What do you think?
Rate this book
Social Misconduct
A timely and shocking thriller about a young woman who is the target of a social-media smear campaign.
“Smart, sardonic, sexy, suspenseful—and scary, because it’s probably true.” —Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series
Her perfect job becomes the perfect nightmare when a stalker hacks her phone.
Candace Walker is thrilled when she lands a new job at a hip Manhattan tech company and gets a brand-new iPhone. She’s more than ready to move on from creating clickbait ads for weight-loss pills and herbal erection boosters, and is determined to dazzle the startup team she joins.
A week later, though, everything is at Candace is the target of a mysterious harasser and an online smear campaign. She tosses her new phone into the Hudson River, begins hiding out in her sister’s storage locker in New Jersey, and can’t think of a single person she can trust. But Candace hasn’t come this far—and gone to such lengths—to submit to what is happening without a fight.
“Smart, sardonic, sexy, suspenseful—and scary, because it’s probably true.” —Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series
Her perfect job becomes the perfect nightmare when a stalker hacks her phone.
Candace Walker is thrilled when she lands a new job at a hip Manhattan tech company and gets a brand-new iPhone. She’s more than ready to move on from creating clickbait ads for weight-loss pills and herbal erection boosters, and is determined to dazzle the startup team she joins.
A week later, though, everything is at Candace is the target of a mysterious harasser and an online smear campaign. She tosses her new phone into the Hudson River, begins hiding out in her sister’s storage locker in New Jersey, and can’t think of a single person she can trust. But Candace hasn’t come this far—and gone to such lengths—to submit to what is happening without a fight.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 23, 2019
7 people are currently reading
511 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Maher
11 books26 followersStephen Maher is an award-winning journalist who has uncovered scandals, reported from Newfoundland outports, remote indigenous communities, jails, warships, hospitals, parliamentary chambers, Afghanistan and Haiti. His second novel, Salvage, was short-listed for awards by the Crime Writers of Canada and The International Thriller Writers.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
June 1, 2019
Synopsis
When Candace Walker starts a job at a marketing company in Manhattan, she's thrilled about the perks, which include a brand-new company iPhone. But someone should have told her not to click on attachments in texts from strangers. Her phone is hacked and her personal photos are shared with the world, threatening her career and her sanity. A week later she’s on the run, accused of murder, and terrified for her life...
Plot
This book is a cautionary tale about social media and internet security. Have strong passwords, people! The story line is timely, especially in an era where privacy is almost entirely nonexistent.
The chapters of Social Misconduct plunge forward with very little break in between the action. The chapters are short, and I often found myself thinking the cliché of “oh, well, I’ll just read one more chapter before bed”. That said, I sometimes thought the chapters were a little too short, since alternating chapters are in different timelines, and the transition between these two timelines often felt abrupt. I was just learning about another incident of sexual harassment that had happened to Candace at her workplace in the past, and I’m already launched back into the present, where she's in hiding and peeing into a bucket in a storage locker.
The novel has quite a few intriguing twists, although the final twist was a little obvious.
Language
As I said before, the story is very fast-paced, and there isn’t much time devoted to setting the scene or long-winded physical descriptions of characters, which I greatly appreciate in a thriller. However, the language Maher uses is a little too on-the-nose. The protagonist is a millennial who works in marketing, and she talks exactly how you would expect a millennial stereotype to talk. I understand that he’s going for authenticity, but how many times should he say “lame” before it comes across less "genuine", and more "lazy writing"? At times it was cringe-worthy, and resulted in an unintended lessening of the suspense of the novel. How frightened can a reader be about a psychotic stalker when the main character is saying “FML”. That made me LOL. (See what I did there?)
Character
I know quite a few vegans, and it’s characters like Candace Walker who give vegans a bad name. I wanted to slap her more than a few times. She’s self-righteous, even though she gives up her values in an instant for the opportunity to do marketing for a cheese company. *Insert eye roll here, please.*
I already talked a little bit about her character in the language section, but it became quite evident to me that Candace was two-dimensional. This is fine—since this is a primarily plot-driven book—but I would have been able to increase the number of stars in my rating if the character had been more believable to an actual human female millennial who does communications and marketing as a part of her job (me).
Also – Candace’s career is in shambles, yet she’s worried about her sister moving in on her crush? Seriously? She’s ambitious enough to give up her morals (veganism) in order to get ahead, yet when her future is on the line, she’s more worried about a guy she just met liking her sister more than he likes her. To be honest, I don’t blame him.
Another thing that really grated on my nerves was Candace’s casual considerations of committing suicide. This could be a legitimate character development for someone going through this type of experience; HOWEVER, it was not reflected in Candace’s outlook on life. It was too casual. It's unsettling, how she flippantly mentions that suicide's a possible way out. Again, the way this came across might be because it's a primarily plot-driven book, and Maher didn't have a chance to delve very deeply into her psyche. But since it's written in her point of view (in first person), I feel that if she was truly suffering from depression, it should have manifested itself in other aspects of her personality and inner dialogue.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for a timely, rocket-ship-paced thriller about internet security. It's primarily plot-driven, and meant for those who want a quick thriller to read, not an in-depth character study of a millennial on the run.
*Thank you to Simon Schuster and OLA Super Conference for the ARC for review*
This review appeared first on https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/
Instagram | Blog | Website | Twitter
My 2019 Reading Challenge
When Candace Walker starts a job at a marketing company in Manhattan, she's thrilled about the perks, which include a brand-new company iPhone. But someone should have told her not to click on attachments in texts from strangers. Her phone is hacked and her personal photos are shared with the world, threatening her career and her sanity. A week later she’s on the run, accused of murder, and terrified for her life...
Plot
This book is a cautionary tale about social media and internet security. Have strong passwords, people! The story line is timely, especially in an era where privacy is almost entirely nonexistent.
The chapters of Social Misconduct plunge forward with very little break in between the action. The chapters are short, and I often found myself thinking the cliché of “oh, well, I’ll just read one more chapter before bed”. That said, I sometimes thought the chapters were a little too short, since alternating chapters are in different timelines, and the transition between these two timelines often felt abrupt. I was just learning about another incident of sexual harassment that had happened to Candace at her workplace in the past, and I’m already launched back into the present, where she's in hiding and peeing into a bucket in a storage locker.
The novel has quite a few intriguing twists, although the final twist was a little obvious.
