In The Blink Of An Eye by Jo Callaghan

 

My thoughts

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. The premise didn't seem like one I was going to like this much. Now I can't wait for the next book. This one is so good. Jo Callaghan's debut novel is a winner.

Please read the heartfelt Acknowledgments at the ending. Parts sure made me cry. I'm so sorry for her loss. So so sorry.

This is about a female cop who returns to work after losing her husband. Kat's husband had cancer and she cared for him and took care of their son. After she lost her husband she went back to work and was paired with a trial AI to look into unsolved cases. Cold cases. She was given two other new detectives to work with also. While Kat had no hopes of the AI being able to help she agreed to work with it. She was angry because an AI was the cause of her husband's death. At least that is what she believes. He had been misdiagnosed so the cancer he had was further along when it was finally found.

The cases Kat and her team chose are two young men who have been missing for about five or six months. There are a lot of things that this team will find out and do to try and find out what happened. Kat is determined to solve these cases and believes the two boys are connected. But one is from a very prominent family and the other is from the more poor side. The first boy is white and has both parents, even though his dad is dying of cancer. The other boy is black and lives alone with his mother. His dad had died of cancer also.

The AI in my opinion was very helpful. I also believe that AIs will be used in a lot of areas in the future. The not so distant future. In law enforcement that is. I believe AI is already used in many places and at the rate of a fast computer they should do great. As long as they are not compromised in any way. I think the technology would be so very helpful in many areas. Medical, professional, everyday life. I'm not so sure I am ready for it but the world should be prepared as I believe it is headed that way. And it could be such a big help. If used in the right ways.

This book had me cringing and holding my breath in many places. I was on the edge of my seat in a couple also. I rooted for the boys to be saved. I have to say here that I saw parts of this coming. Parts I can't say anything about but don't always trust family. Don't always trust a family friend. Not in certain cases anyway. lol I suspected the two involved and was right. That did not take away from the story in any way though. This is a great DEBUT and the author I'm sure is very proud.

Thank you #NetGalley, #RandomHousePublishing, for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Five big stars and a very high recommendation.

About

INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER • Two one human, one AI. And a case that will test them both.

Kat Frank knows all about loss. A widowed single mother, Kat is a cop who trusts her intuition, honed through years of on-the-beat police work. Picked to lead a pilot program that has her paired with Lock, an AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity)—a hologram that is activated by a device on Kat’s wrist—Kat’s gut reactions about people and motives come up against Lock’s statistical calculations and data analysis that can be devised in seconds.

But as the two missing person’s cold cases they are reviewing suddenly become active, Lock is the only one who can help when the case begins to target Kat personally. AI versus human experience. Logic versus instinct. With lives on the line, can the pair work together to solve the mystery in time?

A dazzling debut from an exciting new voice, In the Blink of an Eye asks us what we think it means to be human.