Dark Webb

by Harry Dayle

"Meet Amy. Should she live, or should she die? Her fate is in your hands! Vote now…" Reclusive website designer Thaddeus Webb thinks he knows the internet, but a brief excursion into its shadier regions throws up more than he bargained for. He stumbles across a harrowing video of a captive girl, her destiny to be decided by paying voters. When it becomes clear the authorities aren’t taking the plight of the victim seriously, Thad knows he can’t stand by and do nothing. Could this be his chance to redeem himself for the sins of his past? Before he knows it, he’s become embroiled in a search that traverses both physical space and cyber-space as he works to track down the un-trackable, trace the untraceable, and try to save the blameless teenager before the vote reaches its grisly conclusion. Dark Webb is the first in a brand new series from Harry Dayle, author of the acclaimed Noah’s Ark and The Faslane Files.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Ebooks

353 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 4, 2016

About the author

British chap Harry Dayle lives with his domesticated animals and undomesticated wife and daughter in the middle of rural France. When he’s not writing in his secret woodland retreat, Harry spends his days battling entropy.

Reviews

[The Sassy Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one for the most part. The plot was interesting. The characters were intriguing. It was maybe a tad too long, but all in all, I liked it enough that I will check out the next book in the series TANGLED WEBB.

[Star Shining Forever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This book was my introduction to the Dark Web, that part of the Internet that isn't accessible by search engines, that you need to download a special Tor browser to access, where you can get to websites by typing in a string of letters and numbers with .onion at the end, and where bad things happen.

Venturing into the Dark Web to anonymously purchase some drugs to ease the pain from a medical condition, ordinary Web designer Thad never expected to stumble across a heinous crime about to go down. A kidnapped girl is being held by someone putting her future to a vote: money decides whether she's released or brutally murdered on live streaming Internet. Convincing the police fails, and teaming up with the missing girl's sister Claire proves almost as formidable, but Thad's the only lead Claire's got, and he truly wants to help. Why, she can't figure, but she'll take his tech and hacker skills over the sluggish, apathetic police any day.

A combination of Thad's knowledge of both Clear and Dark Web, late nights tracking the unique trails of Bitcoins, playing a PI and impersonating a policeman, tracking down and questioning witnesses, and pure guts and determination nets Thad and Claire more than they'd ever hoped for in the way of leads. But with the clock ticking down on Amy's life and the police to dodge, can they get to her in time?

There's already a conundrum regarding anonymity on the Web. On the one hand, there's lots: sitting behind a screen emboldens words and actions normally not dared. On the other hand, it's a type of vulnerability: so much of life is online that the right hacking skills can lay out, or destroy, anything and everything that's important. When two master hackers go toe-to-toe, sparks fly.

A second story is intertwined with Thad and Claire's, one that's told in first person and gets you wondering which character's formative years you're privy to. That young man's story is a cautionary tale on the dangers of living it up in the city and getting into bigger trouble than you can get out of. Almost proverbially, young hardworking men rise to better life and fall deep into the devastating clutches of drinking, money, and sex. Then our narrator realizes a trap has been sprung that he cannot escape without wrecking lives, his own not the least. The below verses from Proverbs are ones he and all young adults would be wise to heed.



Whoever loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich. -Proverbs 21:17

There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches. -Proverbs 13:7

Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise. -Proverbs 20:1

To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words. -Proverbs 2:16

There is some swearing and crude language, but not terribly much. The start of something romantic between Claire and Thad was stupid; their friendly, father-daughter relationship is more natural and way better. The "feeling" of immorality being wrong that's described by various characters is just the conscience--doing what it's there to do, warn you to stop doing wrong! That's heartening to see as a theme in a book.

It's an informative, entertaining, read with positive morals. Oh, and it's set in Britain so it's fun to read it in a British accent 😉

[David Pospisil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent crime mystery.
Interesting characters and tech with a satisfying ending.

[Oliwia · Rating 5 out of 5]

całkiem fajne i podobało mi sie połączenir historii. jednak za mało powiedziane na końcu…

