Book Recommendation - I Think I was Murdered

 

Though Colleen Coble is a name I've known for a bit and have thoroughly enjoyed, I was introduced to Rick Acker earlier this year in their first collaborative work. I enjoyed that one so much, I immediately jumped at the chance to read this next one. Though I was somewhat disappointed that this was not part of the same series as their first collaboration, I was nonetheless excited for this book. Here's a bit about it:

A grieving young widow. The AI program that allows her to continue to "talk" to him. And a message she never expected: "I think I was murdered."

Just a year ago, Katrina Berg was at the pinnacle of her career. She was a rising star in the AI chatbot start-up everyone was talking about, married with an adoring husband, and had more money than she knew how to spend. Then her world combusted. Her husband, Jason, was killed in a fiery car crash. Her CEO was indicted and, as the company's legal counsel, Katrina faces tough questions as the Feds take over and lock her out of her office. The final blow is the passing of her beloved grandmother.

Her most prized possession is the beta prototype for a new, ultra-sophisticated chatbot loaded onto her phone. The contents of Jason's email, social media backups, pictures, and every bit of data she could find were loaded into the bot, and Katrina has "talked" to him every day for the past six months. She has been amazed at how well it works. Even the syntax and words the bot uses sound like Jason. Sometimes, she imagines he isn't really dead and is right there beside her. She knows it's slowing her grief recovery, but she can't stop pretending.

On a particularly bad day, she taps out: Tell me something I don't know. The cursor blinks for several moments and seems frozen before the reply flashes quickly onto the screen: I think I was murdered.

Distraught, Katrina returns to her cozy Norwegian-flavored hometown in the northern California redwoods and enlists the help of Seb Wallace, local restaurateur and longtime acquaintance, to try to parse out the truth of what really happened. They must navigate the complicated paths of grief, family dynamics, and second chances, as well as the complex questions of how much control technology has. And staying alive long enough to do that is far more difficult than either of them dreamed.

I Think I Was Murdered:

Features a unique look at grief through the lens of technology
Deals with current topics and themes
Will appeal to fans of Ruth Ware, Laura Griffin, Laura Dave, and Sarah Pearse
Includes Discussion Questions

This is an interesting look at some of the modern technologies we're seeing in this day and age. Though it felt like a science-fiction story in some places, all of the technologies included are actual, which made it a tad bit scary instead! This book releases November 12th wherever books are sold. For more information, check out the following links:

Colleen Coble's website: https://colleencoble.com/

Rick Acker's website: https://rickacker.com/

My full 4-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6846164535

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