Treacherous Hack

Treacherous Hack 

Treacherous Hack is the latest novel to be checked off my to be read list. It is book number seven in the Detective Mike Stoneman series from Kevin G. Chapman. 

I became an avid fan of Chapman’s Mike Stoneman series not long after I started my blog and I read Righteous Assassin, and I’ve been reading the series since then. 

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Have you read Treacherous Hack? Come on in and let me tell you about it! 

About Treacherous Hack 

From the award-winning Mike Stoneman Thriller series comes Book #7 — a gripping crime thriller set in the heart of a frozen New York City.

When electronics store owner Lou Palazzo is gunned down at a snowy Manhattan intersection, NYPD homicide detectives Mike Stoneman and Jason Dickson catch a case that’s anything but ordinary. Back at Lou’s shop, two Chinese nationals linked to a powerful Shanghai cybercrime ring are dead. The only clue? A missing laptop computer, possibly containing something Lou was willing to die to protect.

Meanwhile, NYU student Ryan Gelb is panicking. His hacked laptop held the stolen university data — data he quietly gave to his Uncle Lou. Now Lou is dead, and whoever killed him is coming for the file. . . and for Ryan.

Caught between international cybercriminals, New York mobsters, and the police, Ryan is desperate to recover the file and avoid being expelled — or worse, executed.

As Mike and Jason untangle a web of secrets, lies, and digital deception, they’re met with stonewalling from all sides: NYU won’t talk, witnesses are hiding the truth, and even their closest allies are keeping dangerous secrets.

With the body count rising and a deadly showdown looming, the race is on to solve the mystery, recover the missing file, and avoid turning Lower Manhattan into a bloodbath.

Perfect for fans of Michael Connelly, John Sandford, and David Baldacci, this high-stakes police procedural mixes hard-boiled action, cybercrime intrigue, and unforgettable characters in a page-turning thriller you won’t be able to put down.

Treacherous Hack Genres

• Mystery
• Psychological Thriller
• Police Procedural
• Crime
• Action and Adventure

Thoughts on Treacherous Hack 

Treacherous Hack is the latest in the series of Mike Stoneman novels, and I’ve got to say, this is one of the most intense games of cat and mouse I’ve read in a long time. Author Kevin G Chapman takes characters and storylines from many of his previous novels and combines them all into an absolute thrill ride.

One thing I have to state right off is that I am an avid gamer, and I have been for nearly 40 years. So the fact that a good portion of Treacherous Hack’s plot revolves around video gaming made me smile every time it was brought up. I almost wish the fictitious game that’s central to this plot, Blades of Karma, was actually a real game that I could try for myself. It sounds like a lot of fun, and is exactly the type of game I like to play.

Another thing I really loved about Treacherous Hack was the fact that Jason’s wife Rachel was integral to the resolution of the story, rather than being a side character in Mike and Jason’s adventures. She works as a media reporter who’s been assigned to cover the very same murder investigation that her husband is working on. That conflict of interest made every interaction between them as interesting as the investigation itself.

On the other hand, though, the only way this plot can work is that the bad guys of this story are absolutely clueless when it comes to gaming, gaming culture, and everything associated with it. In the year 2025, that stretches credulity for me. 

Even if one is not a gamer, I feel that anyone who lives in the modern world should be aware of the fact that video games exist and are a big part of many peoples’ lives. The story would have resolved much sooner if the bad guys were in any way literate in gaming, so every time the story showed them floundering around trying to find the hacked file, it felt like the book was being artificially lengthened.

Where the book Treacherous Hack could have used some extra padding though was in the last couple chapters. Those chapters felt more like cliff notes of what happened to the characters after the main story ended. There wasn’t anything organic about how the information was revealed to the reader. It reminded me of the end of movies like Animal House, where there were still shots of the main characters with a short description of what happened to them later.

These nitpicks aside, I am quite happy with Treacherous Hack, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves gaming and crime thrillers.

Final Thoughts on Treacherous Hack 

I’m calling Treacherous Hack a solid four star read. Despite my small nitpicking complaints about the book, it was still a really fun and enjoyable read for me. If you are a gamer, want to be a gamer, or know someone who is a gamer, this is the book for you. 

