Five Stars to 1414, a murder mystery set in Silicon Valley. It deals with the Bro culture, the billionaire CEOs, investors and social justice.
The tag line: ‘The billionaire predators of Silicon Valley always get what they want. Now someone is giving them what they deserve’ sets the stage for a novel you won’t put down.
I wondered about the inspiration for the story until I read the author’s Acknowledgments at the end. Nicely done!

Requires standard suspension of disbelief, but still a fast paced enjoyable read with a social justice bent.

Non stop action from the first for Lou, a reporter trying to make a difference. Fast paced with thinking on the fly, many sharp quick thinking women are highlighted along with vile bad guys. As the real world is quickly becoming faster and better availability of everything we need, are we really too far from the scenario presented in this book? I wouldn't want to be a Silicon valley CEO reading this book. Enjoyable mystery, not really a murder, but suspenseful all the same. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced read for an honest opinion.

This was a slow burn that thoroughly blew my mind and solidified my admiration for his phenomenal characters! They were all nuanced and complex, multifaceted and impressive. I struggled with the build up a few times but kept on with it and DAMN! I’m so glad I did! Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc in exchange for my honest opinion. It was wonderful!

As a technology journalist, I was eager to read this novel and I really enjoyed it. It portrays a very realistic look at the toxic "brociopath culture" of Silicon Valley with their "slathering fanboys" as a crusading journalist gets mired into the firm's evil doings. While some of the characters play on cartoonish stereotypes such as the soulless venture capitalists, the introverted nerdy coder, the bad bosses etc. The realism comes into play with the way we consume social media and are so obsessed with selfies, the way we are tracked by our cellphones, how the press can influence public opinion in absence of any facts, and so forth. Even if you aren't a tech-savvy reader, you might enjoy this send up of our current fascination with tech and how it can get out of hand. If you enjoyed Dave Eggers' The Circle, you will enjoy reading this novel.

STUPENDOUS! I loved this fast paces Silicon Valley Thriller and you will too!
Lou is a hard nosed female journalist trying to expose the toxic culture of the tech world.
She has a lead on a secret regarding the biggest billionaire firm of all and in attempting to expose it, she is outsmarted and fired from her job.. Essentially homeless and jobless she is not ready to give up on taking down RAUM industries when a mysterious individual names Fate reaches out to her for assistance. SO MANY things happen that it's hard to believe this is only one novel. Paul Bradley Carr did a great job describing the world and the scenes that I finished this in one sitting! Lou and several other women are highlighted as fast thinkers and quick witted in the worst of times (which happens quite a bit in this explosive and twisty novel). Complex, engaging, terrifying and awesome. My only critique is I wanted a bit more tied up a the end! Highly Recommend if you like a fast pace thriller, some feminism and commentary on the world as a whole. #NetGalley #1414

Silicon Valley #metoo thriller and more

I almost didn't read this book because the first chapter just didn't grab me but I'm glad I read on because this ended up being a tricky thriller with Lou McCarthy, journalist do-gooder who keeps getting taken down by big business CEOs in the Silicon Valley who have much to hide.

And when she gets a look at who's actually manipulating behind the scenes, she decides she wants to help. Or does she?

The author did a superb job with the characters, with the Silicon Valley setting, with the intrigue and the twists. I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it.

I received this book from Snafublishing LLC through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

This was one of the most interesting and absorbing novels I’ve read in a long time. Lou, our heroine, is a reporter who has spent the majority of her career writing about the miscreants of Silicone Valley. She is invited to a Raum party at which their Chairman is planning to introduce their multi billion dollar IPO. Instead two men intimately attached to Raum die mysteriously in what appears to be suicides at the event. Lou’s work receives unjust notoriety and she is let go from her paper. She continues to search for answers and begins to find them. But will she survive? It is well written and remarkably knowledgeable about the tech industry. It makes for great reading. Thanks to Net Galley and Snafublishing for an ARC for an honest review.

Who knew that a tech thriller was exactly what I needed in my life?!

