accountant for a small software manufacturing company. In pursuit of answers, he discovers the company has developed an encryption device that threatens national security. He soon discovers that in this brave new world of electronic surveillance, intelligence services will stop at nothing to protect their governments' interests.
I thoroughly enjoyed this excursion into the sinister realm of espionage--the plot was utterly absorbing, and the personal lives of the leading characters equally riveting. Bill Ward is a worthy successor to Dick Francis. I gave ENCRYPTION five stars.
I couldn't put down ENCRYPTION by Bill Ward. Dick Francis never penned anything with so many twists and turns. Ward's way with words reminded me of his style-- enjoyable, suspense-filled and firmly based in reality. I couldn't put down ENCRYPTION by Bill Ward. In fact Ward's story-telling style was every bit as gripping.
So what is it about?
Peter Hammond, MI6's agent in Rome returns to the UK to investigate his brother's murder, a pernickety accountant for a small software manufacturing company. In pursuit of answers, he discovers the company has developed an encryption device that threatens national security. He soon discovers that in this brave new world of electronic surveillance, intelligence services will stop at nothing to protect their governments' interests.
I thoroughly enjoyed this excursion into the sinister realm of espionage--the plot was utterly absorbing, and the personal lives of the leading characters equally riveting. Bill Ward is a worthy successor to Dick Francis. I gave ENCRYPTION five stars.
October 27, 2014
Hold on to your hat while Bill Ward takes you for the ride of your life about government conspiracies. The complicated plot is well developed and eases smoothly through the twists and turns. The characters are believable and interesting with a bit of rough sex thrown in for good measure..
Despite being one of the insiders, Bill’s hero Peter, an MI6 agent who has eased back from the frontline, comes up against many obstacles when he sets out to discover the who and why of his brother’s murder, which seems to be a family trait.
My lawyer once told me, “Do not go to the law for Justice. Got To the law for The Law.” What will Justice dish out for him?
These are my favorite type of books so I am a tough critic but this well crafted book captured my attention from page one and held it until the end. The storyline is relevant, believable and addresses many moral issues that the world faces today. The dilemma over electronic surveillance rages on. Does it provide security for the public? Or is it an invasion of privacy?
It should do extremely well.
Despite being one of the insiders, Bill’s hero Peter, an MI6 agent who has eased back from the frontline, comes up against many obstacles when he sets out to discover the who and why of his brother’s murder, which seems to be a family trait.
My lawyer once told me, “Do not go to the law for Justice. Got To the law for The Law.” What will Justice dish out for him?
These are my favorite type of books so I am a tough critic but this well crafted book captured my attention from page one and held it until the end. The storyline is relevant, believable and addresses many moral issues that the world faces today. The dilemma over electronic surveillance rages on. Does it provide security for the public? Or is it an invasion of privacy?
It should do extremely well.
November 5, 2014
I found Encryption to be a very interesting novel. A little like the Bourne series, but with a modern plot mechanic (as the blurb hints at). It raises several interesting questions about internet security and privacy, and just how far a government should be allowed to go to ‘protect’ its citizens.
On the plus side, I loved the intrigue and mechanics of this story. I don’t want to go into too much detail lest I spoil the plot, but the reveal of who the antagonists are was a great twist! Not one that most won’t expect (it’s indicated as early as the third or fourth chapter, if I remember correctly), but there’s an irony there that I really enjoyed.
The one nit I had about this was Jenny’s involvement with the other side. It felt a little too inconvenient (she ends up sleeping with the enemy multiple times and telling them where she’s staying when Peter’s trying to protect her and her family), but that isn’t enough to bring the novel down in my estimation. All in all, a good read, and I’d definitely recommend it to any fans of Robert Ludlum!
On the plus side, I loved the intrigue and mechanics of this story. I don’t want to go into too much detail lest I spoil the plot, but the reveal of who the antagonists are was a great twist! Not one that most won’t expect (it’s indicated as early as the third or fourth chapter, if I remember correctly), but there’s an irony there that I really enjoyed.
The one nit I had about this was Jenny’s involvement with the other side. It felt a little too inconvenient (she ends up sleeping with the enemy multiple times and telling them where she’s staying when Peter’s trying to protect her and her family), but that isn’t enough to bring the novel down in my estimation. All in all, a good read, and I’d definitely recommend it to any fans of Robert Ludlum!
January 15, 2015
An exciting read. At just over two hundred pages, Encryption contains a gripping story of murder, high-tech, infidelity. No spoilers, this is included in the author summary: A startling event at the end of chapter one had me on the edge of my seat because the author killed off what I assumed to be the main character … wow, now what! I started to like the guy, and boom! Bill Ward is a master at end-of-chapter intrigue. You must turn the page. Lean back and comfortably absorb backstory and detail that fills out the story masterfully.
Encryption simply soars. A small high-tech firm develops an encryption product that protects data from prying eyes. An accountant discovers discrepancies, is murdered. Enter the true protagonist, Peter Hammond, the accountant’s brother. Thus begins a journey of intelligent, creative writing. Rich characters and a plot from today’s headlines traverse the pages of a story that ends too quickly.