Language
As I said before, the story is very fast-paced, and there isn’t much time devoted to setting the scene or long-winded physical descriptions of characters, which I greatly appreciate in a thriller. However, the language Maher uses is a little too on-the-nose. The protagonist is a millennial who works in marketing, and she talks exactly how you would expect a millennial stereotype to talk. I understand that he’s going for authenticity, but how many times should he say “lame” before it comes across less "genuine", and more "lazy writing"? At times it was cringe-worthy, and resulted in an unintended lessening of the suspense of the novel. How frightened can a reader be about a psychotic stalker when the main character is saying “FML”. That made me LOL. (See what I did there?)
Character
I know quite a few vegans, and it’s characters like Candace Walker who give vegans a bad name. I wanted to slap her more than a few times. She’s self-righteous, even though she gives up her values in an instant for the opportunity to do marketing for a cheese company. *Insert eye roll here, please.*
I already talked a little bit about her character in the language section, but it became quite evident to me that Candace was two-dimensional. This is fine—since this is a primarily plot-driven book—but I would have been able to increase the number of stars in my rating if the character had been more believable to an actual human female millennial who does communications and marketing as a part of her job (me).
Also – Candace’s career is in shambles, yet she’s worried about her sister moving in on her crush? Seriously? She’s ambitious enough to give up her morals (veganism) in order to get ahead, yet when her future is on the line, she’s more worried about a guy she just met liking her sister more than he likes her. To be honest, I don’t blame him.
Another thing that really grated on my nerves was Candace’s casual considerations of committing suicide. This could be a legitimate character development for someone going through this type of experience; HOWEVER, it was not reflected in Candace’s outlook on life. It was too casual. It's unsettling, how she flippantly mentions that suicide's a possible way out. Again, the way this came across might be because it's a primarily plot-driven book, and Maher didn't have a chance to delve very deeply into her psyche. But since it's written in her point of view (in first person), I feel that if she was truly suffering from depression, it should have manifested itself in other aspects of her personality and inner dialogue.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for a timely, rocket-ship-paced thriller about internet security. It's primarily plot-driven, and meant for those who want a quick thriller to read, not an in-depth character study of a millennial on the run.
*Thank you to Simon Schuster and OLA Super Conference for the ARC for review*
This review appeared first on https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/
Instagram | Blog | Website | Twitter
My 2019 Reading Challenge
June 5, 2020
Social Misconduct by S.J. Maher was an intriguing thriller.
Candace Walker is a social media guru/specialist who gets an interesting job. Once she goes to a party and meets some new friends (and cute guys), suddenly she's getting sexually harassed and threatened all of the time. She tries to get help from the company she works for and her lawyer sister, but it seems like it's never ending... until things get worse.
The first half of this book almost had me DNF-ing. It was very social justice warrior, obsessive vegan and crazy Millennial-esque. It reminded me of the people us Millennials make fun of because they are so over the top about their world saving antics. It was kinda cringey for me, but other readers who make fun of said Millennials will probably get a kick out of it. I rolled my eyes a lot at some of the passages, but decided to just keep putting it down and jumping back to it at a later time.
The second half of this book is a super fun, fast paced and has some wild twists and turns. I wouldn't have guessed the ending by any means, it was honestly quite shocking. It seemed to be for the shock factor though, because the ending was just... an ending. It didn't solve any of the problems of the book for me. Sure, it finished some of the plot lines but it kinda made the story worse for me. I didn't feel like anything had really been resolved.
The chapters are very short, so this isn't the kind of book you want to say "just one more chapter" because suddenly you've read six more. Some chapters are only a couple of pages (mine was an ARC copy so it may be a wee bit different than the final version), and they move really fast.
There's also some loosely tossed about suicide comments, which made me cringe even more. This book felt like it was going for the shock factor, but it just didn't hit it right for me. Like, "hey, I want to kill myself" and then "nah, nevermind, I'm cool. I took an Ambien." Like... what? It was so easy and casual and as if it was something everybody says to their neighbours when they walk out of the house. It sat really weird with me. That's a big issue and it was just used as a random comment for this book. Additionally, there's lots of comments about rape. And yes, in a scary situation like this rape and suicide are things that happen but it's just... so casual. So much casual rape and suicide, which is not a sentence I want to type or hear. Ick.
Also, Sandy Hook conspiracy theories.... Double ick.
Overall, this book is 250% not for me. I did not enjoy it due to the problematic factors I listed above. There will be many people who's enjoy it: it's thrilling, full of mystery and there for the shock factor. I would recommend it if you like those kind of things. It simply was just not a good fit for me as a reader.
Two out of five stars.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Candace Walker is a social media guru/specialist who gets an interesting job. Once she goes to a party and meets some new friends (and cute guys), suddenly she's getting sexually harassed and threatened all of the time. She tries to get help from the company she works for and her lawyer sister, but it seems like it's never ending... until things get worse.
The first half of this book almost had me DNF-ing. It was very social justice warrior, obsessive vegan and crazy Millennial-esque. It reminded me of the people us Millennials make fun of because they are so over the top about their world saving antics. It was kinda cringey for me, but other readers who make fun of said Millennials will probably get a kick out of it. I rolled my eyes a lot at some of the passages, but decided to just keep putting it down and jumping back to it at a later time.
The second half of this book is a super fun, fast paced and has some wild twists and turns. I wouldn't have guessed the ending by any means, it was honestly quite shocking. It seemed to be for the shock factor though, because the ending was just... an ending. It didn't solve any of the problems of the book for me. Sure, it finished some of the plot lines but it kinda made the story worse for me. I didn't feel like anything had really been resolved.
The chapters are very short, so this isn't the kind of book you want to say "just one more chapter" because suddenly you've read six more. Some chapters are only a couple of pages (mine was an ARC copy so it may be a wee bit different than the final version), and they move really fast.
There's also some loosely tossed about suicide comments, which made me cringe even more. This book felt like it was going for the shock factor, but it just didn't hit it right for me. Like, "hey, I want to kill myself" and then "nah, nevermind, I'm cool. I took an Ambien." Like... what? It was so easy and casual and as if it was something everybody says to their neighbours when they walk out of the house. It sat really weird with me. That's a big issue and it was just used as a random comment for this book. Additionally, there's lots of comments about rape. And yes, in a scary situation like this rape and suicide are things that happen but it's just... so casual. So much casual rape and suicide, which is not a sentence I want to type or hear. Ick.
Also, Sandy Hook conspiracy theories.... Double ick.
Overall, this book is 250% not for me. I did not enjoy it due to the problematic factors I listed above. There will be many people who's enjoy it: it's thrilling, full of mystery and there for the shock factor. I would recommend it if you like those kind of things. It simply was just not a good fit for me as a reader.