I loved this unique mystery novel and recommend it to anyone who wants something different but that still delivers all the intrigue.

This is a dystopian type story that focuses on technology and journalism. It looks a few years into the future at a world ruled by tech giants and their unscrupulous practices. They manipulate the markets, commit rape and murder and always control the narrative. One journalist decides to take them on and finds herself embroiled in a fight for her life.

Thank you to Snafublishing and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.]

this was really interesting, and insightful to read! you can tell there’s been a lot of researching that went into writing this, and i appreciated how accurate everything seemed to be. this is a murder mystery that touches a lot of important, and heavy topics. i’m gonna need to read it again in another format (i read it through the NetGalley shelf app) because i had a lot of difficulty getting into it: the font was small, and the screen was squeezed which made for an uncomfortable reading experience.

i’ll be picking this up again when it officially comes out to have more to say about it, but until then, i really liked it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Snafublishing for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

I went back and reread the book description so I don't give anything away. Lou McCarthy is a SF based reporter trying to expose powerful male predators (bro-ciopaths--love this term!) in Silicon Valley. Two powerful men with checkered pasts are killed in one night and Lou is in the middle of things. Who is the great and powerful wizard behind the curtain manipulating everyone?

There is so much more going on than the recap. I loved how the author covered so many important topics: about how women are treated in tech (ok, more than just in tech); the impact of a company knowing all about people and anticipating their next want/needs; how powerful people get to play by a different set of rules; what people are willing to do for money; doxing; and more.

1414° is also a great thriller as Lou meets different people and try to figure out whom she can trust. The book really grew on me, moving up from a solid 4 stars to closer to a 5. I highly recommend this book and look forward to more novels from Paul Bradley Carr.

1414 degrees is the temperature that silicon burns, which makes it an apt title for a #metoo thriller set place in Silicon Valley. Who wouldn't want to watch it all burn when you hear what some of these guys have gotten away with? This is a smart and fun thriller that will leave you thinking, if only.

This is a very exciting murder mystery set in Silicon Valley. There are so many intriguing twists and turns that kept me flipping pages non-stop. It’s fast paced and full of suspense. A most enjoyable read. *I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley and this is my honest review*

1414º by Paul Bradley Carr is a very highly recommended unique and gripping mystery/thriller that takes on Silicon Valley billionaires.

Journalist Lou McCarthy is fearless in reporting the toxic truth surrounding the Silicon Valley billionaire bro-ciopaths who get away with all manner of criminal actions. Her latest article for the Bay Area Herald exposes the CTO of Raum, a private tech company, as a sexual predator who has assaulted young women for years. The same day her controversial expose' is published, there is an Raum event where the official announcement of the multi-billion dollar initial public offering will be made. What happens instead is that the CTO takes his life as does another man who was a subject of one of Lou's articles. Lou is blamed for their deaths, fired, and while running for her life is suddenly rescued by Helen Tyler, a powerful member of Raum’s crisis-management team, but so much more. The two begin an investigation together that points to a much deeper, meticulously projected series of events planned by a person who calls themselves Fate, and Fate has a meticulously crafted agenda in the works.

1414º features intelligent, strong, likable, self-assured, and diverse female protagonists. The characters are all depicted as believable individuals with strengths and flaws, although most of the male characters are antagonists or trolls, there are a few good men. Lou is an excellent character to carry the plot and is believable as a journalist whose passion is to investigate, dig deep, and seek out the truth. Even with their small part of the plot, Lou's mom and her friend Carol are awesome, tough women you would want to know.

This is an extraordinary, unique, complex well-written mystery that is engrossing from start to finish. It is both fast paced and satisfying. You will not be able to predict the ending, which is a wonderfully remarkable occurrence and encouraged me to continue reading late into the night. The actual mystery/thriller is strong, compelling, and unparalleled in the plot and characters. The final denouement was very satisfying.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Snafublishing.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and Amazon.