If you’re a fan of Ludlum, and love descriptive prose like that of Michener, you’ll be right at home. Enjoy!
Encryption simply soars. A small high-tech firm develops an encryption product that protects data from prying eyes. An accountant discovers discrepancies, is murdered. Enter the true protagonist, Peter Hammond, the accountant’s brother. Thus begins a journey of intelligent, creative writing. Rich characters and a plot from today’s headlines traverse the pages of a story that ends too quickly.
If you’re a fan of Ludlum, and love descriptive prose like that of Michener, you’ll be right at home. Enjoy!
January 24, 2015
Encryption is based primarily in Brighton in the UK. Financial accountant Chris Hammond is murdered, and his widow seeks help from her brother-in-law. Chris had been working for a small software company that was developing an algorithm to encrypt data over the internet. This particular innovation caught the attention of the NSA, MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. They would even go so far as to try and kill their own.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The plot, pacing, character development, and scene-setting were all done well. The writing style is passive in places, but nowhere near enough to spoil the read. Filter words and delaying action with started to/began to phrases could be weeded out for better effect. The mystery was maintained until the "big reveal", and I didn't guess who the culprit was until that point. The whole thing is well crafted. Although this is a definite murder/mystery action/adventure, it also has a hint of romance in there. I heartily recommend this book, and will be looking out for more from this author.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The plot, pacing, character development, and scene-setting were all done well. The writing style is passive in places, but nowhere near enough to spoil the read. Filter words and delaying action with started to/began to phrases could be weeded out for better effect. The mystery was maintained until the "big reveal", and I didn't guess who the culprit was until that point. The whole thing is well crafted. Although this is a definite murder/mystery action/adventure, it also has a hint of romance in there. I heartily recommend this book, and will be looking out for more from this author.
May 27, 2015
This thriller is well-written with interesting characters and a plot that's topical. Issues of intrusive government, data security, personal rights versus national security are all tackled along with all the moral ambiguity at the center of such controversy. The characters themselves are morally ambiguous. It is, for example, the cheating wife who expresses moral outrage at the duplicity of government officials in bed with big business. All the while wrapping herself in thinly veiled rationalizations about her own deceptive [& kinky] sexual relationships with men. Not just with her husband, who turns up dead, but with her ex-boyfriend--his brother. As in any good spy story, there's duplicity and deception at every turn. It's hard to know who to trust, or to fathom how the characters at the center of all the intrigue will disentangle themselves from the web of lies and deceit. That prospect will keep you guessing [and reading] until the end. FIVE STARS!
August 12, 2014
CYBER THRILLER FILLS THE BILL!
Looking for a cyber thriller? ENCRYPTION fills the bill. Murder and mayhem abound as a family seeks to solve the murder of Chris Hammond, a financial director seeking answers to questionable practices for the investors of Appleby Engineering. A well-written story of how far international security agencies and the people who work for them will go to protect their secrets. Kudos to author Bill Ward who kept me turning the pages and left me with plenty of food for thought regarding international security and individual rights. ~ Bette A. Stevens, author of award-winning picture book: Amazing Matilda and children's activity book The Tangram Zoo and Word Puzzles Too! 1950s short story adventure PURE TRASH: The Story: Shawn Daniels in a Poor Boy's Adventure: 1950s Rural New England
Looking for a cyber thriller? ENCRYPTION fills the bill. Murder and mayhem abound as a family seeks to solve the murder of Chris Hammond, a financial director seeking answers to questionable practices for the investors of Appleby Engineering. A well-written story of how far international security agencies and the people who work for them will go to protect their secrets. Kudos to author Bill Ward who kept me turning the pages and left me with plenty of food for thought regarding international security and individual rights. ~ Bette A. Stevens, author of award-winning picture book: Amazing Matilda and children's activity book The Tangram Zoo and Word Puzzles Too! 1950s short story adventure PURE TRASH: The Story: Shawn Daniels in a Poor Boy's Adventure: 1950s Rural New England
September 5, 2014
This is a great story! Once I started reading it, I could not put it down. I love how the characters develop. They each have their flaws and the author is not shy about discussing them. Jenny, a character of strong moral principles struggles with admitting her infidelity. This is an exciting thriller with pieces falling into place until the very end. The story is full of action but also takes time to explain encryption and its value. A captivating read that is related to recent events. Peter Hammond shines a light on surveillance and fighting terrorism that really made me reconsider those issues. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend reading this or one of his other works.
October 5, 2014
Twists and turns galore! Encryption is like a nicely packaged gift; one that when opened, delights. Full of memorable characters and enough twists and turns to impress all diehard thriller junkies, it is a wonderful read. The story delves into the mystery of why Chris Hammond, a financial manager for a tech company, is murdered. Chris leaves behind his wife Jenny, two children, and his estranged brother, Peter who is more than he seems at first glance. Encryption would make a great film, with enough hairpin twists to keep everyone guessing. The novel also raises moral questions about just how far a government can go to monitor its citizens (and enemies) in the name of security. I can hardly wait to read another book by this author! Highly recommended!
October 8, 2014
A superior read in a crowded genre!
