In The Blink of An Eye

I enjoyed the plot and the characters, especially Lock, the AI assistant being trialled for the first time as an aid to the detectives. I believe there are to be more books featuring this partnership which I look forward to. It was definitely a page turner. It did explore a little what makes us human in some entertaining incidents where Lock uses ruthless logic rather than intuition or empathy. For a much better (in my view) exploration of where AI might lead though I would recommend Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. As a detective story however, I found this an original and enjoyable read.

This was a fast paced and enjoyable book to read. I really engaged with the main characters and found Lock (the AI aide) amusing and at times a little too human. I can see from this book the potential but also the pitfalls of AI in policing. It made me reflect on sub conscious prejudices. I liked the way the author switched to the victims and their experience running parallel with the investigation. I enjoyed the back stories to all the main characters and can see future books with these stories developing. I look forward to future stories by Jo Callaghan.