I Think I Was Murdered by Colleen Coble & Rick Acker: Book Review

 **I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

The Book

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.

The Authors

Colleen Coble is the USA TODAY bestselling author of more than seventy-five books and is best known for her coastal romantic suspense novels. Connect with her online at colleencoble.com; Instagram: @colleencoble; Facebook: @colleencoblebooks; X: @colleencoble.

Rick Acker writes during his commute to and from his "real job" as a Supervising Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice. He is the author of eight acclaimed suspense novels, including the #1 Kindle bestseller, When the Devil Whistles. He is also a contributing author on two legal treatises published by the American Bar Association. You can visit him online at rickacker.com.

Book Review

Colleen Coble has been a longtime suspense favorite for me... and I must say, I am really loving her newest books cowritten with Rick Acker too. These two truly make a wonderful team, delivering stories that keep me on the edge of my seat. First of all, that title? Even if I hadn't already been a fan, this title absolutely would have grabbed me on its own. The story inside was just as intriguing--- Katrina's husband Jason had died and she was using an AI chatbot that used his email and chat history to feel like she was still communicating with him. Things get weird when the bot tells her that he was murdered. I'm not super well versed in AI or bitcoin, which are very big themes in this book, but I did find I was able to enjoy the story nonetheless. It definitely felt unique to the suspense reads that I typically read... though I suspect AI will be something we see more of in fiction as it becomes more popular too. There were several twists and turns to keep readers guessing. If you're looking for an intriguing and unique romantic suspense, this is certainly one to check out. 

You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/3AA1vQi