Its a rare privilege to share your feelings and thoughts with the author instantly about their book :):). Thanks to Geetu (Jay’s mom-in-law and my dearest friend), I enjoy that privilege with Jay Puranik. As soon as I completed reading Red Shark, I messaged Jay.
My instant feedback for Red Shark –
“Jay – just completed reading Red Shark. You have outdone yourself. This book is written exceptionally well. Scary as hell but well researched and beautifully written.”
The chilling statement under the title says it all – “Life is a game. So is Suicide.” This book is a psychological thriller loosely based on the Blue Whale game that rocked the world of teenagers. Read about it in this BBC article – Blue Whale: What is the truth behind an online ‘suicide challenge’?.
Darknet, the Cyber world and the movie “Searching”
The world of online gaming, the darknet and just the whole cyber space is relatively new for most parents. Children and the teenagers spend enormous time online. Its very important for parents to stay alert to behaviour changes and to learn more about the cyber world. This book reminded me of a movie that Krishnan and I watched in August called “Searching”.
In the movie, a father tries to find his missing daughter and gets into her online life – Facebook, some streaming website, Twitter, Instagram, etc etc only to realise that the police officer who is trying to help her is infact responsible for his daughter’s disappearance. The police officer is also fake as are her credentials ! Do watch the movie because it tells us about how the world around us has changed irrevocably and we (older people) need to adapt to it quickly.
In Red Shark, the characters of Neha, Alok and Fatima will remain with you long after you have finished reading the book. They are beautifully built up and it takes the last few pages to truly understand the impact and magnitude of this online game challenge. This book is a must read for parents and teenagers to stay alert and get armed with information.
Jay, thanks for writing this book. Am sure this will help many many people to stay far away from these kind of suicide challenges. Here’s wishing you a great career as a writer. Well begun is half done, and you have begun really well with the Bloodline series and this stand alone thriller.