I really don’t think you can go wrong with any of Kevin G. Chapman’s writing, and Treacherous Hack is certainly no exception to this. I really like how all of his stories are different. Yes, the Mike Stoneman series is about one detective, but there is no monotony in each story. They are always different, so I never find myself bored, and I appreciate that. 

I have no idea if Kevin G. Chapman plans to continue the Mike Stoneman series or not, but I certainly hope he does, because I am such a fan. 

Discussion 

Have you read Treacherous Hack, or any other writing from author Kevin G. Chapman? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 

About the Author 

Kevin G. Chapman is, by day, a buttoned-down corporate labor & employment lawyer who works for a major US media company. He frequently speaks at Continuing Legal Education seminars, has taught legal writing to law students, and is the past chairperson of the Labor & Employment division of the global Association of Corporate Counsel. 

When the work day is done, however, Kevin lives a much more exciting fictional life of crime and romance as the author of the award-winning Mike Stoneman Thriller series (and other novels, short stories, and screenplays).

When not busy writing, he enjoys playing tournament poker and cheering on his beloved New York Mets. Kevin loves talking fiction with readers, or talking about law, politics, or baseball. 

Purchasing Treacherous Hack 

• If you are interested in buying the paperback version of Treacherous Hack, click here.
• Click here for the Kindle version.
• Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.

More from Kevin G. Chapman 

DId you enjoy my review of Treacherous Hack? Need another great Kevin G. Chapman book to read? Here are my favorites! 

Mike Stoneman Series

• Fool Me Twice (short story/prequel)
• Righteous Assassin
• Deadly Enterprise
• Lethal Voyage
• Fatal Infraction
• Perilous Gambit
• Double Takedown
• Treacherous Hack

Standalone Novels

• The Other Murder
• Dead Winner
• A Legacy of One
• Identity Crisis

Short Stories

• The Car, the Dog and the Girl
• Ghost Creek

Author Interview

I had the amazing opportunity to visit with Kevin G. Chapman about his writing, Treacherous Hack, and more. I am always grateful when an author is willing to talk to me about their books and writing. It is so much fun for me, like talking to my bestie about football or anything that lets me nerd out about something I enjoy.

Are you an avid video gamer yourself?

I am not a gamer, although I have spent some time with a controller in my hand. Mostly that was playing with my kids. However, my son, Connor, is an avid gamer – both card games and video games. I absorb some information from him by osmosis when he talks about his gaming, and he became my expert consultant on the gaming elements of Treacherous Hack. I admire video game designers who can create a universe with amazing characters and hazards for the players. It’s much like writing a fantasy novel.

Can you tell me what sort of book you’re working on next after Treacherous Hack?

My next book is a stand-alone thriller not connected to the Mike Stoneman series, but existing in the same universe. (A pair of homicide detectives from Mike’s precinct appear in the story, as they did in my stand-alone novel The Other Murder.  

In the new book, the protagonist, Antonio, has moved into a very special low-income housing project building in Manhattan to help care for his aging grandmother. The Building is the pet project of a tech billionaire. It runs autonomously, with zero rent for the tenants, as long as they can prove their founder’s hypothesis: that a community of tenants who will all lose their apartments if the building fails its annual inspection can form a collective that will sustain itself long-term. 

The tenants love it there, and fiercely guard the community. That includes enforcing the rules and preventing anyone from causing damage or endangering the community’s continued existence. It’s also a high-tech wonderland with automated systems, tight security, and even robot butlers who deliver packages and Grub Hub food to the residents. It’s called Utopia Tower for a reason. 

But after Antonio moves in, an 18-year-old resident kills himself by leaping from a balcony. A week later, another young man is killed in a freak elevator accident. Antonio starts to wonder whether it’s just a coincidence that both dead youths were considered troublemakers and were facing potential banishment from the community. 

When a third resident dies in bizarre circumstances – this time an older man, but also a rabble-rouser – Antonio seriously questions whether this is Utopia or something darker. The truth about Utopia Tower will surprise everyone involved, including the billionaire founder. Readers will try to solve the puzzle along with Antonio and won’t want to put down The Building. 

The Building should be published in mid-2026.

As a New York resident, when you’re out running errands, do you look around the neighborhood and get ideas for what Mike and Jason will do in your next book(s)?

