In The Blink Of An Eye by Jo Callaghan

DCS Kat Frank is returning to work after the death of her husband. She's asked to lead a pilot program using artificial intelligence alongside ordinary police officers to review cold cases. Kat is vehemently opposed to using AI and hopes that she will be able to show it has no part to play in her role. The small team initially looks at the case of a student who has been missing for five months and quickly realises there is a possible link to another missing person case.

I have heard a lot about this book via Twitter so was keen to read it. Jo Callaghan has put a new twist on the genre of crime thrillers. 

I love science fiction TV and films (less so books) and the author has done an excellent job of portraying the artificial intelligence, AIDE Lock, in the story. As Lock contributes to the team I could imagine the monotone delivery, similar to Commander Data in Star Trek. We are reminded that AI seeks no personal gain, has no bias and always speaks the truth. Speaking the truth does lead to some tactless comments, sometimes funny, other times incredibly sad.

As the cold cases are investigated we see that there is a battle between data driven investigation and intuition, that "gut feeling" or nagging doubt. Throughout the story we see that both AI and the police make assumptions that can lead to wrong avenues being investigated.

Kat Frank is supported by a small team of officers and a professor of AI. All of these characters are well fleshed out, each dealing with their own issues which has a bearing on how they see the investigation going. I really do hope that the team returns in a sequel.

In The Blink Of An Eye by Jo Callaghan will be published on 19th January 2023 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for a review copy.