lisam0183_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
I feel lucky to have been given a copy of this to read and review.
The premise had be intrigued and I wasn't sure how the story would go. DCS Franks team has a new recruit - AIDE Lock, an AI detective in hologram form.
It was a really good read and the team worked so well together. They had 2 missing person cases to solve and at the beginning they had so little to go on. As they worked through little snippets would appear and built the cases up. Although, I don't think AI could take over from human police, it wouls definitely be a big help with the data and searches.
I like how the characters all had their own backstory too. Things like this always make me find them more believable.
I'm hoping there'll be another installment to this team as I would definitely read it.
The premise had be intrigued and I wasn't sure how the story would go. DCS Franks team has a new recruit - AIDE Lock, an AI detective in hologram form.
It was a really good read and the team worked so well together. They had 2 missing person cases to solve and at the beginning they had so little to go on. As they worked through little snippets would appear and built the cases up. Although, I don't think AI could take over from human police, it wouls definitely be a big help with the data and searches.
I like how the characters all had their own backstory too. Things like this always make me find them more believable.
I'm hoping there'll be another installment to this team as I would definitely read it.
hlwilkins's review
3.0
There are a few good ideas for novel plots here but I don't think they belonged together. They are all half-explored in an effort to fit them in. I felt there was a political agenda from the author and she mentioned COVID way too much.
Kat is a police officer returning to work after the death of her husband from cancer. She also has a teenage son (Cam) who is overcoming mental health issues. On her return, she is requested to take part in a trial for AI reviewing cold cases. I really liked the concept of this and could have done really well but it felt half-baked. The AI is run by Phoebe (who is against the police as her brother has been wrongfully convicted) and the AI is called AIDE Lock. They start investigating cold missing person cases and start with two young lads who have disappeared. Lock can quickly review social media data and calculate probabilities which annoys Kat as she thinks AI cannot take the place of human connection.
Cam is kidnapped and a link is made between Cam and the missing lads that they all had fathers who have died or are dying of cancer. Lock made the link between them all as he was able to review a lot more data than a team of humans. One of the boys (Will) Dad is dying and has been running illegal experiments on kids with genetic defects to cancer. There is a quick flashback to a doctor who is frustrated with how long cancer research takes but it's his wife Moira who teams up with the dying doctor to run the experiments. It climaxes when Kat finds the place where Cam is being kept along with one of the missing boys.
The AI bit is quickly summarized that whilst it can be useful, the human connection is still important. Duh. So much could have been done with the AI storyline and the illegal cancer research but it didn't work together.
Kat is a police officer returning to work after the death of her husband from cancer. She also has a teenage son (Cam) who is overcoming mental health issues. On her return, she is requested to take part in a trial for AI reviewing cold cases. I really liked the concept of this and could have done really well but it felt half-baked. The AI is run by Phoebe (who is against the police as her brother has been wrongfully convicted) and the AI is called AIDE Lock. They start investigating cold missing person cases and start with two young lads who have disappeared. Lock can quickly review social media data and calculate probabilities which annoys Kat as she thinks AI cannot take the place of human connection.
Cam is kidnapped and a link is made between Cam and the missing lads that they all had fathers who have died or are dying of cancer. Lock made the link between them all as he was able to review a lot more data than a team of humans. One of the boys (Will) Dad is dying and has been running illegal experiments on kids with genetic defects to cancer. There is a quick flashback to a doctor who is frustrated with how long cancer research takes but it's his wife Moira who teams up with the dying doctor to run the experiments. It climaxes when Kat finds the place where Cam is being kept along with one of the missing boys.
The AI bit is quickly summarized that whilst it can be useful, the human connection is still important. Duh. So much could have been done with the AI storyline and the illegal cancer research but it didn't work together.
indoorg1rl's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A widowed single mother, DCS Kat Frank returned to work finding out she had been picked to lead a pilot program that paired her with AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity) Lock. Kat’s instincts immediately clashed against Lock’s logic. But when the cold cases they were reviewing suddenly became active, Lock was the only one Kat could rely on, especially as things got personal.
Oh, this was a thriller made for me. I love anything involving technology, and Lock here captured my heart from the first meeting. I loved how the story was pretty much a good old, low-key police procedural story, even though it was involving an AI. There was nothing extravagant about it, it was just nicely done. Technology isn’t a miracle people make it out to be, it’s just a tool that still relies on human beings to make it good or bad.
The statistics about the cold cases were intriguing, and I ended up loving how the story unfolded. It was so captivating to see the dynamics between Kat and Lock, and how they kept surprising each other in a good way. I was so uncomfortable about the way Kat treated Lock in the beginning, because she was so mean. I did not like that version of her.
I can’t wait to read more Kat x Lock adventures! I’m hooked!
(Thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review)
alucyliu's review against another edition
4.0
Read as an eBook. A police detective novel with a touch of sci-fi/AI thrown in. The sci-fi/AI element seemed realistic and not that far off the technology available today. The novel is set in the UK and follows DCS Kat Frank who is put in charge of an AI pilot to help solve cold cases. The novel was zippy and easy to read, kept me on the edge of my seat and I finished it in 24 hours.
rayne31's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
tashshaw's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hollie_anne's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75