Two out of five stars.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
February 26, 2019
Social Misconduct was not good. The writing and grammar could use some work. I didn't know that S.J. Maher was a male author when I initially requested the book from NetGalley, but you can still tell that Candace's voice isn't realistic or authentically female. No one actually says "FML" or "AF" or "hawt". None of the characters are likeable and Candace is the worst, which makes it hard to empathize with her in her situation. Candace judges people based on stereotypes, she is an annoying vegan, and she thinks she's hot shit and is entitled to everyone and everything.
Aside from the horrible characters, the whole story felt really gross and the author tended to throw around rape quite loosely. It felt like the book was trying to go for shock value instead of being an interesting or thought-provoking crime thriller about social media. The author manages to fit in sexual harassment, workplace sexual harassment, rape, drugging people, prostitution, murder, and swatting—all without consequences—and also mentions Sandy Hook and the related conspiracy theory, which was completely unnecessary and irrelevant. I'm not sure what the author's intention for the novel was, but it definitely does not promote female empowerment (as suggested by the summary) and it's overall really creepy and unsettling (and not in a good way).
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
Aside from the horrible characters, the whole story felt really gross and the author tended to throw around rape quite loosely. It felt like the book was trying to go for shock value instead of being an interesting or thought-provoking crime thriller about social media. The author manages to fit in sexual harassment, workplace sexual harassment, rape, drugging people, prostitution, murder, and swatting—all without consequences—and also mentions Sandy Hook and the related conspiracy theory, which was completely unnecessary and irrelevant. I'm not sure what the author's intention for the novel was, but it definitely does not promote female empowerment (as suggested by the summary) and it's overall really creepy and unsettling (and not in a good way).
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
June 28, 2019
Do not waste your life reading this book. It is straight up horrible in every way possible. It was so bad you can actually predict the “bad guy” before he is even introduced as a character. None of the characters are likeable and to use the Sandy Hook school shooting to impose “shock value” on a plot is disgusting.
This book was so bad, it is the first ever review I have posted here, in hopes to save someone from the misery of reading it.
Also, poor grammar and word choice. Ew.
This book was so bad, it is the first ever review I have posted here, in hopes to save someone from the misery of reading it.
Also, poor grammar and word choice. Ew.
May 6, 2019
Talk about a real page turner! You could read this in a matter of hours with it’s short chapters. Alternating time periods keep the story moving even faster. A deranged book about hackers and social media that may just have you throwing your phone in the nearest river
February 20, 2019
*Book Review*
Social Misconduct
by S. J. Maher
Thanks to @netgalley @simonandschuster for an arc .
*I have a love hate relationship with this book. I read about a third, didn't like it and put it down. Two weeks later I felt like I should try it again. I'm so glad I did! It's slow going at first with a lot of whining and bitterness from Candace. Stick with it. It gets better. It's told in present tense, running, and past tense, the backstory of how this happened. When Candace really starts to run, the pace picks up. She's running from a murder charge and a social media smear campaign orchestrated by an unknown enemy. Candace asserts her innocence repeatedly. She's lost everything. I won't spoil anything, but she gets involved with some bad people by accident, and very bad shocking things happen. What?! At this point, I got a sense of dread about where this was going. The narrative sort of starts to turn in a direction that I didn't want to believe. She uses everything and everyone she can to help her escape. The story has a very unexpected twist that left me speechless! I didn't see it because it was buried so well. There is a menacing creepy vibe in the latter third of the story, which is justified. I just didn't imagine it would end like that. Candace is intelligent, intuitive and witty. She's good at many things that I won't mention here. This is a relevant story about the dangers of social media. Hackers can ruin your life. Sad, but true. People can't be trusted at all. .
#bookreview #currentread #bookstagrammer #amreading #bookstagram #NetGalley #bookaholic #booklovers #bookworm #bookish #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #arcbook #socialmisconduct #smmaher #ilovereading #bibliophile #instaread #readthisbook #bookshark
Social Misconduct
by S. J. Maher
Thanks to @netgalley @simonandschuster for an arc .
*I have a love hate relationship with this book. I read about a third, didn't like it and put it down. Two weeks later I felt like I should try it again. I'm so glad I did! It's slow going at first with a lot of whining and bitterness from Candace. Stick with it. It gets better. It's told in present tense, running, and past tense, the backstory of how this happened. When Candace really starts to run, the pace picks up. She's running from a murder charge and a social media smear campaign orchestrated by an unknown enemy. Candace asserts her innocence repeatedly. She's lost everything. I won't spoil anything, but she gets involved with some bad people by accident, and very bad shocking things happen. What?! At this point, I got a sense of dread about where this was going. The narrative sort of starts to turn in a direction that I didn't want to believe. She uses everything and everyone she can to help her escape. The story has a very unexpected twist that left me speechless! I didn't see it because it was buried so well. There is a menacing creepy vibe in the latter third of the story, which is justified. I just didn't imagine it would end like that. Candace is intelligent, intuitive and witty. She's good at many things that I won't mention here. This is a relevant story about the dangers of social media. Hackers can ruin your life. Sad, but true. People can't be trusted at all. .
#bookreview #currentread #bookstagrammer #amreading #bookstagram #NetGalley #bookaholic #booklovers #bookworm #bookish #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #arcbook #socialmisconduct #smmaher #ilovereading #bibliophile #instaread #readthisbook #bookshark
April 16, 2019
Social Misconduct begins with an incredibly slow paced opening. The reader is given an extreme amount of useless detail that bogs down the story and does not give readers incentive to continue the story. If it weren’t for the fact that I received an advanced copy, I would have DNF’ed the novel. The story finally picks up after about 80 pages and continues with an unrelenting pace until the final page of the novel.
Social Misconduct is billed as a story about the dangers of social media and how a social media smear campaign can wreck havoc on a person’s life. Instead, Social Misconduct is more about hacking and what happens when a hacker gains access to a person’s various social media accounts.
The novel is told through two timelines, the past and future. Readers follow Candace as she deals with the effects of being hacked in real time and the effects of the actions she took to deal with the hacker after-the-fact. This narrative choice may not have been the best since it does not serve the story as well as the author might have intended. The reader is presented with two vastly different characters that never really meet in the middle to justify such a drastic change in personality.
The biggest issue I had with Social Misconduct was my inability to connect or even tangentially enjoy Candace as a character. From her introduction, I found her to be annoying and unlikeable. Some of the decisions she made at the beginning of the novel made me scratching my head and lose almost all sympathy for her situation.
