November 1, 2024
The second book in the British Midlands-set Kat and Lock series reteams what may be crime fiction's oddest couple, given that one half of the pair isn't even human. A man has been found dead on Nuneaton's Mount Judd, his nude body tied to a cross and his ears cut off. To identify the victim and solve the crime, the Warwickshire police force's DCS Kat Frank once again partners with Artificially Intelligent Detecting Entity Lock, the world's first AI detective, who takes the form of a 3-D holographic image of a 30-something Black man. According to Professor Adaiba Okonedo--the Black scientist who created Lock and whose personal experience with racism has left her wary of cops--the idea is to use bias-free AI to "rebuild public trust and confidence in policing." Also good: In a matter of seconds, the AI detective can do things such as "cross-check the victim's facial characteristics, height and weight with all social media posts matching white men between twenty-five and forty -in the Nuneaton area." To mystery readers not predisposed to reaching for tech thrillers, the premise may sound intimidatingly geeky, but once Callaghan establishes her terms, it's one fleet, accessible scene after another. For theStar Trek savvy, conversations between Kat and her literal-minded partner may recall exchanges with Mr. Spock (Lock: "Your entire theory is built upon nothing but your imagination"; Kat: "It's calledempathy, Lock"). The novel's central question--should humans fear replacement by machines?--hums throughout, but never hinders the story's forward momentum, and the plot's big reveal is unlikely to be foreseen by even the AI-abetted reader. This thriller may feature state-of-the-art AI, but its solid craftsmanship is timeless.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
November 25, 2024
At the start of Callaghan’s riveting sequel to Blink of an Eye, Warwickshire DCI Kat Frank and her partner, AIDE Lock—the world’s first AI detective—have been solving cold cases in the British Midlands for a year. When the gruesomely disfigured body of 29-year-old Gary Jones turns up, his limbs splayed out to mimic crucifixion, it ignites a panic in the typically quiet community and hands Kat and Lock their first live case. Even with Kat’s well-honed instincts and Lock’s unflappable logic, the pair struggle to find worthwhile leads. Then another young man disappears from a pub after a night out, only to be found in a grisly tableau that echoes Jones’s. Relentless local reporter Ellie Baxter and frenzied online speculation about the murders increase pressure on Kat and Lock to stop the killer before a third victim—possibly their colleague Rayan Hassan, as Kat fears—is murdered. Callaghan tweaks the traditional British detective story just enough, freshening up a well-worn formula without attempting to fix what isn’t broken. This series deserves a long life. Agent: Brandi Bowles, UTA.