So timely. Wow! This was a lot of fun to read--a satiric thriller about the "brociopaths" in Silicon Valley whose only concern is to make money with no regard for how much damage their social media platforms wreak. It all sounds so-familiar. Self-driving cars that run over and kill people. Social media platforms that encourage hordes of amped-up rednecks to doxx outspoken women and use location services to hunt them down.
An almost washed-up San Francisco journalist publishes an unverified, too-good-to-be-true story on the eve of the IPO of a massive company--its founder has been charged with rape. She knows publishing it could mean the end of her career, but she can't resist. This sets her on a rather spectacular collision course with some of the richest and most entitled tech giants in the world and puts her in imminent peril.
I just felt like a good, up-to-the-minute story that I was in the mood for, and I think other people will be, too. It may be fiction, but it rings true.

Fantastic! Shines a light on the toxicity and power inherent in some big businesses and calls into question the ethics of responsibility when a person feels driven to suicide. Make sure you read the acknowledgments - the context is important here. Well written, well paced and challenging.

This is an unusual and intriguing book. Mystery? Yes. Thriller? Yes. Strong woman main character? Yes. Sci-fi? Sort of. Disturbing to think it's a realistic scenario of the future? Definitely.

The writing is strong and the intrigue keeps the reader involved. A very timely novel.

Lou is a journalist who prints a story that she believes came from a good source. When it is proven to be full of holes, she is let go from her job. She continues to follow up on her story and falls into a much bigger set up than she ever thought possible in Silicon Valley.

This is not my normal kind of book as I am technologically challenged, but Carr does a great job of making it so even I could get it. It was a good thriller and makes you stop and think.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

Meet Lou McCarthy, the take-no-prisoners kind of reporter who puts the truth before her own safety. Thus begins a thriller almost impossible to put down. Taking place in a San Francisco that is almost the day after tomorrow, Lou makes it her business to confront the techno-bro culture of Silicon Valley, the patriarchal element built on billionaire entitlement. "This was an industry built on the promise of limitless memory, by people who couldn't remember what happened last week." Journalist and commentator Paul Bradley Carr has acknowledged that inspiration for this story and its heroine came from a real situation involving a woman's experience in one of the larger firms. Here Carr, in his first work of fiction, employs as a mcguffin stand-in a sort of Fit-bit containing an algorithm that anticipates and is capable of fulfilling any desire. The heroes are in fact developing "[A]n algorithm that could make powerful men face the consequences of their behavior." Given that Carr employs a reporter's style, action moves rapidly, twists and dead ends, and so many inside jokes and present-day references that knowledge of cultural references was a great help. It is also ironic to read this in a week when a powerful man is brought down on the strength of the content of his emails. A warning that when you hit "send," be sure of what it is you are shooting off into the ether.

1414 tackles a lot of different things in a very small amount of pages! I was grateful that the author tried to make every page matter, so the novel rarely loses pace. It got better the more I read, and the author is definitely someone I'll be keeping an eye out for.

4 stars
Oh, how I love it when an insider writes a book about what he knows. This had everything you could want about the bro code of the internet/silicon valley world. With all that is happening right now, it was the perfect read.

Book received for free through NetGalley

This book is fantastic. The characters and storyline were written amazingly and hooked me from the very start. A perfect read that I both wanted to finish in a day and savor over a month. Looking forward to future books.

The story of 1414º by Paul Bradley was a roller coaster ride that I enjoyed immensely; it is fast-paced and topical. There were many insightful points in the story.

Lou McCarthy has a very personal reason for ignoring all the rules, written and not, for a reporter to break a story accusing the chief technological officer of a Silicon Valley company of rape on the basis of an uncorroborated tip on the eve of a product launch guaranteed to send its stock soaring. Not to mention that Raum One will give the company more power over billions of lives than any one entity should possess. Lou's apartment - her tiny, shabby San Francisco studio - is in rubble, on ground purchased and leveled by Raum for its fancy new headquarters, But that alone wouldn't be enough to keep her relying on an unknown , informant when her digging reveals that sexual indiscretions are the least of the crimes going on at Raum. Wu's very public suicide leap at the big party thrown to celebrate the opening of Raum One forces Lou to keep following the sordid story, especially when one truth leads to another and despite the fact that the company will go to any length to cover up the most important truth of all - including killing her..

