Hard Drive

Difficult to read but this was not the fault of the book just the awful facts disclosed about what this family had to go through. Even getting the evidence that they needed to prove their son's death was not suicide does not end the most hurtful event a parent could ever live through.
The tale is complex and depressing but one that had to be told.

REVIEW: HARD DRIVE by Mary Todd and Christina Villegas

A hard-hitting account of an unexpected, untimely, unnecessary death, that of Shane Truman Todd, Ph. D., an American electrical engineer working in Singapore. Days before his scheduled departure to.the States, where Shane had extensive extended family and a promising new career, his girlfriend Shirley found him in his apartment, apparently dead by hanging. At least, that is how the local police decided, despite evidence to the contrary. Shane' s parents, siblings, and other relatives persevered to obtain an accurate verdict.

review will be posted 11/21 Hard Drive is written by the cousin and mother of Shane Todd, an American Engineer who took a job in Singapore. He was supposed to be leaving his job and coming back home to the US - but he is found hanged in his apartment and several suicide notes were written for his family and friends on his computer and it is figured it is just a suicide. By Shane's family knows better. Earlier he had mentioned that he thought his life was being threatened to his family. The suicide notes don't add up. They are not written by Shane. If he didn't write them - he didn't commit suicide.

A break in the case comes when Shane's parents find a hard drive with the backup of a lot of Shane's files on it. The police seem to think that there is nothing important on it and claim that they checked it out and gave it to his parents. His parents story suggests otherwise. His parents use it to try and prove that Shane's death was NOT a suicide.

This book would have been great if it was fiction - but the fact that it is non fiction just kind of blew my mind. Shane seemed like he was very bright and had a great future ahead of him.

I received a free e-copy in order to write this review and was not otherwise compensated.

We, as a country, are lead to believe that our government is there for us when we need justice. The media tells us every day what our politicians are striving to provide for us. Big businesses profess to be making our lives better and improving our world. But how much are the government and big business REALLY doing for WE THE PEOPLE?

Dr. Shane Todd believed in what he was doing for the good of scientific research. He understood that it was his job to not relinquish confidential information to other countries without the express permission of the United States. When he discovered that not everyone believed the same way, Dr. Todd decided that he did not wish to continue working in Singapore, tendered his resignation and was preparing to return home. He never got beyond the front door of his Singapore apartment. Thus began the nightmarish legal battle of Rick and Mary Todd vs. the Chinese AND U.S. governments.

Murder vs. Suicide...Vindication vs. Vendetta. If ever there was an example of a "kangaroo court" it was this case. I myself read this book through in one sitting; each page leaving me with my mouth agape at how the injustices mounted one after another and with my head spinning. By the last page, I had tears in my eyes and a heart full of pain for the Todd family. My dearest wish is that they find peace knowing that their son is and will always be a man of whom to be proud.

In a world where corruption at the highest levels of government and business is the norm, finding a righteous man is rare. In a world where the wrong people are touted as role models, finding a true hero is difficult. Dr. Shane Todd was both a righteous man and a true hero.