In the Blink of an Eye: A Novel by Jo Callaghan
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Web ID: 19875990Quite good, but.
I would not disagree with the positive reviews this book has received. It is a quite good, police, murder mystery tale. However, I would point out that this is also a very "relationship" based novel that perhaps spends too much time dealing with the feelings and frustrations of the principal character. To keep my point brief, fifty pages could be safely whittled out of the tale without thinning out the plot line. If it is generally true that females prefer reading about feelings, perhaps this book would, in general, not be a fully enjoyed by most males. Adding to this impression is the authors fondness for seeing white men as, you guessed it, misogynists, racists and ego centric to a fault. OK, but perhaps that only adds to my thought that this is more a book for those who enjoy such things.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Must read
So good! This should follow up with a movie. I enjoyed the characters and especially the personality of the AI. Well wriiten. A great mystery.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Original and compelling police procedural
My first reaction? Brilliant! I loved it, and can't wait to read the next book in the series! I was skeptical at first, as this book sounded as though it had science fiction vibes. I got over my skepticism sharpish. The characters were so well drawn and the police investigation so compelling, that I couldn't turn the pages fast enough! Detective Chief Superintendent Kat Frank is a forty-five year old widow and the mother of a teenage son. She lost her husband to cancer just a year ago and her grief is still raw. It is her first time back to work after her husband's death and she wants a 'safe' job to reassure her son Cam that he won't lose another parent. Her boss puts her on a pilot project - to head the first ever human-machine police team in the UK. She is to work with an AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detecting Entity) on some missing person cold cases. Her team will include four people if you include the AIDE) AIDE Lock - is a wristband around Kat's wrist. However, 'he' can be made to look human via hologram. When he is, he is a tall, slim black man. Think Idris Alba with slight touches of Spock. Detective Inspector Rayan Hassan - is a smart dresser with a law degree and a high conviction rate. He challenges Kat's authority at times and they lock horns on occasion. Detective Sergeant Debbie Browne - is a twenty-four year old who has been with the Warwickshire Police for six years. Debbie has little self-esteem and is constantly apologizing. She is single, and has just found out she is pregnant. Professor Okonedo - a diminutive Asian woman with a chip on her shoulder and a huge grievance against the police. She blames them for her brother's unjust incarceration. Though not official a member of the police, she is AIDE Lock's 'handler'. Several missing persons cases have been relegated to the 'cold case' files. With Lock's assistance, the team chooses two cases to work on. Both young men seemed to have vanished from their lives 'in the blink of an eye'. When the team finds evidence to link the two cases, they realize that this might turn into an active murder or abduction case. Lock's contribution is invaluable. When things turn personal for Kat, she realizes that her 'team' is not yet the cohesive unit she might have wished for... With themes of medical ethics, abduction, genomics, artificial intelligence, and personal bereavement, this novel was a mesmerizing read. Machine vs. human. How far away from this premise are we really? Not far I think. Machines can make decisions based on facts and algorithms, while humans can make decisions on 'gut instinct'. Sometimes those decisions have to be made 'in the blink of an eye', especially when lives are at stake. The author has taken some elements of her own life and incorporated them into the book - lending the narrative a ring of authenticity. I really came to care for all of the characters and I'm eager to learn more about them in the next book. The ending was satisfying and proved to be an excellent segue into the next book "Leave No Trace". Highly recommended to all fans of well written police procedural fiction.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Police Procedural with AI
Brilliant! This book took a unique approach to a police procedural by introducing AI and it was so much fun! Recently widowed single mother Kate Frank is a cop with 20 yrs experience. Ehen she is selected to head a pilot program using AIDE (Artificial Intelligent Detective Entity) named Locke she is not too pleased with the idea to say the least. Her 2 deputies are not enamored of the idea either but are willing to give it a try...and the fun begins. The group decides to focus on cold cases which they can delve into and hopefully find resolution. Lock is a holographic image of a male, who analyzes everything. When the deputies select 2 probable cases, Lock immediately dismisses them (using logic) stating that they should focus on recent cases which have a higher probability of being solved. I would probably have reacted like Kate and been not too pleased with AI questioning my every decision and analyzing every move. The interaction was amusing, as they tried to work together, and put aside their programming (with Kate relying on instinct and past successes and Locke using statistical analysis and probability which were programmed into it). AI could sift through mountains of data in a few minutes which would have taken a huge team of police days to begin to analyze. There were funny moments, and frustrating ones too - that fit right into the story. The story took a dark turn when Kate's son goes missing and becomes a case for the team to solve. The resolution was satisfying and I hope to meet the team again in a future book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book. The opinions expressed are my own.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Imagine your "partner" monitoring you all the time
In the Blink of an Eye (Kat and Lock #1) by Jo Callaghan DCS Kat Frank and her son, Cam, are daily living with the loss of Kat's husband/Cam's father, to cancer. After two years away from work to caretake her husband and also to help Cam heal after her husband's death, Kat is back to work and she'll be taking on a special assignment. AI played a role in the death of Kat's husband and her boss thinks she is the person to lead a pilot program utilizing Lock, an AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity). A device worn on Kat's wrist will allow Kat to make use of Lock's abilities while also allowing the AI to learn while on the job. Lock even comes with several "human" holograms for a more visual experience. More often than not, Kat wants to turn Lock off in more ways than one. Hopefully by leading this pilot program Kat can be instrumental in squashing this AI program out of existence Kat, Lock, and her team are to work on cold cases but quickly the cold case(s) they pick become more than missing person investigations. There is even a chance they have kidnapping and murder involved in the missing person cases. Things soon get very personal for Kat and she tries to stay under the radar of her boss as she delves deeper than he'd want her to delve. Unluckily for her, Lock, the AI, has "telling all" programed into him so once all his info is downloaded, everything about Kat is downloaded, too. How much she drinks, how much popcorn she eats, vital stats, embarrassing stats. No one needs that kind of all encompassing overview and Kat is furious. The story is fascinating and sad from many angles. The grief is real and you need to be sure to read the author's experience that led to writing this book. The crimes are steeped in grief, too, with families who've lost their young members while having no idea what happened to them. There are the issues of overreach in several areas, medical, AI, and more and the story brings up a lot of issues that have me even more adamant about which way I'd want to go when faced with certain situations. There is another book after this one and I'm ready to meet up with the team again, a team that will be stronger for all they've been through so far. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Random House | Random House Trade Paperbacks and NetGalley for this ARC.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
AI versus human experience. Logic versus instinct.
Color me GOBSMACKED! In the Blink of an Eye has just been added to my list of the best books I've read in my life! DCS Kat Frank is a cop who trusts her instincts. Picked to lead a pilot program that has her paired with AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity) Lock, Kat’s gut instincts come up against Lock’s logic. AI versus human experience. Logic versus instinct. Not exactly what one would call a delightful duo! In the Blink of an Eye is completely different and (did I mention?) utterly brilliant! Be sure to read the author's notes, too. Quite interesting. I can't wait to read the next book!! HUGE thanks to both #RandomHouse and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of #InTheBlinkOfAnEye! This book is #1 in the #KatAndLock series and is being released in paperback on Aug 06, 2024. #JoCallaghan #AI
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Excellent new series with an interesting premise
I cannot wait to read the next installment of this new AI police procedural novel. Well written, with engaging characters, a fast paced plot, and a unique premise. I read it almost straight through in one day. Highly recommended Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced reader cop
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com