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Things are not what they seem and will have you guessing until the end. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

So many twists and turns in this book! At times I felt the book would never end, but I kept plodding through and it was well worth the wait until the end!

Free ARC from Net Galley

I was worried that our heroine "Lou" would be the new female lead of super hero and coupled with the fat that the first chapter dragged I was ready to highlight and delete, then I read chapter 2

Congratulations if you got a free copy, if not it is worth the price.

Great story that is almost derailed with the baggage of "all men are bad", but in the end a worthy read

Ya'll enjoy now.

Based on the description and as a technologist and resident of the SF Bay Area, I was quite eager to get my hands on this book. I found the book a bit of a drag in the beginning and almost gave up, but I am really glad I persisted. It is a reaffirmation of what we are allowing to happen to us given the way we are being monitored constantly.
Some of the things I didn't like were the now-in-vogue female hero and male villains, and many stereotyped characters.
Thank you Snafublishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

Lou McCarthy is a journalist who is constantly trying to expose corruption of the elite in Silicon Valley (job security, right?). She's discredited, and then pulled into a much bigger plot, with people who have the same agenda -- or do they?

This a fast paced story with lots of twists and turns. There are ambiguous questions, although it certainly doesn't spend time sitting around being philosophical. And it's also timely - the actions of the various powers could have been ripped right from the headlines.

Thanks to netgalley and the author and publisher for an ARC of the book. It was an exciting read!

I really this book. I caught me right from the beginning. Great story and good characters. It keeps you guessing and really make you think if the possibilities of our future.

A horror novel about Silicone Valley. This is not about how bad the working conditions are, or how tech is failing us. No, this is about murders, a journalist, trolls, and physical attacks on the people trying to stop those at the top from getting away with horrible crimes and the journalist staying alive.

‘The billionaire predators of Silicon Valley always get what they want. Now someone is giving them what they deserve’. The female characters in this book have been through rough times at the hands of the tech giants of Silicon Valley but now they are fighting back. A mystery, a commentary on females vs males in technology jobs and journalism, and, maybe, a look into our future.

The author did a fantastic job with the characters, the setting of silicone valley and keeping you on the edge of your seat with all the twists and turns.
I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it.


Thank you to NetGalley and snafublishing for providing me a copy of this book for my honest opinion.

To say this book exceeded my expectations is a severe understatement. I enjoyed this book so much, found it so difficult to put down, and absolutely LOVED the writing style and pace. Lou and Charity make an amazing duo, and I’d love to see them take down more bad guys in the future. I will say there were a few loose ends toward the end (what officially happened to Raum, Helen, and a few others), but the climax at the end was well worth it, and I absolutely squealed with joy at the slight Ray Bradbury-esq 1414° reference. What a cool touch. Highly highly recommend!

An old fashioned page turner with thoroughly modern plots ands twists, Excellent!! I'm recommending it very highly!

Smartly written modern thriller. I couldn't believe this the author's first work of fiction... or perhaps it's because it's probably closer to the truth than most would realize.. As a former "Corporate Mom" (I'd now be called a "Sharyl"), with an MBA and MSEE, I cheered on the dream team bringing down the brosciopaths (what a perfect word to describe them)!

Everything from the chapter headers (% left in book), the tech, investors, to the back stories of the brosciopaths, was written very cleverly to not only develop our understanding of the plot and characters but also to immerse you in a world that most people are fortunate enough to never see. I eagerly await the next book!

The cover both freaked me out but also drew me in! I went in with no expectations and no clues on what the book was about, just the cover. This is a true page turner which is something I have had a hard time finding this year. Modern, thrilling, relevant, exciting, brilliant, and impossible to put down. Character development is stellar, takes place in (Big Tech) Silicon Valley setting, so it’s not only modern but relevant. Honestly, this will be a top book of the year no doubt. This book is so well written I haven’t even been able to get attached to any other story.