And, finally, Social Misconduct is overly sexual for no apparent reason. There are some sexually graphic scenes that serve no purpose than to be gratuitous. I’m not prude. I read a lot of romance novels that border on erotica with no problem. However, the scenes in Social Misconduct serve no purpose other than to be risqué for risqué sake.
Overall, Social Misconduct is a disappointing read that tries to get at the horrors of a social media smear campaign, but instead only highlights hackers and the stupidity of those who fall for them.
***I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.
Social Misconduct is billed as a story about the dangers of social media and how a social media smear campaign can wreck havoc on a person’s life. Instead, Social Misconduct is more about hacking and what happens when a hacker gains access to a person’s various social media accounts.
The novel is told through two timelines, the past and future. Readers follow Candace as she deals with the effects of being hacked in real time and the effects of the actions she took to deal with the hacker after-the-fact. This narrative choice may not have been the best since it does not serve the story as well as the author might have intended. The reader is presented with two vastly different characters that never really meet in the middle to justify such a drastic change in personality.
The biggest issue I had with Social Misconduct was my inability to connect or even tangentially enjoy Candace as a character. From her introduction, I found her to be annoying and unlikeable. Some of the decisions she made at the beginning of the novel made me scratching my head and lose almost all sympathy for her situation.
And, finally, Social Misconduct is overly sexual for no apparent reason. There are some sexually graphic scenes that serve no purpose than to be gratuitous. I’m not prude. I read a lot of romance novels that border on erotica with no problem. However, the scenes in Social Misconduct serve no purpose other than to be risqué for risqué sake.
Overall, Social Misconduct is a disappointing read that tries to get at the horrors of a social media smear campaign, but instead only highlights hackers and the stupidity of those who fall for them.
***I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.
April 28, 2019
Review can be found on my blog here: https://booksonthebookshelf.wordpress...
....
Thank you to the publisher for this eARC of the book via NetGalley.
....
This was the first book I have read by this author and I enjoyed it. I look forward to more books by this author.
Social Misconduct starts off with the main character Candace as she drops her phone into a river. She then takes a ferry to her destination, and is on the run from someone she believes is watching her and following her. This alone intrigued me and kept me wanting to read more. Is someone following her? Who would it be and why? And why would she drop her phone into the river?
This book is told in alternating timelines, and each chapter flips back and forth between past and present. I really enjoyed this style of the book as it allowed us little bits of information at a time and kept us wanting to read more to get all the pieces together. Slowly you get the full picture of what happened, and I find it adds to the suspense and leaves you wanting to know more, as you flip through the pages to see what happens next.
We learn that after Candace gets a new promotion at her job, she suddenly gets threatening text messages on her phone, saying that she owe this person and that if she doesn’t do as they say then she will pay! She thinks she knows who is sending her these messages and is confused why he is doing this to her and she thought they were friends. She soon doubts herself and wonders if she is wrong about the identity of the person sending her these messages. Is it truly who she thinks it is or is it someone else?
When you think about it social media can be a scary place, especially if someone gets your personal information and hacks into your phone or computer. I can’t imagine what that would be like.
Without giving too much away this was a great read. I was hooked and wanting to read more. Thanks for reading my review and hope you like this book as well.
....
Thank you to the publisher for this eARC of the book via NetGalley.
....
This was the first book I have read by this author and I enjoyed it. I look forward to more books by this author.
Social Misconduct starts off with the main character Candace as she drops her phone into a river. She then takes a ferry to her destination, and is on the run from someone she believes is watching her and following her. This alone intrigued me and kept me wanting to read more. Is someone following her? Who would it be and why? And why would she drop her phone into the river?
This book is told in alternating timelines, and each chapter flips back and forth between past and present. I really enjoyed this style of the book as it allowed us little bits of information at a time and kept us wanting to read more to get all the pieces together. Slowly you get the full picture of what happened, and I find it adds to the suspense and leaves you wanting to know more, as you flip through the pages to see what happens next.
We learn that after Candace gets a new promotion at her job, she suddenly gets threatening text messages on her phone, saying that she owe this person and that if she doesn’t do as they say then she will pay! She thinks she knows who is sending her these messages and is confused why he is doing this to her and she thought they were friends. She soon doubts herself and wonders if she is wrong about the identity of the person sending her these messages. Is it truly who she thinks it is or is it someone else?
When you think about it social media can be a scary place, especially if someone gets your personal information and hacks into your phone or computer. I can’t imagine what that would be like.
Without giving too much away this was a great read. I was hooked and wanting to read more. Thanks for reading my review and hope you like this book as well.
February 10, 2019
Well now I wanna DELETE all of my social media accounts!!!
June 9, 2019
I wanted to like Social Misconduct because I know the author personally. He lives up the street. Imagine if I didn't like his latest novel. Would I have to cross to the other side of the road if I saw him coming, or endure the agony of pretending that I liked it? You see, I cannot tell a lie.
Mercifully, it's a good read!
Social Misconduct is the third of Stephen Maher's novels that I've read and is my favourite after Deadline, which has locations in our 'hood so is a lot of fun. Social Misconduct is more sophisticated. I read a lot of cat-and-mouse narratives as I often binge on spy novels, detective fiction and courtroom dramas. His narrative style in this cyber-stalking whodunnit is pitch perfect for the story. I read it in one go on a flight to Vancouver, making the trip most enjoyable.
Mercifully, it's a good read!
Social Misconduct is the third of Stephen Maher's novels that I've read and is my favourite after Deadline, which has locations in our 'hood so is a lot of fun. Social Misconduct is more sophisticated. I read a lot of cat-and-mouse narratives as I often binge on spy novels, detective fiction and courtroom dramas. His narrative style in this cyber-stalking whodunnit is pitch perfect for the story. I read it in one go on a flight to Vancouver, making the trip most enjoyable.
July 8, 2019
If I could give this zero stars I would. I stopped reading it 15% of the way into it. I can't stand books that push a vegan agenda. I am a dairy farmer, and I was completely shocked with the false information they gave about dairy farms, painting us farmers in such a bad light. It was honestly disgusting and felt like the book had a secret agenda. So personally I'd like to to say a big of F U to S. J. Maher.
The worst part is that I was really looking forwards to reading this book, it sounded like it would be good. Now looking at all the overwhelming horrible reviews, I will remember to read reviews before I waste any of my precious time between the cows and the kids to read, so I don't end up reading garbage like this.
