In the Blink of an Eye

First five star (fiction) read of the year! I don't know if I just had a feeling about Jo Callaghan's novel, or if my childhood nostalgia for Knight Rider was the motivation, but I threw my usual Yorkshire superstition about not paying full price for books and downloaded the Kindle copy on the first day. And I'm glad I did, because the cliché came true - I could not put this book down (even the author's afterword made me cry!)

Newly returned to work after a personal tragedy, DCS Kat Frank is selected to lead a pilot programme pairing the police with artificial intelligence, namely AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity) Lock. Kat, Lock and two junior detectives, Hassan and Browne, are assigned to investigate missing persons show more 'cold cases' as a test of computer logic and speed against human empathy and intuition, but soon find themselves caught up in a medical conspiracy that has personal consequences for Kat.

From the moment Lock started snarking about human limitations, I was hooked. 'He' - although, in the time honoured tradition, Kat will only refer to her new 'partner' as 'it' - communicates and monitors Kat through a band on her wrist but also appears in the form of a hologram, programmed by his creator Dr Okonedo in honour of the late actor Chadwick Boseman, to form a connection with his human colleagues. Lock is programmed to learn through observation and experience but of course he's very blunt and coldly rational, against Kat's professional 'gut instinct' and compassion for the families of the missing boys they are investigating. He is all about evidence and statistics, whereas she has learned not to generalise and to focus on the case at hand. And where Lock is fresh out of the box, so to speak, Kat is weighed down with professional duty and personal cares, mainly her teenage son Cam. A familiar detective 'odd couple', but brought vividly to life by the police procedurals and details about everyday life. I don't usually read detective novels but the investigation was equally engaging as the characters.

I also loved the concept of creating an AI police presence too, and theoretically balancing the recognised failings of an organisation that is a microcosm of the society its officers are supposed to protect. As Okonedo explains: 'I believe in justice, democracy and the rule of law. I just think the policing of humans is too important to be left to humans.' Of course, she is prejudiced by personal experience, as nearly everyone on Kat's team seems to be! And both Lock and Kat demonstrate that the police can also make a positive contribution, while learning faster about humanity's failings than a computer program can.

'And yet, the human-centric premise of these films and much of your scientific literature is that it must be the ultimate ambition of androids or AI to become human, to be at the mercy of your irrational thought processes and emotions.'

Kat was frustrating at times, although believable and sympathetic, but I fell in love with Lock! (I can never resist a smug AI.) His attempt to 'fit in' with Kat and her son at home, pretending to sit on the couch and watch Terminator 2 with his feet on the coffee table, was wonderfully endearing, and I loved his constant reminders that he is in fact a computer and can watch films and sift through social media in a fraction of a second.

I hope now that Kat has worked through her pronoun protest and finally stopped telling Lock to STFU that there will be further cases for the futuristic detective duo to investigate! show less

IN A NUTSHELL
That was a wonderful read. It had edge-of-the-seat moments of tension, a satisfying mystery, well-founded speculations on the use of AI in the near future and a deeply empathetic understanding of grief and loss.

It was a great start to a new series. I can see why this novel won the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel Of The Year 2024 and the CWA New Blood Dagger 2024. I've already downloaded 'Leave No Trace', the next book in the series.

This was a book that exceeded my exceptions and my expectations were already high given the prizes that it had won. This could have been a police-procedural-with-a-twist book, living off the novelty of an AI paired with a human detective and I'd have thought it worth the read. But it was much show more more than that. This was a book with real people in it, a solid mystery at its heart, and a deep understanding of loss and grief.

It was a tense, clever, page-turner police procedural, even without the AI. I loved that the AI, instead of being an 'Oooh! SHINY!' piece of technology, a sort of digital CSI, became a means of focusing on how we look beyond the statistical probabilities and understand the unique challenges people are facing and the desires, fears, and perceptions that shape their responses.

I found the first few pages, where Kat, the human detective, is challenging the viability of using Lock, the AI on a case that affects real people's lives a little dry but it didn't drag. I liked that the AI technology concepts stood up as near-future possibilities.

