A Noir taking on Cyber Crime

TNN Bureau. Updated: 1/13/2018 2:15:06 PM Books



CHIRDEEP MALHOTRA

Book: The Wild Cat
Author: Taanya Sarma

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With the all pervasiveness of technology, various benefits of the internet world have come up. However, cyber crime and cyber bullying is also a facet that has seen an upsurge with the mushrooming of various sites on the internet. There are not much of fiction books that take on the issue of cyber crime and explore it in its totality. In such a scenario comes the book “The Wild Cat” by Taanya Sarma which traverses the hideous world of cyber crime and brings its intricacies and intrigues to the reader; and that too with a lesson at the same time to help them steer clear of cyber criminals and cyber bullying.
This book details the story of a young woman named Tanya who enters the online dating and chat world. Having her boundaries clearly demarcated for herself, she befriends an investment banker Aaron. However Sam, a conman entangles Aaron into his ploy and the online dating takes a deviant turn for Tanya, as this unfolds into a twisted power struggle for money and love. Her journey with these two men evolves into a long winding road, with each turn bringing enormous changes in her life. However, enraged by the deceit and the unconscionable behaviour of these men, Tanya turns whistleblower and vows to assist the FBI in shutting down the dating app and put the perverted perpetrators behind bars. However, all this puts her life at risk. Will Tanya be able to put a stop to this dating site? Will she be able to put the offenders behind the bars and manage to save her life? This forms the storyline.
The book can be best described as noir or gris-noir, with a protagonist turning from victim to a hero, and the theme of willpower and strength is well underscored in the novel. The blurb at the back cover gives a genuine insight of the story and the travails and experiences in the online dating world and cyber bulling are described with authenticity, the author having taken the help of the online community and various chat buddies. However, the narrative is strong at times and trails elsewhere, but the plot is riveting from the start to the end.
The book is an attempt by the author to bring issues of cyber crime for discussion in various forums and stems from her desire to warn naive young women about the pitfalls of the online dating world. It is the first part of a trilogy, and readers would be waiting for the other different aspects of cybercrime that she would include in her coming books. The book is an entertaining read, a thriller with a plot which is gripping, vivacious and intense. That it also exposes the dark and vespertine facets of the online world, cyber crime, that is, with a plot which is gripping, vivacious and intense, makes it all the more interesting.



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