Review: Social Misconduct by S. J. Maher

Social Misconduct, a new thriller by author S. J. Maher, is available today. Below you can find the book blurb (as found on Goodreads), followed by my full thoughts on the execution of the story. If you'd like to know more about the author, visit his website here.

P L O T :

Her perfect job becomes the perfect nightmare when a stalker hacks her phone. Candace Walker is thrilled when she lands a new job at a hip Manhattan tech company and gets a brand-new iPhone. She’s more than ready to move on from creating clickbait ads for weight-loss pills and herbal erection boosters, and is determined to dazzle the startup team she joins. A week later, though, everything is at risk: Candace is the target of a mysterious harasser and an online smear campaign. She tosses her new phone into the Hudson River, begins hiding out in her sister’s storage locker in New Jersey, and can’t think of a single person she can trust. But Candace hasn’t come this far—and gone to such lengths—to submit to what is happening without a fight.

M Y T H O U G H T S :

Social Misconduct stood out as interesting to me when I read the synopsis, but unfortunately the story itself didn't live up to that initial excitement. It can be hard to truly invest in a story and it's outcome, when you feel no connection to the main characters- and that was the case with this novel. The main character was unreliable, and unlikable; she was judgmental and annoying. When Candace initially gets hacked and harassed, it's awful, but as the story moves forward I began to have a hard time continuing to empathize with her. I think part of the problem was the way the book was written. The alternating timeline chapters made it difficult to really grasp the complete change in her character. I never really saw that change or breakdown; it was like two different people. Candace's past wasn't deeply explored so her motivations weren't always clear. I also struggled with how many topics were touched on in the story. The book covers prostitution, rape, murder, human trafficking, swatting, suicidal thoughts, drugging, Incel, paternal abuse, internet voyeurism, hacking, harassment. It almost felt like "you name it, it's mentioned." Certain topics and plot points were well developed, others felt like filler and unnecessary. It was too much. The ending wasn't clean cut, and it seemed incomplete. The culprit wasn't one I had guessed, but sadly by this point it didn't matter who it was going to be. Unfortunately, this social media cautionary tale missed the mark for me.