[Roxana Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting book, unusual compared to what I have read so far.
This book is an introduction to what dark web and cryptocurrencies mean, all incorporated into a story. The author seems have knowledge about these fields.
Regarding the story itself, it actually starts like two separate stories and I was so curious to understand how they are related, because I thought they should be and you will not find out until almost the end of the book, but there will be clues if you pay attention to them. And to be honest, even if at the beginning I did not like this style of parallel stories, it really made me curious and I think this is the attribute of this book that attracted me. The whole story actually makes you curious, until the very last page of the book. The author has a writing style which is very descriptive and dynamic as well, so for sure you will imagine a lot of what is happening. Personally I like this style very much, because it is not boring. But to be honest, I got scared of what I have read many times over the course of this book. I was shocked as well. This book actually gave me a lot of feelings and I really felt I lived the emotions.
It is also worth mentioning that this book has a relative small amount of characters.
What I didn't like about this book though was the ending, which actually from my point of view did not really seem an ending, it felt like the story remained unfinished, many things remained unexplained, many things unsaid maybe.
I know that after this book, there are two more but from reading the synopsis, I can tell those are not very related to this one. From my point of view, if a book is part of a series, it should make sense by itself, but also to make you curious about what happens next. Somehow, for me it did not make sense at the end. I felt like I have waited so long to see the outcome, but many questions remained unanswered.
I really liked the book overall, but I would have wanted a bit more. My review points are mainly based on the fact that it was exciting to read this book.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is really good. It was at no point predictable for me. So many stories leave me disappointed. Not this one

[madi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read worse, but at least half of the book was nonfiction about how the internet and other pieces of technology work. At best, a brief description could have been given a footnote or two, but entire chapters worth of pages full of something we can look up if unfamiliar... reminded me of that lady in little britain writing books with outside "inspiration". I think at some point the writer got bored and just wrote something along the lines of "this was a difficult task, but Thad was an expert so he figured it out", but not saying how, which is a strange choice and a lazy shortcut betraying the reader after having read through several chapters consisting of wiki articles. There were also plenty of insensitive remarks about east europeans and even "nordic" and "scandinavian" were used in confusing ways, unsure if the writer can even differentiate other people or just threw in some names of countries and origins, hoping noone would notice. Maybe don't talk about other people categories if you know nothing about them. East europeans were mocked and shown in a bad light and this didn't even do anything to move the plot (like for instance racism did for Simisola - which I don't encourage, but it at least connected the plot; dark webb doesn't even do that, just wanted to tarnish the polish most of all).

[Jefrois · Rating 1 out of 5]

.
.
I got
REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY


TIRED

OF THIS P OS AND QUIT READING AT ABOUT PAGE 146 AND DUMPED THE BOOK.
.
.

[Haiduc Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly written and enjoyable.


The plot is set around finding the missing teenager Amy. One day, she goes missing and so, her sister, Claire, sets out to find her. In the same time, Thadeus Webb, a web designer, also finds out about Amy and wants to find her, bothered by the past actions he feels the need to atone for, and by the page he saw on the dark web, showing the girl being held captive. He tries to reach out to Claire and team up with her, and at the same time, starts using some fishy methods, crossing legal boundaries for the greater good.

In general, the book kept me interested, without having to force myself to keep reading. The way Matt's story develops and eventually meets the main plot was, indeed, sublime. I feel like the little romance which was brought into the story was a tiny bit forced. Even though it makes sense why Claire would like the guy who is trying to find her sister harder than the police, their relationship during all events was more of a father-daughter one rather than a boyfriend-girlfriend one.

I wholeheartedly reccomend reading this book if you like stories about missing persons and those that delve into the exhilarating realm of the dark web.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thriller

This is a British Thriller with British English. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that except that I was thrown out of the story a few times because of different phrases. This was my problem, not the author's. 😊 I quickly figured out what was being said.

Although this story moved a bit slowly at times, it was still a good read.

Thaddeus Webb is an interesting character. I suppose that I would call him an anti-hero.

The ending has no real closure so I will need to read the next book in this series.

[Mike Clovis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It should be a movie.

If a book involving the Internet can be intriguing, fast-paced, and thrilling, then this is it. The only thing I found odd was how obvious the story's real villain was, but this was probably a technique the author used. For most of the book, you wonder how the hero will reveal the villain. When it finally happens, the author uses it as the hook for the next book in the
series. Nothing wrong with that, but you always hope for the bad guy to get what is coming to him. That part of the story is left to the reader's imagination. Still a great read.

[Amanda Sassy-pants · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thad: a dark past and sins to atone for. Matt: a naive young man, running from the pain of losing his parents and getting mixed up with the darker sides of London. Amy: young and beautiful, held captive but for how long? The author brings these and other characters together in a story of one haunted man who is trying desperately to right past wrongs and of others whose disturbing desires lead them to the darkest corners of the mind.

[bex · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 star

Mostly decently written. Some small stuff annoyed me. I'd probably have liked it more if I were more inclined to this type if novel. Darker and grittier than I usually like. MC in a grey zone that makes him likeable at times but I question that from other behaviors, so harder to feel invested in him.

[David Wagg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the type of book I usually avoid.There are horrible things in the world but I would rather not know about them.The Tor system for surfing the so called Dark Web, was developed by the US navy.There is criminal activity here, ie Silk road but also Whistle blowers and freedom loving individuals who wish to make Government monitoring more difficult.