The worst part is that I was really looking forwards to reading this book, it sounded like it would be good. Now looking at all the overwhelming horrible reviews, I will remember to read reviews before I waste any of my precious time between the cows and the kids to read, so I don't end up reading garbage like this.
February 15, 2019
If you enjoy thrillers that are dark, twisty, suspenseful and unpredictable, you'll love this book. It's unique and well written - a great read for fans of GONE GIRL.
March 29, 2020
*won an advanced copy though Goodreads giveaway
Oh my god. Is how i feel about this book.
It was gripping and terrifying how easy it is to take apart someones whole life just by messing with their social media. And the scary part is that this happens all the time. Photos get leaked all the time and a picture follows your for the rest of your life.
We put our lives online for everyone to see and there is people out there who exploit it. Very good book for showing the horrors of social media and how far would you go to protect yourself.
Candace seems to lose all rational reactions after her Sister doesn't seem to believe her or anyone else in her life for that matter and turns to herself and lets her "Miss Busy" take over and basically handle everything in the worst way.
I was speculating and guessing the whole way through. Who did it? Why? How? And was surprised at the end. Also surprised/but not at the same time with Candace. The damage done to her made her unstable and handle things just as bad as the person who forced her down this road.
The book was a page turner. The alternative story from both while it is just happening and the fall out. Kept me wanting more and more.
Oh my god. Is how i feel about this book.
It was gripping and terrifying how easy it is to take apart someones whole life just by messing with their social media. And the scary part is that this happens all the time. Photos get leaked all the time and a picture follows your for the rest of your life.
We put our lives online for everyone to see and there is people out there who exploit it. Very good book for showing the horrors of social media and how far would you go to protect yourself.
Candace seems to lose all rational reactions after her Sister doesn't seem to believe her or anyone else in her life for that matter and turns to herself and lets her "Miss Busy" take over and basically handle everything in the worst way.
I was speculating and guessing the whole way through. Who did it? Why? How? And was surprised at the end. Also surprised/but not at the same time with Candace. The damage done to her made her unstable and handle things just as bad as the person who forced her down this road.
The book was a page turner. The alternative story from both while it is just happening and the fall out. Kept me wanting more and more.
June 9, 2019
The first thing so say about Social Misconduct by S.J. Maher is that it ends with the best kind of surprise: not a twist and not an implausible change of heart, but a revelation of what has really been going on all the time.
The novel is a sustained chase scene as the central character, Candace Walker, must run and duck and hide from an extremely unpleasant and persistent hacker/stalker, a violent pimp and the police forces of the USA and Canada. Short chapters are set alternately before and after the central event which precipitates Candace’s flight, yet the reader never loses the thread for a moment.
Candace tells her tale in the most intimate of first person narratives. Along with all the truly dreadful predicaments she faces with such pluck and determination, she seems to call out for the reader’s sympathy. Yet, somehow, even from the first page, I felt nothing more than a remote horror for what happens to her. Perhaps because it was so easy to imagine what she might tell me to do with my sympathy. Perhaps because of the truth, revealed only at the end, but has driven everything that happens.
The novel is a sustained chase scene as the central character, Candace Walker, must run and duck and hide from an extremely unpleasant and persistent hacker/stalker, a violent pimp and the police forces of the USA and Canada. Short chapters are set alternately before and after the central event which precipitates Candace’s flight, yet the reader never loses the thread for a moment.
Candace tells her tale in the most intimate of first person narratives. Along with all the truly dreadful predicaments she faces with such pluck and determination, she seems to call out for the reader’s sympathy. Yet, somehow, even from the first page, I felt nothing more than a remote horror for what happens to her. Perhaps because it was so easy to imagine what she might tell me to do with my sympathy. Perhaps because of the truth, revealed only at the end, but has driven everything that happens.
April 29, 2019
4-5 stars! While not my usual type of thriller, more a drama filled suspense story, I really enjoyed this read from page one! Thought that it was very captivating and real in the society in which we live today, which is completely addicted to social media, but forgets the pain and damage it often inflicts. I really recommend to most of my fellow social media addicts, slower at times, but worth reading.
Will be using in a challenge and recommending to the members of Chapter Chatter Pub!!
Will be using in a challenge and recommending to the members of Chapter Chatter Pub!!
January 30, 2019
I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
This one is creepy and vaguely misogynist - A woman is exploited and then tortured it just feels kind of porny and distracts from the actual mystery. I understand the book is supposed to be a takedown of Internet voyeurism but it actually seems to serve those tendencies more than critique
This one is creepy and vaguely misogynist - A woman is exploited and then tortured it just feels kind of porny and distracts from the actual mystery. I understand the book is supposed to be a takedown of Internet voyeurism but it actually seems to serve those tendencies more than critique
February 17, 2019
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I had high expectations for this thriller. The subject is of topicality (social medias, Internet voyeurism). It is well written, but I had to stop reading at 40% because the story wasn't going anywhere. Probably not my type of book.
Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for this ARC.
I had high expectations for this thriller. The subject is of topicality (social medias, Internet voyeurism). It is well written, but I had to stop reading at 40% because the story wasn't going anywhere. Probably not my type of book.
Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for this ARC.
September 12, 2019
I was intrigued by this book within the first few pages. This book tells the story of a strong feminist woman that has a deep rooted mistrust of men. Because of that I was shocked to see that the author was a man!! Otherwise, this is a very good book and also quite frightening because of how intrusive technology has become.
August 23, 2019
Book about a young millennial woman that is very clearly written by a man who's at least over the age of 45. Awkward read.
April 26, 2021
I'm really giving this book a 3.5 stars. The storyline quickly enticed me... As the novel shifts from past to present, so does the unravelling of Candace's life, both time frames are in a parallelly downward spiral. The first half is excellent, then it becomes surprisingly ridiculous. Although a lot of elements stopped making sense, I was still hooked. Enjoyable.
June 9, 2019
Despite the somewhat lower ratings of this book, I ended up really loving it - although, I can see why some people may have had issues with it, especially the ending.
Thanks so much to Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me a copy of this book, as part of the Thriller Chronicles promotion, for an honest review, as always, all opinions are my own.
Told in two timelines, this book follows Candace, a young woman who works as a click-driver for a social media marketing company. When she is offered a chance to work on a new project - along with a shiny new iPhone - she jumps on the chance. Even if it is to help sell Cheese of the Month subscriptions. Candace soon finds herself the target of an online harasser who has managed to hack her phone and has been posting risque photos on her behalf. The second timeline jumps to after an incident that leaves Candace on the run from the police and living in her sister's storage locker, her phone at the bottom of the Hudson River.
