My Cyberthriller, “Countdown to Decryption”, is Published!

Ted Hara is back in another wild adventure

2 min readJun 21, 2024

Hello Medium readers!

I’m thrilled to announce that my cyberthriller, Countdown to Decryption, has just been published. If you enjoy my articles on startups and Japanese culture, I guarantee you’ll love my novels.

Countdown to Decryption is a cyberthriller set in Silicon Valley’s historic Japantown. The hapless hacker, Ted Hara, has to find the password to open the terrorist plans he discovers on a murdered friend’s computer. What he uncovers instead is a dangerous conspiracy that wants to kill him, too.

Kirkus Reviews raves, “A gripping high-stakes drama infused with a dash of humor.” Bestselling author, Barry Lancet, calls it a, “A heart-pounding romp,” and declares, “Read it,” while the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, Iris Yamashita, says the novel “melds the humor of Silicon Valley with the fast-paced action of a John Grisham thriller.”

Countdown to Decryption is Book 2 in the Japantown Mystery series. The first book in the series, To Kill a Unicorn, was American Fiction Awards finalist for Best Debut Novel and Best Mystery of 2023, and National Indie Excellence Awards finalist for Best Suspense and Best West Region fiction.

To Kill a Unicorn is an exploration of the crazy startup world of Silicon Valley, with heavy doses of Japanese culture and a bit of manga. Countdown to Decryption is a more traditional techno-thriller focusing on the FBI’s ongoing push to gain access to everyone’s data.

Being published by an independent press is a huge challenge. Unlike books from the big publishers, Oprah won’t feature mine in her book club and the NY Times won’t write a review. I have to rely on friends like you to help spread the word.

So please consider ordering a copy of Countdown to Decryption and telling everyone you know. And if you haven’t read the first book in the series, To Kill a Unicorn, pick up that one, too!

Both books are available on Amazon in both e-book and paperback formats.

Countdown to Decryption: https://amzn.to/4b9gEVx
To Kill a Unicorn: https://amzn.to/3Vw2lVj

Thank you for reading.

Countdown to Decryption

Ted Hara has to find the password to open terrorist plans he discovers on a murdered friend’s computer. What he uncovers instead is a dangerous conspiracy.

amzn.to

To Kill A Unicorn

A hot Silicon Valley startup claims to have developed teleportation. Does it actually work? If so, why is the chief scientist missing? His friend, hacker Ted Hara, sets out to find him.