I currently live in Central New Jersey, but my wife and I lived in Manhattan for a total of 13 years – four while in college, and nine more before two kids and a dog compelled us to head for the suburbs. But we visit often, have many friends in the City, and still have many memories of our time on the Upper West Side. 

All those memories and current experiences go directly into the books. Mike Stoneman lives in our old apartment building on 68^th Street and Broadway. The whole neighborhood is a character in the stories, along with the rest of the City. 

For each book, I try to find new locations in which to set the action. In Treacherous Hack, it’s the Lower East Side, which is a little grittier and also closer to NYU, where my two college students live. The electronics & pawn shop where the action happens in the beginning (and end) of the story is a combination of stores I have visited over the years and the neighborhood around it is as much a character in the book as any of the humans.

Were any of the crimes detailed in your books inspired by real events?

I have in some of my books based the events off of real events and crime stories. In Mike Stoneman #2, for example (Deadly Enterprise), the main plot — involving a group of dirty cops who ran a drug and prostitution operation in Brooklyn – was based on a true story. 

In Treacherous Hack, the Chinese cyber-criminals are not far removed from what’s happening around the world in the field of cyber-crime. The hack of sensitive information from a major New York university is based on a real event, which was the germ of the idea that resulted in the main plot for this book. The connection between the hack and the video game, however, was my own invention.

It is generally true that real events are far more bizarre and disturbing than anything your imagination can come up with, but spinning some reality-based events into an even more weird and wonderful plot is much fun!

If you weren’t an author, what would you like to do instead?

I’m a lawyer by profession, so being a writer is actually what I dream of doing full-time once I can retire from a job that actually makes real money. If I could be anything without worrying about paying the bills, I’d undoubtedly be a professional gambler. I play tournament poker and love sports and I’d love to live in Vegas and gamble for a living. But that’s a tough life!

How did you get started writing this crime-thriller series? 

A long time ago, in the mid-90s, I wrote my first novel, which was a mystery starring a New York Private Investigator named Rick LaBlonde. It was fun and a good try at a first novel. But it was before Amazon and before self-publishing was really a thing. 

I put it aside in about 1996 when I couldn’t get any interest from a publisher. Then, in 2003, my wife told me that for our 20^th wedding anniversary, she was going to pay to have the book published by a new company that had come into existence called Xlibris, which was a division of a big publishing house and which was an early “vanity publisher” that would essentially allow you to self-publish a book. In those days, you had to order a minimum number of copies for printing. It was a lovely present, and I still have a few copies of that first book left on my basement shelves. 

But by then I had a new job and three kids and I didn’t do any more real writing for many years. Then in the mid-2000s (the aughts?) As my kids were getting older, I got the itch again and I started working on my version of The Great American Novel. It was very, very loosely based on some autobiographical events in my life, but was mostly pure fiction. It’s about a conservative Senator who must confront his past and make hard decisions about his future. 

It’s about morality and politics and self-determination and identity. It’s a very serious book, but with some interesting characters and, I think, a compelling story line. It’s called A Legacy of One. It got some great reviews and some book award recognition, but didn’t sell. Part of that was my own lack of understanding about how to market a self-published book, but it’s also because the subject matter isn’t particularly popular unless you’re already a well-known author or celebrity. I spent 10 years off and on working on that and finally published it in 2016.

When the dust cleared from that project, I decided I still wanted to write, but I needed to get into something more fun, less serious, and hopefully something more marketable. Along the way, in 2012, I had written a short story for a writing contest where the subject had to be crime or law. I created a character named Mike Stoneman, an NYPD homicide detective. The short story, called Fool Me Twice won first prize in the contest.

So, in 2016, I decided to take that character from the short story and work him up into a full-blown crime fiction novel. The short story is now available for free on Amazon and other sales platforms (and on my website), and I included it as an extra feature at the end of the first book in the novel series, Righteous Assassin.

Can you describe your main characters?

Mike Stoneman is a veteran homicide detective in the New York Police Department. In addition to being the senior detective on his team, he also teaches classes at the police academy and separate night classes for cops studying for the detectives exam. His classes are on things like evidence handling, crime scene protocol, witness interrogation, and how to testify in court.  He typically gets assigned to work with the new detectives, so he can show them the ropes.  