**Trigger Warning: This book deals with a lot of heavy issues including mention of rape/date rape, sexual harassment, sex work, and extreme violence/killing. While they are often only briefly mention, please proceed with caution. I won't be discussing these topics in the review.**
Despite not having clear markings, I thought the timeline component was a really important aspect of the book and it really made me keep reading (as if I wasn't hooked enough by the story itself!). Each chapter alternated with present and recent past, and while I was able to put together some of the pieces that connected them, Maher did a good job of building up to the incident where everything shifted.
I will warn you now, if you are not a fan of ambiguous endings, you probably won't like this book - or at least it's ending. While we don't REALLY find out what happened, there are a few different options provided for the reader to choose from and accept as an explanation. Despite this, I still found the ending to be fairly satisfying, I don't always necessarily need to have my hand held while every motive is explained.
While I have a lot of love for this book, there were some issues I had with it. I never got a good read on Candace, especially as the story progressed, and I would have liked to know a bit more about her. There were times when the story got really dark for no real reason, other to add shock value. It also was less about the issues of social media and more about the ability of someone to hack into anyone else's phone - which is fine, but the book wasn't marketed that way.
Overall, though, I did still devour this book and would recommend it if you are looking for a different sort of thriller.
Thanks so much to Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me a copy of this book, as part of the Thriller Chronicles promotion, for an honest review, as always, all opinions are my own.
Told in two timelines, this book follows Candace, a young woman who works as a click-driver for a social media marketing company. When she is offered a chance to work on a new project - along with a shiny new iPhone - she jumps on the chance. Even if it is to help sell Cheese of the Month subscriptions. Candace soon finds herself the target of an online harasser who has managed to hack her phone and has been posting risque photos on her behalf. The second timeline jumps to after an incident that leaves Candace on the run from the police and living in her sister's storage locker, her phone at the bottom of the Hudson River.
**Trigger Warning: This book deals with a lot of heavy issues including mention of rape/date rape, sexual harassment, sex work, and extreme violence/killing. While they are often only briefly mention, please proceed with caution. I won't be discussing these topics in the review.**
Despite not having clear markings, I thought the timeline component was a really important aspect of the book and it really made me keep reading (as if I wasn't hooked enough by the story itself!). Each chapter alternated with present and recent past, and while I was able to put together some of the pieces that connected them, Maher did a good job of building up to the incident where everything shifted.
I will warn you now, if you are not a fan of ambiguous endings, you probably won't like this book - or at least it's ending. While we don't REALLY find out what happened, there are a few different options provided for the reader to choose from and accept as an explanation. Despite this, I still found the ending to be fairly satisfying, I don't always necessarily need to have my hand held while every motive is explained.
While I have a lot of love for this book, there were some issues I had with it. I never got a good read on Candace, especially as the story progressed, and I would have liked to know a bit more about her. There were times when the story got really dark for no real reason, other to add shock value. It also was less about the issues of social media and more about the ability of someone to hack into anyone else's phone - which is fine, but the book wasn't marketed that way.
Overall, though, I did still devour this book and would recommend it if you are looking for a different sort of thriller.
May 27, 2019
Social Misconduct by S.J. Maher is a paranoia-inducing read that will make you want to delete your social media accounts—or at least immediately change all your passwords. In this creepy thriller, a young woman finds herself the target of online sexual harassment. But when your whole life is online, what do you do when someone threatens to take it over?
Candace works for tech company SoSol as a lowly ad writer of clickbait. After she receives a coveted promotion, she’s pitted against a coworker and the future of her job depends on the success of her new account. When a mysterious stranger texts her and offers her insider information, Candace can’t resist taking it. But what she doesn’t expect is the huge consequence of accepting this stranger’s help: her nude photo has been posted online without her consent.
Soon, Candace finds her mentions and DMs deluged with harassing messages from men’s rights activists, incels, and general creepers. She tries to handle the situation on her own, but clearly realizes she’s in over her head as she struggles to get to the bottom of who’s behind the vicious attacks against her.
I found Candace a pretty unlikable character, as I think she’s intended to be. At times, Candace’s internal monologue ventures into the satirical, with her stereotypical judgments on people who aren’t just like her. As annoying as her character is, what I gleaned is that her scenario could happen to any of us, a cautionary tale against trusting just anyone blindly. Despite the fact that Candace is rather awful at times, it doesn’t mean that she deserves the targeted sexual harassment of which she becomes a victim.
Told in alternating timelines of then and now, the story moves at a speedy pace, thanks to short chapters and an abundance of action. The ending isn’t what I expected—it takes a twisty turn into outlandish territory for me and I felt that some loose ends were left unresolved—but the story overall is one I enjoyed.
Candace works for tech company SoSol as a lowly ad writer of clickbait. After she receives a coveted promotion, she’s pitted against a coworker and the future of her job depends on the success of her new account. When a mysterious stranger texts her and offers her insider information, Candace can’t resist taking it. But what she doesn’t expect is the huge consequence of accepting this stranger’s help: her nude photo has been posted online without her consent.
Soon, Candace finds her mentions and DMs deluged with harassing messages from men’s rights activists, incels, and general creepers. She tries to handle the situation on her own, but clearly realizes she’s in over her head as she struggles to get to the bottom of who’s behind the vicious attacks against her.
I found Candace a pretty unlikable character, as I think she’s intended to be. At times, Candace’s internal monologue ventures into the satirical, with her stereotypical judgments on people who aren’t just like her. As annoying as her character is, what I gleaned is that her scenario could happen to any of us, a cautionary tale against trusting just anyone blindly. Despite the fact that Candace is rather awful at times, it doesn’t mean that she deserves the targeted sexual harassment of which she becomes a victim.
Told in alternating timelines of then and now, the story moves at a speedy pace, thanks to short chapters and an abundance of action. The ending isn’t what I expected—it takes a twisty turn into outlandish territory for me and I felt that some loose ends were left unresolved—but the story overall is one I enjoyed.
July 23, 2019
Description
A timely and shocking thriller about a young woman who is the target of a social-media smear campaign.
Her perfect job becomes the perfect nightmare when a stalker hacks her phone. Candace Walker is thrilled when she lands a new job at a hip Manhattan tech company and gets a brand-new iPhone. She’s more than ready to move on from creating clickbait ads for weight-loss pills and herbal erection boosters, and is determined to dazzle the startup team she joins. A week later, though, everything is at risk: Candace is the target of a mysterious harasser and an online smear campaign. She tosses her new phone into the Hudson River, begins hiding out in her sister’s storage locker in New Jersey, and can’t think of a single person she can trust. But Candace hasn’t come this far—and gone to such lengths—to submit to what is happening without a fight.