For me, everything took off after the first interview with the missing person's mother. The dialogue felt real and was quite affecting. I liked that the case is happening in Warwickshire. It gave the story a very normal, down-to-earth, English feel that made the AI wizardry easier to accept. it helped that the AI stayed plausible and mostly irritating (which seemed about right to me) and that Kat was just the right balance of attributes and history to provide the empathy, emotion and social context needed to move the story forward. For once, the lead detective isn't some bright young thing. She's been on the force for twenty-five years. She's a recent widow and a single mother to a traumatised son. She's not perfect but she is good at what she does. It was easy to be on her side. I became completely immersed in her story,

The mystery at the heart of 'In A Blink Of An Eye' was solid. It would have made for an engaging police procedural story without the AI content. Adding the AI kept it fresh and gave it an edge.Surpisingly, it also made the investigation feel more human rather than more routine or mechanical. It helped that the story wasn't mainly about the AI. It was about the people, those who go missing, those they leave behind, those who are trying to find them and the difficult emotions that they experience. It was about hew we see each other and how much of what we see isn't consciously based on data that can be calibrated, quantified, compared, replicated or even tested. It highlighted that the experience of being human is at its most real and its most powerful when can't be turned into binary code.

This book kept me on edge almost to the last page. It was a very satisfying read. I'm eager to see where the series will go next. I've downloaded the second book, 'Leave No Trace' and I'm looking forward to the third book, 'Human Remains' being released in April 2025. show less

In the Blink of an Eye was my last read of 2022 and what an absolute cracker to end the year with. I think it's probably fair to say that a lot of policing is based on instinct, that gut reaction that something isn't right, somebody isn't telling the truth, as well as detective work. But instinct can be skewed - police officers are only human, after all.

DCS Kat Frank is returning to work following the death of her husband. Her boss wants her to lead a pilot into working with AIDE Lock to see if using AI has a place in modern policing and can help solve crimes and cold cases, or if it's just basically a load of cobblers (which is kind of what Kat thinks to begin with). Lock is a fascinating creation and I think I was a little bit wowed show more by it and what it was capable of. The two detectives (Lock often appearing in hologram form) and their team set about trying to find out what happened to two missing people and I really enjoyed watching the thought processes on each side. Lock, of course, is very literal so when Kat told it not to speak again until it's spoken to she has to accept the consequences when it doesn't let her know a vital piece of information. Many times I had to smile at how what was and wasn’t said was interpreted by Lock.

I loved Kat too and was so pleased to learn that there is going to be a second book featuring her and her team (including Lock). All the way through this book I was thinking the story and characters were ripe for a series. In the Blink of an Eye is such a brilliant and original read, a police procedural with a difference. What makes this even more special is that it's not just about the unusual detective partnership, it has a fantastic plot and some shocks too. This is a book that has it all and is one for all crime fiction fans out there. What a debut from Jo Callaghan! show less

Crime fiction with a speculative twist, In the Blink of an Eye is an impressive debut from British author, Jo Callaghan.

DSC Kat Frank, newly returned from bereavement leave, is unhappy when her boss directs her to lead a pilot program to test the suitability of using an AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity) in a police investigation. Professor Okonedo, determined to better the operation of the force, asserts that the AIDE is not only capable of collating and analysing vast amounts of data in a fraction of the time required by a human, but has been programmed to filter out the bias and prejudice that can taint investigations. Kat doesn’t believe algorithms can truly account for the vagaries of humankind, or replace the show more experience and instincts she, like most good police officers, often rely on.

With input from her small handpicked team, consisting of DI Ryan Hassan and DS Debbie Browne, along with AIDE Lock, who presents as a lifelike hologram with the default appearance is as a fairly nondescript 6ft tall white male, and Professor Okonedo as an observer, Kat selects two missing person cold cases for them to review. Unexpectedly the investigation’s into the current whereabouts of university student Tyrone Walters and wanna be actor Will Robinson converge when the team discovers a sinister link in their disappearances.

Essentially In the Blink of an Eye is a police procedural, Kat and her squad conduct interviews, investigate clues and gather evidence to explain the fate of the missing men. Callaghan develops a solid mystery and I thought it played out well. There’s plenty of tension, enhanced by the anonymous perspective of a young man suffering at the hands of shadowy figures, and effective twists in the plot.

The speculative elements of the novel are thought-provoking. The conflict inherent in Kat and Lock’s different approaches to investigation, and how each affects the case, is fascinating, with the strengths and weaknesses of both methods fairly illustrated. Lock’s superior ability to gather and analyse information is undeniable but Kat proves that empathy, discretion, and an understanding of nuance are also valuable investigative tools.