As far as spy thrillers go, this is one out of the box. Spine-tingling, fast-paced and action-filled. Added to that it’s oh so timely, tapping in to the fight against terrorism, the dangers of a Big Brother government, the complexities of international political dealings and last but not least the very real risks posed by the Internet and by those who use and abuse it.
The character arcs are mightily impressive – always the sign of a good writer – but it’s the unique storyline that grabbed this reviewer. Fresh and unique. I’m a fan of this author!
August 27, 2016
This is the second novel I have had the pleasure of reading from this author. I was thrilled to see that the fast-paced, unpredictable writing style has followed through to his latest work. The action quickly begins with Peter Hammond returning home to seek answers to his brother's suspicious death. Soon he finds himself in a plot twisting gauntlet of danger and peril. The story line never leads in a straight line and will leave the reader guessing at every dark corner. Never boring and definitely worth the wait.
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May 10, 2016Bill Ward's "Encryption" has a clever, believable plot that was an enjoyable read overall. I felt like the author's style was a bit stiff, leaving me feeling like I wished he had let out the reins and let the story gallop some more. To be fair, I had just finished Terry Hayes' "I Am Pilgrim", by which raised the bar impossibly high. Overall, a good effort and an enjoyable read from this Indie author.
April 5, 2015
I love a story full of twists throughout the plot and there are no shortages here. The author has done a brilliant job in adding plenty of red herrings and diversions from the actual guilty party. I found myself guessing who actually did the crime, right until the final chapters.
March 6, 2019
I wanted to read this novel because I am interested in the technology available for protecting information. I write novels that use some of the same tech tools out in the public domain and I thought this book would provide more detail in that regard. I was hoping Bill would provide more of it given his background in IT. However, Bill has a talent for creating and enriching a captivating crime/mystery/ spy novel with interesting characters and plot twists. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and perhaps Bill thought too much tech detail would bore some readers.
December 28, 2014
Encryption pulls the reader into a world of deadly intrigue. We follow a conscientious accountant who is hired as Financial Director to square away the accounts of a software firm and ends up getting into a lot more than he bargained for. His dogged pursuit of cleaning up some financial anomalies opens the door to corruption and intelligence agency abuse of power. He pays the ultimate price. His brother, a spy, comes home after years abroad to his funeral—and as it works out—to avenge his murder. Not an easy job finding out who did it. The many layers of mystery are peeled back at a good pace to keep the pages turning. Its intricate plot is satisfying for the who-done-it buff.
Jenny the love interest has a unique and peculiar role in this story. She has shagged a couple of the good guys and a couple of the bad guys unbeknownst to each other at the time. OK that’s different. But it makes for an unusual story, which I appreciate. She is also capable of a wide range of behaviors from sensitive love to full on S&M. That’s OK, but I think the text could have described her emotions in a more believable way at times. For example at the discovery of the body she screamed but she had no other emotional or physical reactions. A few days later she was out for full on kink sex, suggesting again an emotional coldness that made it hard for me to like her. Other characters I found to be pretty well drawn for the most part.
This book tackles a subject of great current concern: the cyber world we communicate in and how secure we can be in it. I was glad to see this subject in the major plot line. Encryption was described to the right level for accessibility to the readers. The big issues of government involvement were also confronted. We all want to be secure from unwanted eyes and ears zeroed in on what we have to say or display—and we don’t want the government zeroed in either. The national security services in the story were portrayed as: One bad; one neutral (although it killed innocent people for the common good); and one pretty nice—with well-dressed, polite people. I think the characterizations of these organizations could have been more even-handed, but I nonetheless applaud Bill Ward for getting these behind-the-scenes guys out into the discussion space of good fiction writing.
In summary, I recommend this book. True I had a few gripes—but the author’s willingness to go for the unique story and the tough social issues made it a damned interesting read for me.
Jenny the love interest has a unique and peculiar role in this story. She has shagged a couple of the good guys and a couple of the bad guys unbeknownst to each other at the time. OK that’s different. But it makes for an unusual story, which I appreciate. She is also capable of a wide range of behaviors from sensitive love to full on S&M. That’s OK, but I think the text could have described her emotions in a more believable way at times. For example at the discovery of the body she screamed but she had no other emotional or physical reactions. A few days later she was out for full on kink sex, suggesting again an emotional coldness that made it hard for me to like her. Other characters I found to be pretty well drawn for the most part.
This book tackles a subject of great current concern: the cyber world we communicate in and how secure we can be in it. I was glad to see this subject in the major plot line. Encryption was described to the right level for accessibility to the readers. The big issues of government involvement were also confronted. We all want to be secure from unwanted eyes and ears zeroed in on what we have to say or display—and we don’t want the government zeroed in either. The national security services in the story were portrayed as: One bad; one neutral (although it killed innocent people for the common good); and one pretty nice—with well-dressed, polite people. I think the characterizations of these organizations could have been more even-handed, but I nonetheless applaud Bill Ward for getting these behind-the-scenes guys out into the discussion space of good fiction writing.
In summary, I recommend this book. True I had a few gripes—but the author’s willingness to go for the unique story and the tough social issues made it a damned interesting read for me.
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