1414º will keep you on on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. As the story unfolds, you wonder whether the various characters are who they appear to be. In any event, it will keep you guessing at every turn.

There are so many layers to this story. They spread from how powerful men in Silicon Valley treat women personally and professionally, to gentrification of the S.F. Bay area, to manipulation of the public and the stock market to privacy issues.

According to author Paul Bradley Carr who spent twenty years covering Silicon Valley for various publications, this novel is based on a true story that affected him personally. One of the most powerful companies in the Bay area sought to spend a million dollars to target the families of certain journalists, including his own.

This is Carr’s first novel and with public concerns regarding social media issues that exploded into the news recently, 1414º is timely. Additionally, it is fast-paced and unpredictable.

(The complete review will be posted on UnderratedReads on Nov.1, 2021

A Silicon Valley mystery/thriller with a big emphasis on taking down toxic masculinity. Lou McCarthy is working as a journalist to expose the misdeeds of high profile tech industry leaders, and it costs her almost everything. Just like a few other people have said; the first chapter is totally a drag but it picks up immediately and becomes incredibly enjoyable.

I am a bit late to the party as I had requested 1414 after the novel had been released. However, I am so glad that I was able to scoop it up in the nick of time. This was an incredible read!

I will say that 1414 takes a bit to pull you in but I knew from the start it would be worth the initial slow burn. This is a very detailed story and if you do not pay close attention, you will miss something.

This is a dark read with very complex characters. The story is narrated perfectly and will have you on the edge of your seat.

I highly recommend this book to all my fellow thrill lovers.

A disillusioned journalist fighting a seemingly almighty high tech corporation, a plot full of surprising twists, clearly defined characters. This book is a wild and fast ride through the modern world of Silicone Valley, a book that leaves the reader wondering about how much power today's real tech companies already have. Personally, I have read this book in a few days, the plot sucked me in right away and never let me out of its grip until I was done reading the last page. Five star rating well earned.

This book was pretty crazy. I highly recommend it. Our times of social media, smart watches, stock exchange and silicone valley really hits home reading this book and the sole control these companies can have on our lives. I currently only use one social media platform and have a regular analog watch, but this still makes me wonder about control they have on my life. As a smaller scale user of these technologies, I think we all should read this book. I know it's fiction, but it really can be eye opening. And with murder and mystery, it kept my attention when most tech stuff doesn't.

Did you know that Silicone melts at high temperatures of around 1414 degrees?? I LOVE that title! Lou McCarthy is a journalist who is best know for going after and exposing the billionaire bro-ciopaths (I also love that word) in Silicone valley. And what has it gotten her? Not much. Her readers don’t seem to care, and her co-workers all feel sorry for her. To top it off, even after exposure, the rich seem to just get richer. However, when two of her latest bad boys end up dead on the same night, her world is turned upside down. She is fired, blamed for the two deaths, and even her mother is caught in the crosshairs. Her only hope is to find the real killers before another person dies. But as Lou digs into the story, she begins to realize that maybe the person responsible is on the same mission as her, and maybe she should help them in their mission! Strong female leads in this book are based on a true story, and it is a great thriller. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this interesting read!

A thriller filled with suspense! I have been reading a few books recently about journalists who find themselves in challenging and tricky situations, but this book wins the prize. Makes you angry too about how so many of those silicon billionaires got away with so much. A great read!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Timely. Deviants working at a tech company, a clean-up crew to blackmail or threaten journalists to print retractions, and a rogue journalist that risks all to get the story out. Also, internet trolls that are willing to kill to protect their favorite tech company. Although fiction, it sounds a lot like the local news.