I really enjoyed the unique dynamics of Kat and Lock’s partnership. Kat is a likeable lead character. As a decorated police officer, with 25 years of experience in the force, Kat is a dedicated investigator who has confidence in her abilities, but she is a little emotionally fragile given the recent death of her husband, caused in part by of a misdiagnosis by an AI, which fuels her antagonistic attitude towards the AIDE. Kat is also a mother, with her teenage son on the cusp of relocating to begin university, and as such there are aspects of the cases that she strongly relates to. It’s surprisingly difficult to refrain from ascribing human motivations and emotions to AIDE Lock. Solely driven by statistics and logic, though capable of deep learning that gives it the ability to adjust its behaviours, it nevertheless has a distinct character which I really grew to like.

With its clever, provocative premise and appealing, complex characters, In the Blink of an Eye is a compelling novel, and I believe only the first of what promises to be a great series show less

Jo Callaghan's debut novel, "In the Blink of an Eye," has a fascinating back story. Be sure to read Ms. Callaghan's acknowledgements to learn about its genesis. The author is knowledgeable about artificial intelligence and genomics (the study of an organism's genome), and she has written an engrossing police procedural that touches on such themes as the trials of being a parent and the grief of survivors whose loved ones have passed away. Forty-five year old Detective Chief Superintendent Kat Frank frequently reminds her subordinates that she has paid her dues, having been a member of law enforcement for nearly twenty-five years. Therefore, she expects her team to trust her judgment, obey orders, and speak up when they have useful show more information to share.

Kat's boss and mentor, Chief Constable McLeish, introduces Kat to Professor Okonedo, a brilliant woman who, along with her fellow researchers, has created a revolutionary tool, Artificially Intelligent Detecting Entities (AIDE), that could change policing forever. AIDE will supposedly boost efficiency and save time and money. A skeptical Kat asserts that AI could never replace highly trained and experienced detectives. Nevertheless, McLeish convinces Kat to head up a pilot program to test AIDE on cold cases involving the disappearance of young adults who seemingly vanished into thin air.

What follows is a mesmerizing tale of psychological suspense that features a charming hologram named Lock who irritates Kat to no end with his know-it-all attitude. Kat looks into what might have happened to Will Robinson, a twenty-one-year-old aspiring actor, and eighteen-year-old Tyrone Walters, a first-year university student. Kat and her officers interview witnesses and follow up on every possible lead, while Lock sifts through reams of technical data at lightning speed. The hologram is unintentionally funny and eager to learn, but it adamantly insists that humans are irrational and, therefore, inherently flawed. "In the Blink of an Eye" has vivid characterizations, a juicy plot, and a slam-bang ending. It is too bad that Kat, who is clever and insightful, is also annoyingly controlling, defensive, and hot-tempered. What she and her colleagues discover about their case blows their minds, and "In the Blink of an Eye" will encourage readers to take a hard look at the impact that cutting edge technology is already having on our everyday lives. show less

I adored this story. A detective mystery with an AI element added to it, I wasn't sure how I felt about LOCK at the beginning, but I really loved the human vs AI interaction in the cases.

On another note, DCS Kat Frank's personal and professional life was really well written, and I could connect so well to her, as well as the other characters in the book and their own stories.

Full review to come soon!

DCS Kat Frank recently widowed knows all about loss alongside her son Cam. Kat is picked to pilot a scheme that has her paired with Lock. Lock however is an AIDE, which stands for Artificially Intelligent Decetive Entity. Can modern policing and AI work together, Kat is going to find out.

The third book in this series and everyone is talking about 'that ending'. To find out what that ending is though I feel like I have to start at the beginning.

Kat is working on a cold case with Lock looking into missing young men. Now I fell out of love with police procedure a long time ago. I will only read the genre if it has that something extra. I've recently read all of the Ruth Galloway books by Elly Griffiths because they had that something show more extra. It looks like this series also has something that isn't just straight police procedure.

As this story is out the box and is venturing on the Sci fi I was hoping I could cope with it as I do struggle. However Lock can be accessed by Kat talking to a bracelet and with a push of a button a hologram of Lock appears. Beam me up Scottie and away we go, simple.

I quite enjoyed this book although the subject matter of cancer is always hard to read about for me. I did think the book was enjoyable and surprisingly easy to read. There is enough in the book for me now to continue on with the series. show less