He likes that work – teaching the younger cops and passing down his wisdom.  He loves it when other cops come to him for his opinion on a tough case.

He’s also a Mets fan and likes classic rock music (both traits he shares with his creator).  He wears plain slacks and sports jacket combos with non-descript ties and comfortable (old) shoes.  He’s not flashy – he’s not trying to impress anyone.  

He’s just turned 50 (in book #3) and is a little overweight, but trying to work out more and get into better shape, especially since he has become romantically involved with Michelle McNeill, the county medical examiner. (Spoiler! — By book #6, they are married.)  But, he likes his pasta. He also appreciates a fine single-malt scotch.

Mike’s partner, Jason Dickson, is an African-American detective with a military background.  He’s young and smooth and confident – but a little too cocky sometimes for Mike’s liking.  There is some tension between them in book #1 (Righteous Assassin), but by book #2 (Deadly Enterprise) the partners fully have each other’s backs. In book #3 (Lethal Voyage), Jason takes more of the spotlight along with his girlfriend, Rachel Robinson. 

Their romance, which was briefly mentioned in book #2, becomes the emotional core of book #3. Then, in book #4 (Fatal Infraction), Jason decides to propose. In book #5 (Perilous Gambit), Jason and Rachel travel to Las Vegas to get married, with Mike and Michelle along as their friends and witnesses. In book #6 (Double Takedown), Jason is studying for a masters degree and is thinking about changing careers, while he and Mike face a crisis of confidence about their police work. 

The dynamics between Mike and Jason and their relationship, as well as the relationship between Mike and Michelle and between Jason and Rachel, are the heart of the stories. 

What makes them original?

Mike and Jason are both complex and “real” people.  Neither is a super hero who takes on multiple attackers barehanded or outthinks an evil mastermind, or smoothly seduces the female spy.  They are vulnerable and awkward and emotional.  Their comrades in the precinct are similarly “normal” people who banter and argue and yell.  They are very much New York-based people and I try to give an authentic feel to their surroundings and stories.  Mike’s status as the mentor and senior detective give him a unique persona and perspective. 

The relationship between the middle-aged couple, Mike and Michelle, starts out slow and then settles into a very comfortable ongoing romance, but they deal with their own issues. Jason and Rachel are younger and the discussion about whether to get engaged is a big topic, along with what it means to be married to a cop – and what it means for Jason to be a cop and also a husband and father. They are murder mystery stories, but the characters draw the reader into a real world, not a big-budget movie fantasy.

What makes them tick? 

Mike is a very by-the-book guy for the most part, but we learn in all the stories that he’s willing to bend the rules when he feels that it’s necessary or justified.  He also is concerned about his relationship with Michelle and how to keep that going, without putting her in danger.  He’s also (surprisingly) concerned about Jason and his future and well-being.  So, he’s both a crusty jaded cop and a sensitive, concerned person.  He’s also now concerned about his own mortality and his own future to a degree that’s new to him, after 24 years on the force.

Jason has a chip on his shoulder about being a Black detective. He demands respect, although he comes to understand that he has to earn it. He’s also facing a cross-roads in his life where he must decide if he wants to be a career cop. He’s not sure he wants to be like Mike at age 50 – single. But, he and Rachel are married, with one child (JJ) and another on the way. Does he want to continue his rather dangerous occupation? This question, as well as Rachel’s career aspirations, are central to the story in books 6 through 10 (yes, there will be ten).

What is their biggest fear?

Now, Mike’s biggest fear is that something bad will happen to Michelle because of one of his investigations.  It nearly happened in “Righteous Assassin,” and it became an issue between them in “Deadly Enterprise.”  Unfortunately for Mike, there is more peril ahead for Michelle.

Is there a consistent bad guy in the books? 

No. Each book has its own villains and challenges. Not every situation is clear-cut, which makes it fun. There is no super-villain who keeps coming back to terrorize the City. Each story is very unique. There is an organized crime family in New York – the Gallata family – that shows up a few times (including in book #7). 

And in Las Vegas there was a different organized crime boss named Freddy Costanzo, who has a link back to the Gallatas, but they are not consistent villains. Look for one villain in Treacherous Hack who might come back again in a later story.