This book has a number of themes - retribution, mystery and, probably most compelling of all, an examination of the financial and moral excesses of megacorporations, in this case Silicone Valley. Lou McCarthy is a disenfranchised journalist who takes it upon herself to take on the Raum Corporation, the richest and most powerful company ever created, because of their almost criminal disregard for the lives of those they trample on their quest for an ever larger share of the information world. As one might suspect, this is far easier said than done. Along the way, Lou teams up with some unlikely allies.
The characterizations of corporations in this book are reminiscent of the muckraking tomes from the early Twentieth Century, highlighting as it does all the ugliness and smarm that is too often found in these megafirms. If I have anything negative to say about the book it is that it is decidedly anti-male. I suppose this is the norm for the current sociopolitical atmosphere but it still disturbed me.
On the whole, 1414° is a good, solid mystery. Some of the scenes may be a bit beyond the realm of belief but that just adds to the fun.

An interesting plot with #metoo undercurrents taking on big tech in San Francisco's Silicon valley. There is some profanity in this fast paced thriller. This was a new author for me and a subject I knew little about.
Lou McCarthy is a journalist at the Bay Area Herald. She has a reputation of uncovering and exposing wrongdoings. She's homeless since Raum One, the world’s most transparent building, replaced her former apartment building. She blindsides her boss by posting a story exposing Raum's chief technology officer, Alex Wu, as a rapist. Now she's also unemployed.
Cryptic circumstances have her attending the grand opening of Raum One. It's rumored that Raum’s CEO, Elmsley Chase, is announcing its IPO. The event is shattered by the very public suicide of Alex Wu. Her reputation is tanked, she's blamed, and now even her family is being harassed and threatened.
Things get worse as Joe Christian also very publicly attempts to kill himself. Lou had previously exposed him of sexual impropriety also.
Helen Tyler was hired by Raum's board to head the crisis-management team. She has a network of contacts and vague history. She orchestrates the harrowing rescue of Lou. They warily team up to find out who is behind the deaths of these prominate men and the connection to Raum.
There are lots of suspects, both inside and outside of Raum, with motives and money in play. The most likely culprit might be the next victim. Only "Fate" holds the answers. The cover-ups, twists and turns in this thriller will keep you guessing. The deceit of the male dominated network in Silicon Valley's tech world is an eye opener. The pace is frentic, the action is nonstop and there are unlikely alliances to expose the truth.
If you enjoy mystery, intrigue and staying up late to finish, read this one. An author I will watch for in the future.
Many thanks to Netgalley, Paul Bradley Carr and Snafublishing for the advance digital copy of "1414". These are my personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily.

Complicated multi thread plot set in the tech world.

Lou is a total underdog journalist - homeless, unemployed, savvy and seeking justice even when the personal cost is high. She uncovers tech intrigue, a culture of entitlement and victims of sexual violence navigating a simple story of people displaced by economic development.

Well written characters that definitely have room to develop for additional books.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and the plot excellent - full of surprises and suspense! If you love reading mysteries - you will love this one!

Complex plot makes this an exciting mystery thriller relevant to current events.

Lou McCarthy is a reporter for the Bay Area Herald and has spent many thankless years covering Silicon Valley -- mostly to expose the sleazy executives at the top. Those "brociopaths", however, keep on doing their nasty things and nobody ever pays. Until two of those hideous men commit very public suicides on the night of a big announcement for the huge new conglomerate, Raum -- one of the hottest technology companies on the verge of a massive IPO. When she is accused of driving the men to their deaths and is doxed by a vengeful group of #MLM trolls intent on tracking her down, she finds that someone else is intervening and might be responsible for taking those rich and powerful men and their companies down. When Lou meets "Fate", she is drawn into a very complicated game involving the sick predators and their entitled methods. No spoilers.

Fast pace, interesting characters, and a timely plot combine to make an interesting cautionary tale about the dark side of technology and the damage inflicted by those at the top in Silicon Valley. He's definitely aware of the misogyny and exclusionary practices in the industry. In a season when many books have been published about the #metoo scandals and the headlines continue to reveal a lot of bad boy behavior at the top levels of society, this book will definitely leave readers with a lot to think about.

Thank you to NetGalley and Snafublishing LLC for this e-book ARC to read and review.