What can happen when an ordinary member of the public’s mobile phone is hacked by the press?
by Charles R Stubbs
(2nd novel in the Travis #WebofDeceit mystery thriller series)
FREE NOW! 10/28/13 thru 11/01/13 [5 days]
Amazon US link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/
Amazon UK link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/
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What can happen when an ordinary member of the public’s mobile phone is hacked?
A student has been murdered in North Wales and the press are hounding her landlord, Gareth Evans. Peter Gray, a reporter, sent up from London to cover the story, tries to protect his ex-colleague Gareth, but becomes embroiled in a murderous plot.
Craig Fletcher, a drugs runner, wants retribution. He plans to torture and kill James Ryan, the man he believes tried to have him killed six years ago and who is now running his former drugs empire in the north-east of England. Fletcher’s plot involves the abduction and murder of IT worker Travis Williams, whose disfigured body in a burnt out car will keep James Ryan’s men off the scent while Fletcher exacts his revenge.
But in its bid to be first with a ‘new angle’ on the murdered student case, a tabloid newspaper conflates the two stories and the result is confusion and chaos. As the body count rises and the journalists, the local police and Travis’s acquaintances, Nick Parker and Ann Butler, try to work out what is really happening, the race is on to find the location where innocent people are being held before more deaths are added to the list.
Their intense experience over three long days drives many involved to question some deeply held assumptions and re-examine their consciences. Ultimately, in various different ways, nearly everyone caught up in the media frenzy becomes a victim of press intrusion and phone hacking.
A student has been murdered in North Wales and the press are hounding her landlord, Gareth Evans. Peter Gray, a reporter, sent up from London to cover the story, tries to protect his ex-colleague Gareth, but becomes embroiled in a murderous plot.
Craig Fletcher, a drugs runner, wants retribution. He plans to torture and kill James Ryan, the man he believes tried to have him killed six years ago and who is now running his former drugs empire in the north-east of England. Fletcher’s plot involves the abduction and murder of IT worker Travis Williams, whose disfigured body in a burnt out car will keep James Ryan’s men off the scent while Fletcher exacts his revenge.
But in its bid to be first with a ‘new angle’ on the murdered student case, a tabloid newspaper conflates the two stories and the result is confusion and chaos. As the body count rises and the journalists, the local police and Travis’s acquaintances, Nick Parker and Ann Butler, try to work out what is really happening, the race is on to find the location where innocent people are being held before more deaths are added to the list.
Their intense experience over three long days drives many involved to question some deeply held assumptions and re-examine their consciences. Ultimately, in various different ways, nearly everyone caught up in the media frenzy becomes a victim of press intrusion and phone hacking.
Amazon US link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/
Amazon UK link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/
Current events:
On October 28th in the UK, a trial begins that will test whether senior newspaper people were aware of allegedly illegal activities that allegedly were carried out by members of their own staff and by private investigators (the so-called ‘dodgy PIs’). The alleged illegal activities include listening to other people’s mobile phone messages, using a technique that is now commonly referred to as ‘phone hacking’. The trial has come about as a result of an investigation by Lord Leveson, which found that the practice of phone hacking and other forms of press intrusion went far beyond celebrities, politicians and other people in the public eye. The most notorious instance was where a PI hacked into the mobile phone of a young schoolgirl, Milly Dowler, who was subsequently found murdered. The PI deleted some of the stored voicemail messages, which led the distraught parents to believe that their daughter was still alive.
Also, as a result of the Leveson enquiry, a new system of controlling the behaviour of the UK press is being instigated, which establishes a new oversight body under the terms of a ‘Royal Charter’. The press say (almost unanimously) that this politicises press regulation. The politicians (of all parties) say it is necessary, because previously when the press regulated itself this didn’t work, and innocent victims of press intrusion need protecting. There is an arcane ceremony taking place on October 30th, where members of the Privy Council stand before the Queen to kick off the establishment of this charter.
Author bio:
Charles R Stubbs has
earned his living by writing for more than 12 years. Previously a
senior executive in the UK telecommunications industry, since 2001 he
has crafted sales and marketing literature for major organisations -
some of them household names - enabling them to improve their business
performance.
Charles’s second book in the Travis #WebOfDeceit series involves the same group of characters five years later. In ‘Retribution’, the focus is on the activities of the UK press (some of them illegal) that came under the spotlight in the Leveson Inquiry. The novel shows how innocent people’s lives could be turned upside down by dubious media practices.
Charles R Stubbs’s blog at http://webofdeceit.org/blogs deals with issues relating to the media and their influence over our lives.
Charles lives in the UK in the Midlands. When not writing or working in his garden, he likes to go birdwatching. Charles has incorporated this hobby into his books. This does make the stories somewhat unique - along with the fact that the action takes place in North Wales!
You can follow Charles on Twitter: @charlesrstubbs, or search for hashtag: #webofdeceit.
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/
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