1414° by Paul Bradley Carr (Audiobook)

Snafublishing LLC
Audible Release: April 25, 2022
Listening Length: 11 hours 52 minutes
Narrator: Emily Lawrence
Genre: Thriller
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this audiobook for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Paul Bradley Carr is the author of The Upgrade, Bringing Nothing To The Party, and Sober Is My New Drunk. His first novel, 1414º, was published in October 2021. He spent 20 years covering the dark side of Silicon Valley for publications including the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, Private Eye, PandoDaily, and Techcrunch. He was also the founder and Editor in Chief of the infamous NSFWCORP in Las Vegas. Paul was born in Dunfermline, Scotland and currently lives in San Francisco and Palm Springs, California.

“Correlation was not causation.”

Lou finds herself caught in a dangerous and quickly turning deadly game of cat and mouse when she tries to take on Silicon Valley bigwigs. But as the truth starts to emerge, the game gets hotter and hotter.

This was an interesting book. I am generally not one to read tech-heavy books, but there was a nice element of suspense to this one, and I enjoyed it.

The character development was well done, and we get to know each main character reasonably well throughout the novel. I loved that intelligent, capable, formidable females led this book. That was incredible to see.

The storyline is intense the entire time, with bursts of escalation and several twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I enjoyed the performance of narrator Emily Lawrence. She did a phenomenal job bringing each character to life. I would listen to her narrate a novel again.

I had a blast listening to this book. It was full of tech, mystery, a female POV, and a great storyline. I could not stop listening because I needed to find out what happened next.

I read The Circle years ago and this had some similar vibes to that book. It also had some Blake Crouch vibes (which is always great) and even a hint of Gillian Flynn with some of the twists and turns.

If you want a modern story that feels relevant to our not-so-distant future, this is a great option for you. It’s about a tech company, but it’s really about people and the choices we make. How will the Y/N options in our lives shape our future? Are we in control? Who is driving the platforms we use and trust? Those are crucial questions that we need to wrestle with as we continue toward a future where select companies run our entire lives.

The narrator of this audiobook sounded like a robot, which made it hard to get into. But once I got used to it, the story was captivating

This book was gripping. I enjoyed the forensic takedown of the 'tech bros' of silicon valley and it was satisfyingly visceral. I saw some of the twists ahead, but not in a way that spoiled my enjoyment,

I found the online mob riled up by alt-right hate speech pretty chilling and it is great to see a thriller with some terrific female characters which unpicks both the danger and the potential of our instantaneous online culture.
The end became a a little far fetched, but by that point I was so deep into the story that I wasn't coming out no matter what!
Overall, fun, exciting and an excellent beach read that stays with the reader for a long time afterwards! Would recommend,

1414° - the melting temperature for silicon - is a twisty, inventive and fun story about avenging women who take on Silicon Valley’s toxic bro culture, Stanford University (and all university IT programs where women are belittled and harassed), and a Saudi Crown Prince.
Within quick succession, a current tech titan and a former one commit suicide. Lou ,an investigative reporter, publishes and then is forced to retract her story revealing that one of those men was a serial rapist. A corporate fixer/crisis manager working for the board of a giant tech company about to go public rescues Lou when she’s targeted by men’s rights social media woman-hater and his group on like-minded nut jobs. A mysterious avenger known as Fate seems to be pulling everyone’s strings. These characters and many others (Lou’s mom is fearsome) work to change the big tech mostly men-only world and somebody’s got the algorithm to do it.
A terrific book that takes #MeToo to the next level.

A riveting and totally believable story, with a lot of twists and turns, however it did get a bit hard to keep track of who was who, and who had done what as the story went on. I found it a little oddly paced.

Well narrated in general, however the English accent was hammy and over the top with mispronunciations of things that Brits just wouldn’t say in that way. I don’t know why people don’t get these accents/pronunciations checked over by someone who is from that region.


Overall the book was middle of the road for me.

It pains me to write this, but this story just didn't do it for me. I could not connect with Lou, or any of the other characters in the story. I didn't enjoy how the events were organized either. It's very rare for me for not find something to enjoy about a book, but that seems to be the case with 1414 for me.

When someone died, I honestly just didn't care. It was not shocking and it did not propel the story forward for me. That is usually not the case when I read a thriller novel. It could be that the setting of Silicon Valley was just not working for me and that set the tone for my opinions thereafter.

I did not have a problem with the narrator. I just did not enjoy the story. I do not rate books lower than 3 stars because I am always impressed with the fact that an author put themselves out there and shared their writing with the world.

