This was a bit wild and not necessarily in a good way. None of the characters were likeable, and it all wrapped up in such a quick and farfetched way, which to me left many potholes. There were some really interesting parts which in my opinion were not explored enough.

This book was a bit weak in my opinion. None of the characters are likeable at all. The writing is very basic. The ending was just crazy

synopsis was very intriguing, i love a workplace setting! but unfortunately this was just too repetitive and it felt like nothing happened

Ooh scary! Grippingly and totally unpredictable.
I couldn't put this down from the first chapter this was a reader.
Totally loved this - recommended - you bet!

The Helpdesk follows the lives of James and Bella, who have one of those incredibly rare perfect blissful lives, all until James makes an error on his work PC and needs to call the company’s IT Helpdesk. Charlotte picks up the phone and soon all three of their lives begin to collide and all sense of control goes out the window.

The blurbs sets the reader up for a rollercoaster thriller about the dangers of hacking, cyber security and the effects it can have, however the book reads more like a slow-burn character study of Bella and an examination of the concepts of power and control. While not necessarily a bad change of trajectory, I do feel it leaves the reading expecting a different type of book which sets up certain expectations.

Shane writes in his afterword that he originally intended to follow the helpdesk plot line but felt the need to follow Bella’s narrative, while some readers will enjoy this, I would have preferred a deeper exploration of the helpdesk plot and less of Bella.

Overall, I think it was an enjoyable read, maybe just not what I was expecting. I think if readers go in with the expectation of a slower character driven suspense novel they will take far more enjoyment from it.

As a side note I’m a huge fan of Shane’s other writing and his gripping writing style does pop up throughout this book. For those who would like to explore more of Shane’s writing I’ve a list of books of his below which I could not put down!

What I Liked
•How Dunphy looks at the concepts of power, greed and control
•Multiple POVs which added tension

Read If You Like
•Unlikeable Messy Characters
•Character study based suspense

Must Read Books by Shane/SA Dunphy
•Boyle & Keneally Series
•Dave Dunnigan Series
•Stories From The Margins Series
•Wednesday’s Child
•Last Ditch House
•Hush, Little Baby
•Will Mummy Be Coming Back For Me?

James and Bella are a loving couple with a great life. James is a high flying lawyer and one night misplaces a very important file. He rings his IT helpdesk and a lovey girl Charlotte fixes his problem for him. But then life takes a frightening turn, things start to go very wrong for him and Bella. But who is causing these problems? Who is behind it all and why?
I loved this story, plenty of twists and turns. I look forward to Shanes next book, he always delivers.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and Shane Dunphy for granting me an advance copy.

Grippingly unpredictable. Be prepared to put your life on hold! Taut and tense from the first page to the closing paragraphs……loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An IT helpdesk worker wreaks havoc on the career of a highflying lawyer- why and what can be done to stop them? A tense read that kept the pace throughout.

Thankyou to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this ARC.
This is my first title from this author, i really enjoyed and will be reading more from them in the future.
I really enjoy books with multiple POV and this book delivered that.
This book has a very unique story line which drew me in and i really liked the cover that also drew me in and made me want to read this title.
This book covers lies, betrayal, deceit and murder and i loved it.
I would recommend this to anyone.
Thankyou
5/5 stars

"The Helpdesk" by S.A. Dunphy is a thrilling mystery novel that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Set in a busy Dublin office building, the story follows the investigation of a young woman's murder. Detective Inspector Tom Reynolds and his team must navigate a web of secrets and lies to uncover the truth. With multiple suspects and unexpected twists, the plot is full of suspense and intrigue. Dunphy's writing is engaging and the characters are well-developed, making it easy to become invested in the story. Overall, "The Helpdesk" is a must-read for fans of crime fiction who enjoy a good puzzle and a satisfying conclusion.

This is a suspenseful story told from the multiple viewpoints of lawyer James, his teacher wife Bella, the IT support Charlotte, and (distractingly), a detective. Things start going wrong and the tension builds up. I would have preferred more time spent on James and less on his wife Bella, and found their inability/unwillingness to talk to each other to be quite frustrating. The ending tied everything up neatly, but was a little Hercule Poirot gathering up all the suspects an spelling everything out for them.

The Helpdesk is author Shane Dunphy's first standalone novel away from his non fiction stories and his David Dunnigan & Boyle and Keneally series.
We meet James Fitzpatrick and husband wife Bella in this story. Both high achievers, James, a lawyer working at a huge law firm in the city and Bella, a teacher at a prestigious school. While their marriage seems solid, it feels like they are passing ships in the night.
One evening while finalising details for an important merger happening, James inadvertently loses some files and calls the IT Helpdesk to see if they can help him.
Charlotte answers his call and quickly solves his problem but doesn't leave it there however.
Bella meanwhile is teaching at a rather expensive school after giving up on completing her thesis for her PhD which nearly destroyed her and cost her their marriage. It all ended badly for her in terms of her career and she has retrained as a teacher. But she does feel that part of her life is not finished yet. Her teaching career doesn't seem to be fulfilling her.
I did enjoy the relationship between James & Bella. James really did seem to care for her. They just seemed to have lost their way.
Charlotte I wasn't too enamoured with. Her almost obsession with James seemed a little misguided for me.
I loved the author's style of writing with this story. His plot, the twists and turns, the suspense, the drama all did make for a brilliant read for me.
I will look forward to more standalone novels from Shane.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Helpdesk' by S.A Dunphy.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for S.A Dunphy and Hatchette Ireland Books.

