The App by Stuart James – REVIEW

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The App...

Once you're in, they'll never let you leave.

Whatever happens, don't download The App.

* It will come in the form of a link. Maybe in your DM's on a social media account, the junk folder of your emails or a WhatsApp message from a friend.

* You'll be enticed by the chance of winning one hundred thousand pounds on offer every Friday, wired straight into the winner's bank account.

* It's not a joke.

* This part is genuine.

* Someone can and will win the money.

* But at what cost?

Marty Benson gets the link sent to him by a friend. So what is the harm in looking?
He clicks it, downloads the app and enters a few basic details.
A message prompts him to wait while he's loaded onto the system.
An hour later, another message.
• Do not delete the app.
• Do not tell anyone outside of your family about the app.

• Send the link to one person who is close to you.

* Do not throw your phone away.

* Always narrate while streaming.

• If you break any of the rules, we’ll kill a member of your family. Then we’ll kill you.

Marty is sent a picture of his wife, who is shopping with her mother in Oxford Street.

As Marty struggles to breathe, he clicks the links and watches the most recent streams, realising what happens within the app.

Every Friday morning, a person is randomly picked from social media.

They now have a bounty on their head—a death warrant. But they don't know it.

Their profile appears on the app's main page; all their details are displayed.

Every app member must play the game at least once a month or face the consequences.

Kill the person randomly selected from social media.

Win one hundred thousand pounds.

As Marty watches the terror unfold and everyone streaming the hunt within the app, he realises he has to do something.

But how do you stop a murder when everyone could be the killer?

The App – Stuart James has got his feet well under the horror table with this visceral tale that will unnerve its readers. A book to make you deactivate EVERYTHING!

Never opening a link has never been as important as it is with The App.

Marty Benson receives a link to win 100k every Friday from his best mate. He’s not one to look a gift horse in the mouth and it’s come from his friend, Davey. He’s as straight as a dye so he knows it’s legit. Marty and his family have a comfortable life – nice house, reasonably well off, a daughter acing her studies and is to be expected to study law at university. Even so, no one is going to turn down 100k given the opportunity, right? RIGHT?

I actually got a spam link from a user on Instagram whilst reading The App and let me tell you – I’ve never yeeted my phone as far as I did. I’m never opening a link again.

Holy smokes this book was everything I’d been searching for in a Halloween read. I shit you not when I tell you that this book had me on the very edge of my seat for the entire read. Housework – I didn’t care for it. Preparing meals – there are plenty of crumbs under the sofa. Expecting guests – nope, the door is firmly locked. Nothing appealed but finishing The App.  I wanted to race to the finish, but I wanted to savour it – this is a Stuart James special, he always leaves me feeling conflicted, and scared.

If you ever doubted that technology could be dangerous, put this book into their hands, stand back and watch the fear flit across their face.

James always takes the creep factor to the next level. He’s taken a relatively tame idea and transformed it so that its grown arms and legs to reach and choke you. He seems to have a handle on what his readers fear most, like a stalker in the night, you can’t shake the feeling of being watched. It’s quite terrifying to be in this author’s head.

The creator of the app POV was fascinating but make no bones about it – he’s a warped individual. It allowed the reader to have an even more accurate but frightening perspective of what was going on. The lengths he was willing to go to get his kicks were astonishing. James creates characters like this with military precision. He delves into the human condition and extracts the emotion locked within and you can’t help feeling connected to them – even if it’s to despise them. Something strange happened whilst I was reading this instant bestseller – the antagonist’s obsession became my obsession. I needed to know all the whys and when’s, I wanted to study it, and delve into the diminishing mind of the creator. I felt at points that I was sinking into quicksand with the veracity of the plot. Bloody brilliant.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Available now – The Macabre, Brand new collection of six short stories – No1 Best Seller in Amazon Horror Short Stories!

Author of world wide number 1 best selling thriller, Turn The Other Way, and International Book Award Winner for The House On Rectory Lane.

Stuart James