I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher, Snafublishing, for allowing me the opportunity to listen to this audiobook for feedback.

Lou is a journalist living in Silicon Valley and working to expose the secrets of tech billionaires and what she deems "brociopaths." She in particular has an axe to grind with Raum, a company that bought her apartment complex and left her homeless while using it for their giant new "transparent" glass building. When she gets a tip about one of the executives the night before their IPO announcement, she acts rather than vets.

Her tip was a setup, but the events that take place during the party lead her on a chase to uncover why some of the most powerful men are committing suicide under suspicious circumstances, and how "Fate" was involved.

This book kept me really engaged at the beginning, but as things got more complex and windy it became harder to keep track of everything involved. There was a cast of characters that were recognizable even if fictional.


In some ways I started this book because it felt like wish fulfillment - a journalist working to expose tech billionaires so that they finally have to be accountable for their wrongdoing. Ultimately though, having lived through the #metoo movement, but also seen the aftermath of the comeback tours and the wealth and status these men still enjoy, it made this book feel more fantasy than thriller.

One aspect of this that I do feel is significant is that it's a feminist tech thriller, but it's written by a man. I couldn't help but how the perspective might change. Would some of the female characters seeking revenge have acted in different (less harmful) ways? Would unlikely allies have actually been allies?


I received this book courtesy of NetGalley and Snafublishing.

1414° is the melting point of silicon. It is an apt title as the female characters want to burn down the patriarchy of Silicon Valley.

This book definitely had me wondering - does the end justify the means? Three females are tackling the misbehaving males of tech companies. Each approaches it in their own way, but they aren't really making any headway in getting justice. They each operate in some gray areas, but how great of lengths are they willing to go to topple the patriarchy?

Lou McCarthy is a journalist and exposes the men's deeds on the pages of the local paper. But the men still win. First, she lost her apartment and now she has lost her job. And the men come out smelling like roses. In the instance of her apartment building, they compensated homeowners with relocation money. However, none of the tenants in the building were actually owners so they didn't see a dime.

Helen Tyler is the woman companies hire when the men get the bad publicity from people like Lou. Why would she help these despicable men? She knows it is highly unlikely that the victims will win against them but she hopes she can balance the scales a bit by financially compensating the victims.

And then there is the shadowy figure known as Fate. She is definitely pulling strings to make sure these men pay for real.

When two men who Lou exposed and Helen has been hired to fix their company's image wind up dead, these three women are brought together to burn it all down. But is that enough if nothing better arises from the ashes?

Now, 1414° is not necessarily a story that will have you on the edge of your seat but it is definitely full of twists and turns that keep you guessing. I listened to the audiobook, which is wonderfully narrated by Emily Lawrence, and I found that I really had to pay attention. The characters aren't upfront about who they are, what they are doing, or how far they are willing to go. It is important to pay close attention to the details if you want to figure out the end game.

Though it is slower-paced in some ways than your typical thriller, it definitely held my interest. As the dangers these women face become more intense I found myself more and more singularly focused on the story and felt that the pace was also speeding up.

If you enjoy intricate stories with complex characters, then this is a book you should pick up.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Wednesday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2022/06/can-you-solve-mystery-in-these-two.html

I really enjoyed 1414, whip-smart, fast-moving, and a delightfully refreshing murder mystery. Carr creates a dramatic tech-bro atmosphere in which nothing is as it seems and journalist Lou stops at nothing to get to the bottom of it all. There were several laugh-out-loud moments and I would highly recommend this book!

This book was a rollercoaster. I trusted no one and had a hard time following along with some of the tech language and all the characters.

I liked the mystery at the beginning, but the more things were revealed the harder time I had keeping track of what was happening.

I feel like there was a lot of build up and then the ending was super quick. I was listening to the audiobook and I think with all the characters I needed to read the ebook or physical copy to have the visual reminder of the names.

Overall I thought this was pretty good. Badass women taking down disgusting men in tech and holding them accountable for all the awful things they’ve done.

A very interesting premise, that took a lot of twists and turns. The plot held my interest but some the the reveals didn't land as surprises. The lead characters were strong. Their motivations were clear but as the driving force of a decade of their lives, felt like a strain on credibility.

I listened to an audiobook of 1414 by Paula Bradley Carr and really enjoyed it.
The narrator was EXCELLENT and brought the story to life.

Lou McCarthy is a reporter who always seeks the truth and often puts truth in front of safety.

The story takes place in a San Francisco. This techno thriller was exciting.

The characters were well written and complex. The story exceeded by expectations.