Publication date 19th January 2023.

This is the seventh book I have read by this author but his fourth book by S.A Dunphy.

I was originally drawn to this book by its intriguing eye catching cover, synopsis and title. I am also a huge fan of Shane Dunphy and if this is half as good as Shane's previous books it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Hatchette Books. I have yet to read a book published by Hatchette that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists 49 chapters and set over 2 parts. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in London, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. The fact that this book is based in England is even better as I have visited London and holidayed in England in many times so may even recognise some places Shane has set the book around.

This book is written in first person perspective with the main protagonists being James Fitzpatrick, Bella Fitzpatrick, Detective Sergeant Harvey Brennan and Charlotte Odette. The benefits of books written in first person perspective with multiple protagonists are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. When there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on.

'The Helpdesk' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Shane discusses/includes sexual assault and some strong language.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVED IT!! Well I must say Shane you are very talented man!!! What another absolutely addictive read!! I am already eagerly awaiting your next book regardless of the genre!! You are a man of many talents!!

This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that places you write in the heart of the storyline and leaves you hearing the traffic of London and feeling your heart race. The title, cover and synopsis work perfectly with the storyline.

This is the fourth crime novel I have read by Shane and he is one of those rare authors who books are fantastic and yet also keep getting better and better. I have read most of his non fiction books from when he was working as a child protection worker and loved them all. They were heartbreaking and I shed many tears but they were fantastic books. Shane then started writing crime novels and was intrigued by the change of genre. This isb the first standalone crime novel I have read by him (I believe it is the first he has written but may be wrong) and I cannot wait for him to bring his next one out!! I am very pleased to say that Shane writes fiction just as fantastically as non fiction!!!

This storyline is definitely unique which I loved. I'm a big fan of crime but it can be tedious reading similar storylines so this one was a nice refreshing change. It is such a thought provoking book that left me thinking about it says after reading it and considering how much we rely on technology and also on strangers to help with this technology. It is extremely paced and addictive. I was completely absorbed from page one until the fantastic explosive ending which I most definitely was not expecting!! . It is ram packed with suspense, adultery, tension, humour, obsessions, plots, mystery, romance, control, and everything you want in an unputdownable page turner. I was constantly trying to work out who the "good" and "bad" characters were and my mind kept flipping from one to the other throughout as each secret was revealed. Every single chapter ended on a point where I just had to know what happened next and I just could not put it down which ended up with me devouring it in one sitting!! I absolutely love the multiple points of views as it gives us so much insight into who was doing what and what they were thinking it brings the whole story to life leaving you feeling like you are sitting in front of each of them while they tell you their story. The only criticisms I have is that the ending did seem to be slightly rushed and I would like to have known more about what happened with Caleb but neither of these spoilt the storyline as a whole for me so I will be rating this amazing book a 5/5!!
There were so many twists and turns throughout leading you to one red herring and then another whilst constantly questioning yourself who is actually behind everything all along and if you can trust any of the protagonists. The book wrapped up with everything explained (it's a pet hate of mine where a book ends and vital parts seem to have gotten lost in the storyline and never mentioned again). One of the best things about this series too is that although it is predominantly a crime mystery it has sprinkles of humour scattered throughout which lightens it up from time to time and Shane does it well. I was shocked when I did discover who was behind everything that had been going and and the reasons behind everything. I had genuinely believed it was for other reasons by other people entirely so well done Shane on shocking me, not an easy feat considering how many crime books I have read!! I really couldn't recommend this book to anyone and everyone more and I would absolutely love to see this made into a movie!

The fact that Shane has obviously either done some research or knows alot about technology, law and police procedures shines through so another congratulations is deserved. I have read several books where the author either has not done enough or hasn't done any research into their chosen topic and the book is then littered with unnecessary mistakes which spoils the storyline.


Clear your schedules before even turning a page in this book as it is utterly addictive and you will not be able to put it down!!

Each of the main characters were strong, realistic and their own unique personalities and I was intrigued by each one of them. The storyline is very character focused and it drip feeds you just enough information for you to try and work out what each of them is up to without giving too much away. I went from feeling sorry for some of them to being disgusted a few pages later then to annoyed and so forth. There were several times where I felt positive towards one character and completely disliking another just for the feelings to be flipped a few chapters later. I wish I could go into more details about how I felt about them but now that I know who was doing what and why I would be too worried about letting anything out and spoiling things for future readers so I will have to leave it there but if you have read this book and are up for a chat about it please pop me a message!!

