BLOG TOUR: Zero Ri$k - Simon Hayes

 

Ten days. Seven Deadly Sins. Zero Ri$k.

What’s not to like when your bank account gains an extra zero or two at Christmas?

When customer complaints on Christmas Eve about tenfold inflated bank balances herald not early Christmas gifts, nor a botched computer system upgrade, but the most sophisticated cyber attack in history, National Bank Chief Operating Officer Rob Tanner finds himself in the eye of a ‘Black Swan’ storm no one predicted, but anyone could have anticipated.

Tanner enlists the help of brilliant American cyber security expert Ashley Markham, but the attacks only worsen: bank balances rise remorselessly and spread to all the nation’s banks. The only clues to the hacker’s intentions are cryptic daily emails, centred on Hieronymus Bosch’s medieval representation of the seven deadly sins—and packed with colourful artistic and cultural references—taunting Tanner and the newly incumbent Prime Minister, James Allen.

With financial markets—and the very world as he knows it—on the brink of collapse, Tanner races against the clock to decode not just the bizarre emails but their deeper meaning, and the implications for who he can really trust. All the while, his former boss “The Toad” is seeking revenge... and answers of his own.

This enthralling, multi-layered debut follows the story of a disillusioned banker facing unthinkable financial Armageddon, where money has no value, stock and bond prices are meaningless, and the economy is destroyed. Can Tanner unravel the mystery of the hacker’s obsession with Bosch, sin and retribution before modern society returns to the dark ages?

What did I think?

WOW!  What a debut!  Zero Ri$k is absolutely brilliant - I actually uttered those exact words after I had turned the final page and finally released the breath I didn't realise I had been holding.  It's a chunky book at 780 pages long but I flew through it as I couldn't put it down.

Rob Tanner deserves a medal for working for 'The Toad' for so long and when their bank is hit with a cyber attack on Christmas Eve, The Toad will blame anybody but himself.  As quickly as the attack started, it appeared to have finished so things can get back to normal right?  WRONG!

I felt like my nerves were balanced on a knife-edge as the action played out before me on the page.  Simon Hayes' writing is as vivid as the Hieronymus Bosch paintings that depict the seven deadly sins.  I loved how Bosch's famous artwork is woven into the plot and it's very thought-provoking to consider what Bosch would make of our current society where few people could claim to never have experienced greed, pride, gluttony, lust, sloth, envy or wrath.

If I thought the writing was exquisite, the plot is even more so.  Although I do have a financial background myself, you don't need any financial knowledge to fully appreciate the sublime plot.  Just the thought of how much trust we put into banks to keep our money safe and the odd occasion we hear of banks having issues that stops people accessing their money is enough to give me nightmares.  Simon Hayes takes that fear and increases it a hundredfold as people's bank balances change at will.

Incredibly imaginative, heart-poundingly thrilling and scarily realistic,  Zero Ri$k is easily one of the best books I have read this year and it's even more astonishing that it's a debut novel.  Although the book will always be better, I think it's destined for the big screen and I would be very surprised if it's not snapped up by a movie producer.  I really can't recommend this unmissable novel highly enough - an easy five stars.

I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

Simon Hayes is a seasoned professional with a diverse background spanning financial services, executive search, and consultancy. With over three decades of international experience, he has lived in the US, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Simon began his career with Bank of Boston, Morgan Grenfell and James Capel, before spending much of the 90s in Asia, serving as Head of Equity Research for Warburg in Japan and later as Managing Director for Salomon Bros and UBS in Hong Kong. Simon is a Trinity Hall, Cambridge, Law graduate and the creator of rubriqs®. Recognised as a top-ranked securities analyst by Extel and II, and later as the "Best Headhunting Executive" in Japan byAsiamoney, he has also been an executive coach, mentor, and financial consultant, spending much of 2023 in Zimbabwe on a major fraud case. Born in Ealing, he is a lifelong supporter of Brentford FC. A proud father to India and Ivo, Simon now lives near Tower Bridge.

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I Am Enough: A 90-day challenge to find contentment - Sheridan Stewart

Stressed by your spending? Always feeling like you should do more? Join Sheridan Stewart on an inspiring journey towards spending less, feeling happier and focusing on the important things.

What began as a 90-Day challenge simply to spend less, becomes an exploration of what matters most. I Am Enough contemplates what it means to have enough, do enough and ultimately be enough. Told with insight and humour, this book is an antidote to the constant pressure we are under to do more, have more and be more.

Busy radio presenter and broadcaster, author and mid-lifer Sheridan Stewart created the 90-Day Enough Challenge out of necessity. She had been struggling with burnout for years but couldn’t find a way to break the cycle of dashing about feeling guilty about spending too much, eating too much and not being a good enough wife, friend, volunteer, work colleague and human being.

Sheridan’s quest to prioritise calm, self-care and what really matters in life is inspirational. The practical programme which she has created is in three parts with a detailed timeline, tips and checklists for every step of the journey.

 

SURRENDER:

• The first part of the book is about surrender – learning to let go and strip life back to the essentials: getting enough sleep and support, utilizing what we have instead of buying more and doing enough without being sucked into the relentless pursuit of perfectionism. 

MAYBE I CAN BE ENOUGH?

• The second part of the book makes a shift from not only doing things differently but beginning to feel and view things differently. Even though to the outside observer, Sheridan’s life may appear the same – same job, same relationships, same environment – she learns to see life through a different lens. She begins to take small actions that better served her physical, emotional and financial wellbeing and shows the reader how to do the same.

