CTRL-ALT-Delete

Dave Lewis

Average Rating 6/10 (1 Review)

One of the most authentic British crime thrillers you will read. A real rollercoaster ride that introduces the story of Welsh serial killer Hagar.

Ctrl-Alt-Delete is the first book in the series.

An edge-of-your-seat crime thriller starts with a kidnapping and psychological torture scene. When beautiful Jenny Morris uses Facebook to get her ex-boyfriend Hal Griffiths to stalk her she has no idea what a dangerous game she is playing - for someone else is watching from the murky shadows of cyberspace.

And when an horrific murder in a sleepy Welsh village stirs a seasoned reporter, a conceited detective and an overweight IT expert into action, they too always seem to be one step behind the mysterious killer - Hagar.

Against the backdrop of a tangled web of deviant sexual practices Hal must rescue his lover before the killer strikes again. In the wilds of the Brecon Beacons National Park an electrifying climax is played out when Hal is forced to confront his deadly rival.

Social and political commentary within a close-knit community has never been so honest. Pornography morphs into technology and we are forced to ask ourselves the question - will man’s lust for instant gratification ultimately be his undoing?

A full-throttle thriller effortlessly blending violence, eroticism and suspense, Ctrl-Alt-Delete is both a modern love story and a prophetic tale of intrigue in our ever-distracting machine driven world. A truly gripping debut novel by Dave Lewis.

Review by Ben Macnair (010426) Rating (6/10)

Review by Ben Macnair
Book Source: Not Known
Rating 6/10
In CTRL-ALT-Delete Dave Lewis has produced a modern thriller. It is full of modern technology, Facebook, murder, and that old standby, eroticism, to tell its story of love gone wrong, stalking, and an open-ended final chapter, leaving room for a sequel, but not the resolution that the audience deserved to have.

Central character Jenny Morris uses her Facebook profile to entice her former lover Hal to resume their relationship, but she does not realise that on the Internet, the whole world can see what you write, think and feel, and that somethings are better left unwritten. As the cover states, ‘In cyber-space, no-one can hear you scream’.

Into this story, a seasoned newspaper man, looking for another big scoop to rehabilitate his career, a conceited, arrogant detective, and a weighty IT expert are required to hunt down the real danger on the internet. Along the way, the seamy underbelly of a sleepy Welsh village is revealed, as well as a posing a series of interesting questions.

I felt that at times the book was sensationalist, some of the action would have been better left to the imagination. In a lot of cases, less is more, which certainly applies here. The plot bounds along, with a lot of short sentences, and chapters, spirited dialogue, and larger than life characterisations, and it is told in traditional thriller fashion, but if there are vicars, or readers of a more nervous disposition, then this book may not be too suitable a choice for book groups.
Ben Macnair (1st April 2026)