Can the books be read in any order?  

Yes. Each book is a fully stand-alone story. I’ve had many readers pick up the series at each point and nobody has had any problems enjoying the books separately without having read the earlier ones. But, there is some development of the characters going on, and there are references in each book to events that happened in the earlier books. 

Some are necessary for later readers, and some are Easter eggs for readers who will get the “inside” jokes. There’s not much of that, but enough to make my audience happy. But they definitely can be read in any sequence. I would not recommend reading book #5 (Perilous Gambit) before reading the first four, since there will be some spoilers about what is going to happen to the main subplots.

What is Treacherous Hack about?

The story centers around a data hack engineered by a Chinese organized crime syndicate called the Corporate Dragons, which is a de facto arm of the Chinese government. They break into sensitive data inside the servers at New York University through a student, Ryan Gelb. Ryan is dating Star Albertson, Michelle McNeill’s niece. Ryan and his friend, Will, realized the hack was happening and disconnected Ryan’s computer before the hackers uploaded the critical files. 

The file downloaded to Ryan’s computer by the hackers is encrypted, so Ryan takes it to his uncle, Lou Palazzo, who is a whiz at decrypting files – which was his primary value as a soldier in the Gallata organized crime family a decade earlier. Lou no longer works for the family, but he has connections, and arranged to sell the data file to an old colleague of his, Lloyd “The Cannon” Cannon. Uncle Lou didn’t know that his old Gallata friends were in business with the Corporate Dragons. When the Chinese boss finds out that Lou has the hacked data file, they want it back.

When the Chinese come for the file, Uncle Lou breaks out his trusty shotgun, but he ends up shot in a snowy intersection by his old friend, The Cannon. When Mike and Jason arrive on the scene, they have three bodies – Lou Palazzo and two unidentified Chinese goons. They think Lou killed the two Chinese agents, and a witness saw a large bald man leaving the scene of Lou’s execution. Mike and Jason must try to trace the killer, which seems unlikely if it was a mob hit.

Meanwhile, Ryan and his best friend, Will Scarano, need to hide the hack from NYU. They are terrified that the university will expel them, or at least revoke their scholarships, if it comes to light that Ryan and Will were responsible for the data hack. Their only chance to vindicate themselves is to recover the file, turn it over to the university, and prove that the hackers never uploaded the data – so the hack never actually happened. 

There’s one problem – they don’t know where the file is. But Ryan gets a cryptic message from Uncle Lou, telling him that Lou stashed the file somewhere before he died so that only Ryan would be able to find it. Now, Ryan and Will need to find the file. But the Corporate Dragons are watching Ryan, and want to steal the file back. 

Everyone in the story has information they don’t want to share. But keeping secrets could get them killed. 

If you and your character met in real life, do you think you’d get on?

Oh yes!  I have given Mike many character traits from my own backstory. We would definitely go to a Mets game together and then share a high-end single malt.  Mike’s a little younger than I, but we are both Boomers and share a lot of common experiences.  I’m not a cop, but that wouldn’t stop us from being friends.

Who would you like to see play them if your books were made into a film or TV show?

In the movie version of Righteous Assassin, if it were made soon, Michael B. Jordan would play Jason.  For Mike, I think John C. Riley would be perfect.  Maybe Brad Pitt.  The casting director would have fun with the rest of the characters. I personally want Annaleigh Ashford to play Mrs. DiVito (only my biggest fans will understand that reference!)

How many books do you have in the series so far?

Books 1-7 are now published and available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook editions. I narrated the audiobooks myself.  That makes it a 7-book series plus two stand-alone mysteries (Dead Winner and The Other Murder) in just about seven years. Not bad for somebody with a day job.

What’s in store for them next?

Book #8 in the series (tentatively titled Killer Pace will put Mike and Jason in the middle of another serial killer investigation, after several women runners are assaulted and strangled while running in New York parks. The killings put the running community on edge. Finding the killer is a priority for the Commissioner. 

The FBI will send in a serial killer profiler – Special Agent Angela Manning (who my readers will remember from book #1, Righteous Assassin). But Angela has doubts about the direction of the investigation. Readers will have to guess who the killer is, while Mike and Jason keep up a Killer Pace.

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