Congratulations Shane, a man of many talents, on yet another absolutely fantastic explosive addition to a very addictive series. This is why you are my favourite male author!! Here is to yet another success 🍻!!!

Overall an absolutely addictive, unique and unputdownable crime mystery that you will devour in one sitting!!

Genres covered in this novel include Psychological Thriller, Crime Thriller, Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Modern Fiction, Mystery, Suspense and Thriller amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Shalini Boland, 'Gone Girl', Angela Marsons, Carol Wyer anyone and EVERYONE!!! What are you waiting for? Grab your copy now!!


343 pages.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle and £8.99 in paperback via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Often Unexpected..
James and Bella have apparently perfect lives. Everything is going right for them. At least it is until James makes that one late night call to the IT Helpdesk - from there so begins a catalogue of bizarre events. As everything spirals downwards, their nigh on perfect lifestyle takes a tumble - it all started with that one call, so who was at the other end? Cleverly plotted, often unexpected and with an unusual but attractive premise comes a slow burn mystery with a twist.

A fan of the Boyle & Keneally books I already liked the author’s work but this is a totally different read.
I really enjoyed this. It’s not the book I thought it would be, your anticipation of what it is about from the cover is only a tiny bit right, but boy has it got so much more to give. It completely exceeded my expectations. A genuine don’t want to put down read.

James and Bella live a seemingly charmed life. James is on his way to becoming partner at his prestigious law firm, while Bella teaches at one of the top schools in London. When James makes a potentially career ending error at work he rings the IT helpdesk. The woman who answers the phone becomes their worst nightmare.

I think one of the main issues I had with this book is that it didn’t stick to the plot. I don’t want to give too much away, but the above synopsis doesn’t capture the book well. The book takes a while to get going, with a lot of unnecessary build up. Maybe I had different expectations for this book, I was imagining it to delve into the dark side of technology and hacking and to be honest I thought it was a much smaller part of the book then I wanted. I thought the book focused more on Bella’s storyline and past.

The characters themselves are unlikeable, each with their own issues. The lack of communication between the characters is what causes a lot of the issues. James is married to his job, his wife Bella is now unhappy in their marriage and is having trouble at work, while Charlotte at the helpdesk is made to seem more mysterious than she is.

It could have been my own expectations leading to this, but I found this book disappointing.

On paper, James and Bella have a perfect live. James is climbing the corporate ladder as a lawyer on the way to becoming a partner. Bella teaches in one of London's most prestigious schools. They have a beautiful home , life seems to be good. One night, James makes a potentially huge error in work and rings the IT helpdesk. A woman answers his call, resolves his issue and so begins a chain of events that upends their surface perfect life.

I liked this one. An interesting premise, the anonymous helpdesk employee at the end of the phone, we have all spoke to them in times of frustration/ desperation , interesting to consider the potential for chaos from such an everyday occurrence . This premise and the strong development of the characters made this an engaging read. It is evenly plotted with twists and turns throughout , gentle twists and turns it has to be said but enough to keep interested.

However, I found the ending rushed and too full of coincidence. There was enough time in the book to allow things to play out in a more believable manner.. Very much tell don't show which let the book down overall.

Enjoyable read with a fresh and unique concept, shame about the closing chapters.

It's a psychological thriller, well plotted and tense. James and Bella are two well written and interesting characters, the villain is the most interesting but I wouldn't like to meet this character.
I liked the book even if the revelation was a bit more Agatha Christie than the rest of the book.
Entertaining but I prefer Boyle & Keneally.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Whilst the start of the book wasn’t an exciting part of the plot I was completely taken up with it. I worried with James and believed I was going to really enjoy the book. However the whole lack of a decent conversation between any of the characters spoiled it for me. If that is what the plot has to hang on I don’t think it’s enough.
There are some very unsettling scenes too which come out of the blue and not my cup of tea.

James is a successful lawyer on the rise in a prestigious legal firm, and married to the smart, beautiful, and capable Bella. On the surface, he has it all - until the night he makes a potentially career-ending error, which sets in motion a chain of catastrophic events.

At first it seems that James is out of the woods when helpdesk operator Charlotte retrieves the information he has seemingly lost. But just who is Charlotte exactly? And why does James keep thinking about her...?

Things I loved about the book: multiple POVs, genuinely engaging and well-paced, interesting and flawed characters.

Things that weren't my favourite: the ending felt a little rushed, and everything was laid bare with motivations and reasons, and it felt a little too clear cut and black and white (I like a little it left to the imagination).

This is my first book by this author but it won't be the last. An enjoyable, well plotted read with great twists and turns. I look forward to reading more from Shane Dunphy.

Thank you to NetGalley, and to the publisher, for granting me a free advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.