My Review
This is the first book I have read from this author and boy is it a whopper. It definitely has you thinking how easy it actually can be to be enthralled in a smear campaign. Most of all I think it's a lesson in Karma. The main character is displayed as a very judgmental and critical person and then ends up in a real mess. It is as described a timely and shocking thriller. In this day and age of social media and everything revolving around giving out our usernames and providing passwords to supposedly protect our information is still something you have to think twice about. The book just reinforced what I already knew, use VPN or all of your personal searches/logins. Never ever let anyone know your passwords and overall control to the best of your ability what you post on the web. Once it's out there it is not yours anymore and available to anyone.
That being said this was a very good book that had me nodding my head many times and thoroughly enjoying it from start to end.
I was provided this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion. I give this book a 4 Star
A timely and shocking thriller about a young woman who is the target of a social-media smear campaign.
Her perfect job becomes the perfect nightmare when a stalker hacks her phone. Candace Walker is thrilled when she lands a new job at a hip Manhattan tech company and gets a brand-new iPhone. She’s more than ready to move on from creating clickbait ads for weight-loss pills and herbal erection boosters, and is determined to dazzle the startup team she joins. A week later, though, everything is at risk: Candace is the target of a mysterious harasser and an online smear campaign. She tosses her new phone into the Hudson River, begins hiding out in her sister’s storage locker in New Jersey, and can’t think of a single person she can trust. But Candace hasn’t come this far—and gone to such lengths—to submit to what is happening without a fight.
My Review
This is the first book I have read from this author and boy is it a whopper. It definitely has you thinking how easy it actually can be to be enthralled in a smear campaign. Most of all I think it's a lesson in Karma. The main character is displayed as a very judgmental and critical person and then ends up in a real mess. It is as described a timely and shocking thriller. In this day and age of social media and everything revolving around giving out our usernames and providing passwords to supposedly protect our information is still something you have to think twice about. The book just reinforced what I already knew, use VPN or all of your personal searches/logins. Never ever let anyone know your passwords and overall control to the best of your ability what you post on the web. Once it's out there it is not yours anymore and available to anyone.
That being said this was a very good book that had me nodding my head many times and thoroughly enjoying it from start to end.
I was provided this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion. I give this book a 4 Star
April 29, 2019
Social Misconduct stood out as interesting to me when I read the synopsis, but unfortunately the story itself didn't live up to that initial excitement.
It can be hard to truly invest in a story and it's outcome, when you feel no connection to the main characters- and that was the case with this novel. The main character was unreliable, and unlikable; she was judgmental and annoying. When Candace initially gets hacked and harassed, it's awful, but as the story moves forward I began to have a hard time continuing to empathize with her. I think part of the problem was the way the book was written. The alternating timeline chapters made it difficult to really grasp the complete change in her character. I never really saw that change or breakdown; it was like two different people. Candace's past wasn't deeply explored so her motivations weren't always clear.
I also struggled with how many topics were touched on in the story. The book covers prostitution, rape, murder, human trafficking, swatting, suicidal thoughts, drugging, Incel, paternal abuse, internet voyeurism, hacking, harassment. It almost felt like "you name it, it's mentioned." Certain topics and plot points were well developed, others felt like filler and unnecessary. It was too much.
The ending wasn't clean cut, and it seemed incomplete. The culprit wasn't one I had guessed, but sadly by this point it didn't matter who it was going to be.
Unfortunately, this social media cautionary tale missed the mark for me.
**Complimentary copy for review provided by Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley. All opinions expressed here are honest and entirely my own.**
It can be hard to truly invest in a story and it's outcome, when you feel no connection to the main characters- and that was the case with this novel. The main character was unreliable, and unlikable; she was judgmental and annoying. When Candace initially gets hacked and harassed, it's awful, but as the story moves forward I began to have a hard time continuing to empathize with her. I think part of the problem was the way the book was written. The alternating timeline chapters made it difficult to really grasp the complete change in her character. I never really saw that change or breakdown; it was like two different people. Candace's past wasn't deeply explored so her motivations weren't always clear.
I also struggled with how many topics were touched on in the story. The book covers prostitution, rape, murder, human trafficking, swatting, suicidal thoughts, drugging, Incel, paternal abuse, internet voyeurism, hacking, harassment. It almost felt like "you name it, it's mentioned." Certain topics and plot points were well developed, others felt like filler and unnecessary. It was too much.
The ending wasn't clean cut, and it seemed incomplete. The culprit wasn't one I had guessed, but sadly by this point it didn't matter who it was going to be.
Unfortunately, this social media cautionary tale missed the mark for me.
**Complimentary copy for review provided by Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley. All opinions expressed here are honest and entirely my own.**
April 15, 2019
I received this book as an advance read from the publisher.
I didn't enjoy this novel. I found it a little confusing and very unsatisfying in the end. I don't know if you find out the truth or not? It is not clear at all. The protagonist Candance is very unlikeable. She is an unreliable narrator. You don't really get a real grasp of who she really is. It is basically about a girl who works for a social media company that gets hacked. It flips between the present day- when she is hiding from the police from a suspected murder- and flashes back to before. You get glimpses into how the hacking came about but never really get to know enough to hook you.
The plot is all about social media and what can happen if you get hacked. Kinda a cautionary tale for people- especially women. It also has tough topics like incest, abuse, rape, drugs, and so on. I found that it needed to pick one topic and not just tough lightly on the other serious subjects. It makes the story lose its interest and power when the reader only gets to mentally and emotionally go through hard to read topics briefly.
I love reading Canadian content. I don't want to give away details because its not published yet but this is my honest review.
I didn't enjoy this novel. I found it a little confusing and very unsatisfying in the end. I don't know if you find out the truth or not? It is not clear at all. The protagonist Candance is very unlikeable. She is an unreliable narrator. You don't really get a real grasp of who she really is. It is basically about a girl who works for a social media company that gets hacked. It flips between the present day- when she is hiding from the police from a suspected murder- and flashes back to before. You get glimpses into how the hacking came about but never really get to know enough to hook you.
The plot is all about social media and what can happen if you get hacked. Kinda a cautionary tale for people- especially women. It also has tough topics like incest, abuse, rape, drugs, and so on. I found that it needed to pick one topic and not just tough lightly on the other serious subjects. It makes the story lose its interest and power when the reader only gets to mentally and emotionally go through hard to read topics briefly.