This was a FANTASTIC audio book!

I listened to this tech thriller audiobook over the last 3 days. I absolutely loved the main character Lou. She's resilient. She's smart. She's a quick thinker.  She's just plain bad ass!!

Sorry, I got side tracked 😆 I like how the story combined both journalism and the tech world. The character development was good as well. I enjoyed the plot line and listening to the story unfold.

The author tells you in the story why the title is 1414° which I appreciated. It may seem trivial but I needed to know! 🤷🏻‍♀️

It was narrated by Emily Lawrence. I love the way she reads the story!

Read/listen to this book if
👩🏻‍💻 you love strong female characters
👩🏻‍💻 you like books set in California
👩🏻‍💻 you like books involving technology
👩🏻‍💻 you like murder/thriller books

I'd recommend this book and mark it is as a BUY or BUD on the scale of Buy, Bargain, Borrow, Bud (audio) or Bust.  (And yes I came up with the scale. I'm oddly proud of it!)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Snafublishing for gifting me an audio ARC of the debut book by Paul Bradley Carr and narrated by Emily Lawrence - 4 intriguing stars!

Lou McCarthy has spent her career exposing predators in Silicon Valley as she works for the small Bay Area Herald newspaper. But it's all been for naught - the tech boys always win while she has lost everything. But when two of her subjects died by public suicide on the same night, she is thrust into the world of online and real world trolls. She discovers something that she wasn't prepared for while investigating that throws everything for a loop.

This is an interesting book - a story of bad tech boys and the Silicon Valley patriarchy written by a man! It's a thriller - and a scary one considering how much of our privacy we already give up to our phones, our Fitbits, our home systems. I thought the narration was great but I did have a little trouble keeping people straight - mostly because there was a lot of subterfuge in the characters. I loved the title - 1414° is the melting point of silicon. How apt. Definitely worth checking out!

A tech thriller which exposes secrets in Silicon Valley. Journalist Lou wants to expose them. She gets fired when she wants to expose someone. She only had one source, but it was too juicy, to not pursue.
Alex Wu is a serial predator and is a Chief Technical Officer at Raum. Alex commits suicide and secrets come out. The company was about to announce its IPO.
Helen Tyler is a British journalist and is hired by Raum to clean up their image after the suicide. Does she have an alternate motive? Who are the victims? Who are pulling the strings behind the scenes?
Fate is a character which is in the background but has an impact. Can she be trusted? So many twist in this story, it’s kind of confusing. You really have to pay attention.

I'm personally done with all finance bros and all tech bros: their stories of how everything started in their parent's garage or how they make their way up from first day of internship to C-suite... How they are all self-made, not like their parents pay their way into Ivy League colleges or become their first angel VCs. I just want to scream at their faces every time they try to give their "TedTalk". Sorry buddies, everything is served to you on silver, no gold, platter and you used labor of so many who wouldn't even recognize to get where you are.

1414° is melting point of silicon. 1414° is story of melting of everything corrupt in Silicon Valley. 1414° is story of how toxic bromance of few white, privileged boys need to be stopped. One way or another, everyone will face karma and get what they deserve - whether it's because they took away credit from rightful owners or they caused some level of harm to others. These once academically gifted young Standford "men" who made a simple mistake due to their youth got all they deserved (I'm sure first part of that sentence is very familiar).

If you want to see powerless got their voice back (even in fiction world - you know one can dream), you will like this book. And it's funny and tragic that I'll be promoting this book on one of the creations of Silicon Valley...

The idea of this book was really promising, a journalist going up against Silicon Valley. However, parts were very confusing to me and while I did finish listening to the audiobook, I didn't completely love it. Parts were quite exciting, and others were dreadfully boring, or kind of weird.

A journalist gets stung after one too many articles about another man in power who was accused of - and exonerated for - rape. Following the unexpected deaths of two known offenders, Lou finds herself allied with a mysterious woman who has a heck of a plan to bring men like this down once and for all. If justice can't reach them, Fate will. Fans of twisty suspense should enjoy this.

Lou is a journalist dedicating her life to bringing down the corrupt high powered businessmen in the tech industries at all costs & embarrassments.

Helen was hired by one of those corrupt organizations to clean up their image.

Fate is the tech knowledge behind this wicked team of three & her tech prowess is messing with RAUN.

This is a fun quick wild techno thriller ride! I imagine you’re wondering what 1414 means. 1414 degrees is the temperature at which silicon melts.

Thank you NetGalley & Snafublishing LLC for the free copy of the audiobook.