The Helpdesk

James and Bella Fitzpatrick have everything they could possibly want. He is very near to being made a partner in his prestigious city firm of lawyers and she is a teacher in a private school where only the successful and rich can afford the fees. He loves his wife so much, and he knows he is lucky that she chose him. She is beautiful and intelligent, hardworking and indefatigable. They live in a luxury flat in an expensive area. He is driven, diligent and determined. He is responsible for an ongoing and important merger of two business concerns which will make serious money for his firm. That is when he is given the nod for him becoming a partner in the firm by his unlikeable boss, a partner in the firm himself.
Then one late night and still in his office, James has a problem with his computer. It appears he has lost a crucial file. He is frantic with worry because any errors could stall the merger or the firm may even lose the business of two valued customers in the multimillion pound merger. In panic he finds the phone number of the tech company called IT helpdesk, favoured by his firm. He hopes the tech guy will be able to help him. The call is answered immediately despite the time, and it is through this emergency that he meets Charlotte who quickly solves his problems. If only this were true. More and more problems surface and make James look incompetent and threaten to cost him dearly. Meanwhile Bella is accused of wrongdoings at school. The police are called and an investigation begins. It is the word of three teenage boys who stick together, making Bella out to being in the wrong. The fragile situation causes rumours about Bella to flash around and she is sent home on leave until the investigation confirms her innocent.
I was gripped by this unique story. The storyboard was complicated but brilliantly handled with lots of red herrings, blind alleyways and exciting twists and turns, none greater than the one near the end of the book. The characterisations were relatable and well developed, with a cast of people to admire but also some to despise. The novel lived up to its genre, a thrilling story with suspense, psychological aspects and full of mystery. I didn’t favour any of the characters as there were flaws in each and every one of them, particularly the headmaster. The themes of this modern story are domination, lies, corruption, trust and power.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Hachette Books Ireland through my membership of NetGalley and I would like to thank them for my copy, sent out to me in return for an honest review. This novel was a good read and for the reasons given I award it a 4.5* review.

James is driving himself very hard at work as his law firm are preparing a critical report concerning a business merger that may or may not go ahead. He’s running on fumes through lack of sleeps and it’s affecting his marriage to Bella. She is a very smart woman, a PhD student turned teacher at a prestigious London school. The report is complete, James uploads it and the something goes catastrophically wrong as somehow it gets lost in the ether, so panic mode ensues. He desperately calls the Tech Help Desk and Charlotte answers his call. She helps retrieve the file and seems to save the day and James’ bacon. However, hold that thought - who exactly is Charlotte? How and why does she know details about his life that he doesn’t divulge? Most importantly, why does this set in motion a sequence of events and the derailment of James and Bella’s life? The story is principally told by James, Bella and Charlotte.

Where to start with this one??! It seems to start as a very good character driven study which is really interesting as you start in one place of judgement and then revelations come barrelling in that forces you to adapt your thinking. It starts at a relatively ‘gentle’ pace but does it ever ramp up because this is about what motivates characters especially the desire to control and there are several dark shades of that here. What’s so entertaining is the flux of seeming to be in control which changes swiftly to out of control mode. It’s about power, the imperative to dominate which affects the decisions you make, the action, reaction or lack of action which turns the plot stroll to a pacy jog. There are some scenes that are shocking demonstrations of control and domination which also reveal obsessions. Along the route to the end the proverbial hits the fan on several occasions, lines and wires are crossed and what initially seems that be separate storytelling strands begin to come together nicely in a gripping, absorbing read as situations escalate to Ben Nevis proportions.

My only reservation and hence the four not five stars is the ultimate ending as characters explain the rationale behind what unfolds but given the drama of what precedes it, my expectations are for fireworks which doesn’t happen!

Overall though, this is a very ambitious novel and Shane Dunphy definitely pulls it off demonstrating clearly that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hachette Books, Ireland for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This was such a fun wee quick read! It's got the twists, it's got the turns, tbe writing style draws you in and book is constantly progressing the plot without any waffle or pointless side stories. Does it all tie up a but too neatly in the end? Absolutely but it is a fiction book so these things happen. It's well written, I loved the characters and all the threads that tied up nice and neat in the end. A fair bit of the plot isn't that realistic but again, it's a fiction novel so that's the whole point. Don't overanalyse it and just enjoy it for what it is and you'll love it

My first encounter with the work of this author...but most definitely not my last! Such a gripping plot and easily a 5 star rating from me.

James and Bella met at Uni in Dublin, she became obsessed with a felon she studied as part of her studies in psychology, while he became a highflier in the city. Fast forward 10 years, and his career is going strong, while she finds herself a teacher in a secondary school, her dreams of being a TV psychologist ripped to shreds by the influence of her previous obsession. The current state of play finds Bella attracted to a colleague, and James very much enamoured with Charlotte, his helpful IT 'help-desk' saviour. Im not going to say more was I don't want to provide spoilers, but I will just say READ THIS NOVEL, you will not regret it!! Entertainment at its finest! So well written and such a unique plot - no mean feat in this genre!

My thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

A quick, easy and fun read that I read in one sitting. I was hooked right from the start and engaged all the way through, it was gripping with twists that kept me guessing. I loved it.

A late night call to a tech hotline leads to a twisted, complicated story of deception, violence, greed and murder. James, working eighteen hour days for weeks at a time, is on his way to making partner at his law firm when he loses an important email attachment. He reaches Charlotte at tech support and his problem is solved. So he thinks. His wife Bella, a teacher at an exclusive private school, has worries of her own. An unexpected career change, trouble with students and an attraction to another teacher are all situations that she can’t or won’t discuss with James.

Without spoilers, I can’t say more about the plot. What I can say is that The Helpdesk is not like any other thriller. It’s deftly plotted, faced paced, surprising at every turn of the page and impossible to put down. None of the main characters is very likable and all are connected in very different ways. You’ll think you know what is going to happen but you’ll be wrong every time. 5 stars

James is a successful lawyer on the rise in a prestigious legal firm, and married to the smart, beautiful, and capable Bella. On the surface, he has it all - until the night he makes a potentially career-ending error, which sets in motion a chain of catastrophic events.

At first it seems that James is out of the woods when helpdesk operator Charlotte retrieves the information he has seemingly lost. But just who is Charlotte exactly? And why does James keep thinking about her...?

Things I loved about the book: multiple POVs, genuinely engaging and well-paced, interesting and flawed characters.

Things that weren't my favourite: the ending felt a little rushed, and everything was laid bare with motivations and reasons, and it felt a little too clear cut and black and white (I like a little it left to the imagination).

This is my first book by this author but it won't be the last. An enjoyable, well plotted read with great twists and turns. I look forward to reading more from Shane Dunphy.

Thank you to NetGalley, and to the publisher, for granting me a free advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

A fan of the Boyle & Keneally books I already liked the author’s work but this is a totally different read.
I really enjoyed this. It’s not the book I thought it would be, your anticipation of what it is about from the cover is only a tiny bit right, but boy has it got so much more to give. It completely exceeded my expectations. A genuine don’t want to put down read.