CHOOSE TO MAKE THE CHANGE LAST:

• The third part of the book is about choice. As Sheridan nears the end of her 90-Day Challenge, she starts to explore implementing lasting change. As a chronic dieter and a driven over-achiever, she is aware of how quickly old patterns and behaviours can take hold. Why will this time different?

Over the course of this journey, Sheridan learns to trust herself, and you can too by following in her footsteps on a journey towards financial and emotional happiness.

 

What did I think?

This book is very well written with short chapters that are easy to follow and hold your interest.  Having, being and doing ‘enough’ is a simple idea but it makes a lot of sense and it’s comforting to know that you’re not the only one with a harsh inner critic that never shuts up.

I’m pretty good at saving money, but it was absolutely mindblowing to see how much money is wasted on coffee shops and restaurants; it’s ok to have a treat now and again but you can save so much money by making things yourself at home.  Yes, that’s a no-brainer but seeing Sheridan Stewart quantify it in monetary terms would’ve given me a cold sweat if I was someone who had a takeaway coffee every day.

For me, what I want to get out of this book is learning to accept that I’m enough.  There’s no manual for life so we’re all just doing the best we can but I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t want the elusive ‘more’.  I think just looking at what you already have is a really good philosophy as we waste so much these days.  I’m as guilty of this as the next person: my other half says I’m more thrilled by the purchase of a bargain than by actually consuming said bargain, that is likely to be languishing at the back of the cupboard six months after its best before date.

It almost takes the pressure off by changing the way you think, by saying for example: ‘I’m going to TRY to lose weight’ rather than ‘I’m going to lose weight’, that sets you up to fail the minute you step on the scales and put on 0.5kg so you might as well eat that whole packet of ginger nuts.

I’m really pleased I have discovered Sheridan Stewart’s I Am Enough book.  The small steps approach is one that is easy to follow and you really can’t fail, as you’re only trying after all.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

BLOG TOUR: Death of a Painter (Mark Poynter #1) - Matthew Ross

IN THE BUILDING GAME TIME IS MONEY AND MONEY IS EVERYTHING. UNFORTUNATELY FOR MARK POYNTER, HE’S RUN OUT OF MONEY AND HE’S FAST RUNNING OUT OF TIME.

When Mark Poynter discovers a murder on his worksite all of his financial problems suddenly seem a lot closer to home: was this a warning his debts are overdue?

Suspected of being the killer and worried at being the intended victim, the murder only makes Mark’s money problems worse, leading him to turn to the local villain, Hamlet, who has his own unique repayment plan in mind for Mark.

When two more deaths plunge him even further into debt, Mark finds himself faced with a choice – help the police and clear his name or help the villain and clear his debt.

Set in the Medway Towns on the grey margins of criminality, where no job’s too big, no dodge’s too small …

Death Of A Painter is the first in a new series of darkly comic crime fiction novels featuring the beleaguered builder Mark Poynter, aided and hindered in equal measure by his trusted crew of slackers, idlers and gossips, and the lengths they go to just to earn a living.

What did I think?

I don't think I have ever read a book that is set in the building trade and with this very unusual setting, Matthew Ross has written a cracking debut novel.  Death of a Painter is full of colourful characters and hilarious banter that meant my interest was held in a vice-like grip throughout.  The story is actually quite like a game of Cluedo and we must find out who killed the painter in the kitchen with the hammer.

Mark Poyner is the brilliant main character; always busy with jobs but struggling to make ends meet as he constantly robs Peter to pay Paul.  His money troubles continue when one of his team is murdered on the job, therefore delaying payment for the work and landing him in a whole heap of trouble with his creditors.  There are so many people after his blood that Mark even wonders if there has been a case of mistaken identity and he may have been the intended victim.  When Mark becomes the prime suspect in the murder he starts his own investigation to try to clear his name but unearths a lot more than he bargained for.

Being very character driven, Death of a Painter would make a fantastic sitcom as there are some fantastic characters and I can totally see Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer in starring roles.  We have only just scratched the surface of Mark in this first book and I can already see that there is a lot more of him to discover.  I loved the nicknames that people had and there are characters named Disco, Hamlet and even The Two Ronnies.  Although not always laugh out loud funny, the humour is quite dark and subtle so I'll probably spot a lot more when I read the book again.

Death of a Painter is a cracking debut from Matthew Ross; it's pacey, intriguing and hugely entertaining.  I'm a little torn with the rating as it's not quite a 5 star read but it's worth more than 4 stars so I'm giving it an extra half a star to make it a sparkly 4.5.  I'm going to add it to my read again list so that's definitely a recommendation from me!  

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon or Red Dog Press

About the author:

Matthew Ross was born and raised in the Medway Towns, England. He still lives in Kent with his Kiwi wife, his children and a very old cat.

He was immersed in the building industry from a very early age helping out on his father’s sites during school holidays before launching into his own career at 17. He’s worked on projects ranging from the smallest domestic repair to £billion+ infrastructure, and probably everything in between.

A lifelong comedy nerd, he ticked off a bucket-list ambition and tried his hand at stand-up comedy. Whilst being an experience probably best forgotten (for both him and audiences alike) it ignited a love for writing, leading to various commissions including for material broadcast on BBC Radio 4 comedy shows.

Matthew moved into the longer format of novel writing after graduating from the Faber Academy in London in 2017.

‘Death Of A Painter’ is his first novel and the first in a planned series of stories featuring Mark Poynter and his associates.

Matthew enjoys reading all manner of books - especially crime and mystery; 80s music; and travelling and can’t wait for the next trip to New Zealand to spend time with family and friends.  

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