I love reading Canadian content. I don't want to give away details because its not published yet but this is my honest review.
May 23, 2019
This was a creepy thriller. I started reading it before bed, and I was getting so creeped out that I had to put it down. The way that Candace’s phone was hacked and she was harassed was so disturbing, yet it seemed realistic. There are so many ways to hack into technology and really affect people’s lives.
This story gave an inside look at the way social media can be used to promote companies. The ads that we see online are not always random, but are often targeted for the user. It was creepy to see how we can be manipulated through social media to purchase goods and services.
I can’t say much about this story without giving away the ending. It didn’t end the way I had predicted. I thought I had figured it out, but I was wrong. It was actually the solution that made the most sense, but I had ruled it out because of that.
The only problem is that I still had so many questions at the end. I would have loved to know more about Candace’s past, because there were hints to things that had happened to her, but it wasn’t explored in detail. I would also love to see what happens next.
This chilling thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat!
Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This story gave an inside look at the way social media can be used to promote companies. The ads that we see online are not always random, but are often targeted for the user. It was creepy to see how we can be manipulated through social media to purchase goods and services.
I can’t say much about this story without giving away the ending. It didn’t end the way I had predicted. I thought I had figured it out, but I was wrong. It was actually the solution that made the most sense, but I had ruled it out because of that.
The only problem is that I still had so many questions at the end. I would have loved to know more about Candace’s past, because there were hints to things that had happened to her, but it wasn’t explored in detail. I would also love to see what happens next.
This chilling thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat!
Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 4, 2019
"A timely and shocking thriller about a young woman who is the target of a social media smear campaign."
Hipster dream girl Candace Walker makes click bait ads until she's offered an incredible new position. Within a week her new iPhone is in the river and she's on the run.
This book was absolutely ridiculous and over the top. I can see this being a movie eventually. Probably sooner than later because it is incredibly relevant to society today. It had a quick pace and short chapters so I read it quicker than I realized.
Candace was a disgustingly judgmental and hypocritical person. I really didn't care for her, especially her feelings toward "fat people," which she was constantly grousing about and then talking about her superiority to them, yet she is also a "woke" hipster dream babe who will tell everyone why veganism is the way and correct you on gendered pronouns.
Despite my feelings toward her personality I still found the book to be a nice quick suspense story that I found myself speeding through.
*I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for my review.
Hipster dream girl Candace Walker makes click bait ads until she's offered an incredible new position. Within a week her new iPhone is in the river and she's on the run.
This book was absolutely ridiculous and over the top. I can see this being a movie eventually. Probably sooner than later because it is incredibly relevant to society today. It had a quick pace and short chapters so I read it quicker than I realized.
Candace was a disgustingly judgmental and hypocritical person. I really didn't care for her, especially her feelings toward "fat people," which she was constantly grousing about and then talking about her superiority to them, yet she is also a "woke" hipster dream babe who will tell everyone why veganism is the way and correct you on gendered pronouns.
Despite my feelings toward her personality I still found the book to be a nice quick suspense story that I found myself speeding through.
*I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for my review.
April 13, 2019
I won an early release of this book... When I first entered the draw I was pretty excitied - it was an interesting concept and I felt like the author could have really taken it somewhere. Instead, (as others have already stated) it was very disapointing.
The main female characted is impossible to like - and I really tried. But one second she is "high-and-mighty" talking about roofie drugs and how bad it is. Then literally a handful of pages later she is doing the exact same thing to some other character. The set-up of the book is flawed: with short chapters jumping from the past to present, it makes it very difficult to get invested in either story line. Espically when our main character is written the way she is.
In addition to the main character having some obvious character flaws, an unlikeable personality, and very opinionated prose - the secondary characters were all stereotypical and flat and did not seem to contribute to the story.
I would not recomend this book because of the above mentioned flaws and many, many others.
The main female characted is impossible to like - and I really tried. But one second she is "high-and-mighty" talking about roofie drugs and how bad it is. Then literally a handful of pages later she is doing the exact same thing to some other character. The set-up of the book is flawed: with short chapters jumping from the past to present, it makes it very difficult to get invested in either story line. Espically when our main character is written the way she is.
In addition to the main character having some obvious character flaws, an unlikeable personality, and very opinionated prose - the secondary characters were all stereotypical and flat and did not seem to contribute to the story.
I would not recomend this book because of the above mentioned flaws and many, many others.
October 11, 2019
3.5/5 stars
Simply put, Social Misconduct is a book about how social media could quite frankly, destroy your life. When Candace’s phone gets hacked and her personal photos are put on the internet for the world to see - her life is completely turned upside down in a matter of days.
All efforts to find her hacker/fix the problems seem to only make everything worse. And as we all know, on the internet, everything is not as it appears to be. Soon Candace finds herself going to extreme lengths in order to regain some sort of handle on her life.
This book was creepy in a different way, I think it was terrifying because the events in this book are not far-fetched. These are things that can and definitely do happen in this day and age.
One thing I didn’t like about this book was the constant body shaming, and some topics came off as very tone-deaf; the main character also gets more unlikeable as the story progresses and the ending was…I’m not sure how I feel about the ending.
Despite those things though, I must admit that this was definitely a page-turner!
Simply put, Social Misconduct is a book about how social media could quite frankly, destroy your life. When Candace’s phone gets hacked and her personal photos are put on the internet for the world to see - her life is completely turned upside down in a matter of days.
All efforts to find her hacker/fix the problems seem to only make everything worse. And as we all know, on the internet, everything is not as it appears to be. Soon Candace finds herself going to extreme lengths in order to regain some sort of handle on her life.
This book was creepy in a different way, I think it was terrifying because the events in this book are not far-fetched. These are things that can and definitely do happen in this day and age.
One thing I didn’t like about this book was the constant body shaming, and some topics came off as very tone-deaf; the main character also gets more unlikeable as the story progresses and the ending was…I’m not sure how I feel about the ending.
Despite those things though, I must admit that this was definitely a page-turner!
November 5, 2019
I have a love hate relationship with Candace. Even though she WAS hacked and it ruined her life.. she was also a sociopath who was in complete denial of the fact that she’s actually a horrible person. She kills her sister..? For sleeping with her crush? And confronting her on her apparent mental issues? Wtf. So not only was she hacked and had her life ruined, but she’s actually a psycho anyway! So everyone thinks she killed all those people since she killed her own father. Wtf. And the more I read, the more I realized she had a skewed view on herself.. apparently .. her serial killer self is dormant after her father and until dude tried to ruin her life. Idk man. It was a lot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews