by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an audio CD copy of Grace Interrupted, the second in Julie’s Manor House series. There is also a link to purchase Virtual Sabotage from Amazon, and an indie bookstore where a portion of the sale goes to help support KRL.

Kenna Ward is an envoy for Virtu-Tech. That means if a virtual reality user gets too involved in the scenario, she can rescue him before there’s a problem—like brain damage or death. Even though a user’s physical body is in a chamber and in no danger, the client can forget it’s entertainment and believe the situation is real. It takes a lot of training to ignore the program and focus on the rescue, but Kenna and her fiancé Charlie are the best in the business.

The problem is Charlie is the one who is in too deep. He’s taken an unknown client in for an unauthorized visit into a jungle program. Kenna is sent to the rescue, only to find out the computer has a mind of its own. Someone has overridden the commands, putting lives in danger, including Kenna’s—not just virtual danger, but life and death danger.

Kenna is determined to find out what is going on behind the scenes at Virtu-Tech, and then to put a stop to it. The problem is, who can she trust?

To say much more would give away too much of the plot. This is a departure from Hyzy’s cozy series the Manor House books and the now ended White House Chef mysteries, both with enjoyable characters and enviable settings.

Virtual Sabotage is a fast-paced thriller that will leave readers guessing. Some clues are apparent, some a bit trickier, and some so subtle, readers will wonder how they missed them.

I’m not tech-savvy and know very little about virtual reality so was worried I might not understand the technical parts of the story. It was a needless worry as Hyzy explains enough that I knew what was happening without using computer language I didn’t understand. This reads like a true thriller, carrying you along with Kenna through a maze of misdirection and misconceptions. I read the book in two days, and it only lasted that long because I didn’t want it to end. The suspenseful scene at the end will leave you holding your breath for pages.

To enter to win an audio CD copy of Grace Interrupted, the second in Julie’s Manor House series, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “hyzy,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 12, 2019. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address (so if you win we can get the book sent right out to you), and if via comment please include your email address. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Be sure to check out our new mystery podcast too with mystery short stories, and first chapters. Our latest episode is set at Christmas time.

Use this link to purchase the book & a portion goes to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:

Virtual Sabotage

You can also use this link to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch in St. Louis Missouri. She writes about eco-friendly topics, pets and wildlife for magazines and reviews mysteries and thrillers for KRL. A collection of her short stories, published by Untreed Reads, From Hay to Eternity: Ten Tales of Crime and Deception can be found at all the usual outlets. Each one is a little weird and all have a twist you won’t see coming.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases using those links. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.