[Illustrious Illusions · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good suspense with a good explanation into the dark web. The story has a few twists and turns that you might not be expecting and some good characters.

It's a little slow in spots and a little overly descriptive if you are familiar with the technology.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very scary and enjoyable read. Educational as to the workings of the dark web and bitcoin. The book kept me guessing as to the relationship between the male leads in 1999 vs 2015. I loved all the twists and surprises and want to read the rest of the series.

[ruthie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was incredibly thrilling, and the ending was not at all what I had predicted. It’s been a while since a book truly intrigued me and kept me guessing until the very end. The character and plot development were really well done, making every twist feel earned.

If you love a gripping, unpredictable thriller, this one is definitely worth the read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 Stars)

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Webb

I enjoyed reading your book. It was well written and kept my interest throughout. I have already purchased Tangled Webb. Looking forward to reading it. Really good read.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

great story, really liked this book. look forward to reading more from this author.

[Dawnn Fuss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a ride. I am a fan. I'll be picking up the next book in the series.

[Joanne]

I enjoyed this book. Disappointed there isn't a sequel.

[Philip Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

I like these techno thrillers and the plot was very easy to follow. Not too geeky but just a good story. Interesting past thread as the story unfolds.

[disperands · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5❤️

[Constance M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

took a while to figure out connections.
ended with an obvious possibility of future stories

[The Rad Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written for theradbooks.blogspot.com
Summary:
Taken from Goodreads.com:
“Reclusive website designer Thaddeus Webb thinks he knows the internet, but a brief excursion into its shadier regions throws up more than he bargained for. He stumbles across a harrowing video of a captive girl, her destiny to be decided by paying voters.
When it becomes clear the authorities aren’t taking the plight of the victim seriously, Thad knows he can’t stand by and do nothing. Could this be his chance to redeem himself for the sins of his past?
Before he knows it, he’s become embroiled in a search that traverses both physical space and cyber-space as he works to track down the un-trackable, trace the untraceable, and try to save the blameless teenager before the vote reaches its grisly conclusion.”
Pros:
· I loved this plot so much! It taught me a lot of new information about the dark web while keeping me entertained.
· I loved how the story jumped from past to present to show two different stories that eventually are connected at the end.
Cons:
· There were only a few parts that I felt dragged on a bit.
Final Thoughts:
I loved this book way more than I expected to. It had mystery and crimes that were not too graphic. Each piece of evidence that was uncovered made me want to read more and more. I also have never found a book dealing with crime on the dark web so that made it stand out to me. It also taught me a lot about the dark web that I didn’t know. I would definitely recommend for fans of crime novels!

[Ramon Somoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story I relished, as it is one of the very few times that I have seen a thriller using the dark web as its background. The author has either a Computer Sciences background or has done his research well, because I could not find any technical errors in the plot.
Interestingly, the main character has himself quite a few shadows in his life - and when you find out what those are, suddenly your sympathy with him will fall quite a few degrees. At least mine did.
Having stated that, the plot is interesting, and it is difficult to lay down the book once you have started. However, I think that the end has been somewhat forced, so as to maintain the series open. And ingratitude seems to be a trait that I was not expecting from the female'character, not to speak about the credulity that she displays at the end, while the rest of the book she has been just the opposite. As stated, a little bit forced.
Having stated that, the book is a good read that I can greatly recommend. And yes, the dark web is like that... and even worse!

[Atiqah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harry Dayle has a knack for simplifying concepts on the internet, technology, and information technology. Explaining BitCoin and how it works is a task in itself, to use it in a mysterious and suspenseful plot is another, but pulling it off is the biggest accomplishment.

Our main character is haunted by ghosts of his past and unfortunately, the story won’t be totally revealed (obviously) in this book. I’m going to have to get my hands on book 2 😩. I think what defines our main character Thad is his persistence in solving the crime. Although a far cry from superb hacker-characters, he puts his limited skills to fantastic use. His resourcefulness, however, is the game-changer time and time again.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own and are based on the advance readers version.

Read full review on Bookmarks & Blue Light

[Sean Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not quite on the level of ian Sutherland, but this was brilliant in itself. The history was excellently told through diary entries, the only slight flaw Webb's employment offer given his skillset (which at the beginning of the book seemed rather depressing for a modern web developer). But perhaps that's part of the point. In any event I look forward to reading the second one!

[BonusMom · Rating 4 out of 5]

To track a cyber criminal

Oh the things you will find when you start down a dark path! This is a very good read about cyber criminals and the dark net with a unexpected ending. Well written with believable characters and a very good plot.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great thriller that's geeky but accessible at the same time, and built with modern technology.