Book Review: I Think I Was Murdered by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker
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What is this book about?
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.
My review:
Right away, the summary of this story begged me to read it. The technology that allowed Katrina’s husband to reach out from beyond the grave to help her solve his murder seemed futuristic but it exists and I enjoyed following along as the authors explored the what ifs.
The romance between Katrina and Seb was a slow build, which made sense because she was still dealing with grief. Seb’s character was very patient and I rooted for him to win the girl. The suspense was page-turning and there were a few twists that I almost didn’t see coming.
There were three different cultures represented in the story: Japanese, Norwegian, and technology. Sometimes the various unfamiliar cultural references pulled me out of the story but overall I enjoyed the ride.
What I enjoyed most about this book:
Seb’s integrity and patience
What I didn’t like about this book:
Multiple unfamiliar cultural references pulling me out of the story
Would I recommend this book to others? Yes. Interesting premise, strong characters, page turning suspense and sweet romance. This is a standalone story.
Note: I received this book complimentary from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All of the opinions I have expressed here are honest and completely my own.
Where can I learn more about this author and their books?
-Loraine Nunley
I Think I Was Murdered by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker (4 out of 5 stars) #amreading #BookReview Share on XWant a copy for yourself? Buy one here today.
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