Assured Destruction Series by Michael F. Stewart
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Synopsis book 1 - Assured Destruction:
You can learn a lot about someone looking through their hard drive...
Sixteen-year-old Jan Rose knows that nothing is ever truly deleted. At least, not from the hard drives she scours to create the online identities she calls the Shadownet.
Hobby? Art form? Sad, pathetic plea to garner friendship, even virtually? Sure, Jan is guilty on all counts. Maybe she’s even addicted to it. It’s an exploration. Everyone has something to hide. The Shadownet’s hard drives are Jan’s secrets. They're stolen from her family’s computer recycling business Assured Destruction. If the police found out, Jan’s family would lose its livelihood.
When the real people behind Shadownet’s hard drives endure vicious cyber attacks, Jan realizes she is responsible. She doesn’t know who is targeting these people or why but as her life collapses Jan must use all her tech savvy to bring the perpetrators to justice before she becomes the next victim.
Synopsis book 2 - Script Kiddie:
Jan Rose no longer steals data from the old computers she recycles. She doesn't need to. As the newest member of the police department’s High Tech Crime Unit, the laptop of a murderer has landed on her desk. Her job: to profile and expose a killer.
But that’s not all.
A creep lurks in the shadows, stalking a friend, and Jan must stop him before the hunt turns deadly. The clock counts down for Jan to save her friend, her job, her boyfriend--maybe even her life.
Synopsis book 3 - With Zombies:
The final book in the Assured Destruction series!
Jan Rose may already be expunged from the police department's High Tech Crime Unit. Her mother's hospitalized, and Assured Destruction's on the cusp of bankruptcy. But Jan doesn't wait on anything, she seeks out the customers who used to keep the family business afloat. That's when everything starts to go wrong.
A computer virus--aka the Zombie Worm--threatens not only her school and Shadownet, but the entire city. A skull with a chain running through its socket links a powerful gang to her former customers, and holds the secrets to why her father left and the identity of her mother's boyfriend.
To save her family and the business, Jan must determine who is friend and who is foe. And decide what type of hacker she wishes to become: Gray, white, or black. Not only her life hangs in the balance.
“I’m looking for Mrs. Rose?” the cop says. A pin on her uniform tells me she’s Constable Williams.
She looks Hispanic but speaks without an accent. I search for suspicious challenge in her brown eyes but find none. The officer straightens her shirt, which has ridden up on her bulky gear. What happens if you have big boobs and need to wear a Kevlar vest?
“That’s Ms. Rose,” I reply. “One second.” I turn. “Mom! Cop here to see you!”
My mom’s chair squeaks with each rotation of its wheels as she emerges from the back room. Between the mousy hair and the chair sounds, I sometimes see her as a little rodent. In a good, cute way. Evidently I take after my father.
“Yes, officer?” my mom asks, rolling up to the counter.
“Have you had Family Planning Clinic as a customer?” the cop demands.
“What regarding?” My mom frowns.
“I’m investigating the release of their client list. Are they a customer of yours?”
My mom shoots a look to me, but the bottom has dropped out of my blood pressure. I press my hands into the counter and try to remain upright. What’s going on here?
“I don’t know,” my mom says. “When would it have been?”
“About four months ago.” The police officer checks her notes and nods again.
My mind is grinding, four months ago … sure, okay, yes, I do remember. A man with three computers and a laptop. I flip back through four months of the certificates, which are written in triplicate, and tear out three.
“Here you are!” I hold them up. “Certificates.” I fan them.
“What’s this about, officer?” my mom asks.
“Family Planning Clinic has reported the theft of confidential data. They said they recently upgraded their computers and had the old ones shredded. Here.”
“It’s an abortion clinic, isn’t it?” My mom claps her hand over her mouth. “Oh, I feel terrible for those women. This is dreadful.”
“We did shred them!” I wave the certificates. “Here’s proof. These are the certificates of assured destruction.”
I remember, though, the hard drive of the laptop wasn’t one of them. The man hadn’t paid for that to be shredded, and I’d taken a look through it before sending it out for recycling. Hadn’t I? Maybe I’d left it in the drive for a day first, but that shouldn’t matter. No one has access to Shadownet except me. Should I tell them about the laptop drive? It was just recycled, not even wiped. I totally remember the laptop because it had a big happy-face sticker on the lid. Our hands are clean.
“Can I have copies of those?” The officer asks.
I jog into the back and run the photocopier. I can barely breathe. Something is very wrong here and I’m beginning to see a pattern. Shivers rattle down my spine, and it’s all I can do to keep standing. Before I know it, I’ve run fifty copies too many, and guilt surges in me about the trees I’m killing. Tears well in my eyes and I clear them before heading back to hand the copies over.
After the officer departs, my mom doesn’t leave.
“They were destroyed, weren’t they, honey?” she asks.
I can see the disappointment in her eyes.
“Yes! The three computers from the clinic got spaghettified.” And it’s true, so why do I feel like I’m being hunted?
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Michael lives in Ottawa, Canada with his wife and four daughters. He tries very hard to keep life an adventure both on and off the page. Please come find me on Goodreads.
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There is a blitz-wide giveaway of one $25.00 Amazon gift card and 25 eBook copies of the complete series.Simply click the following link and do what the form tells you to do and you are entered! http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d776bd1/
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!
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