Many thanks to Tracy Fenton and Compulsive Readers for my spot on this Blog Tour.
A futuristic sci-fi thriller which reminded me of the smart home products which are pushed upon us by various companies.
Nikki and Ethan moved along with their daughter Bella into a home completely controlled by an AI Alice. After losing their daughter, the family needed a change. Every single act was controlled by Alice. Then things started happening in the house that made Nikki question her sanity.
My first book by author James Carol, the premise of the story was exactly what I have always been scared of. Technology getting more importance than humanity. The writing felt so real as if the author had been playing on my fears. I knew where the story would go as that was my fear acting out. I just didn’t know the reasons why. But I could guess from mid half of the book.
The family as a unit was okay, I could feel Nikki’s pain on losing a child and trying to protect her other. I liked the support the couple gave each other. Alice, the AI scared me up completely. (I keep Alexa in a box and never speak any details in front of her). The book evoked a lot of emotions, primarily fear!!
The story was told quite brilliantly as the plot was wicked and evil, and it portrayed a possibility of the near future. I felt that this book would make a terrific movie as it had all the emotions that go to make a thriller. For me, the last few chapters felt too long.
Overall, I loved it as the book was a honest portrayal of my fear of future and smart homes. I enjoyed to see it coming alive.
Now you decide
AI – savior or bane of our lives. And can an AI be destroyed completely? It is not easy as turning the switch off. It can piggy-back on any server. Do we still want them in our lives?
I received a free ARC from NetGalley and publisher, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.
All my reviews can be read here
For fans of J. P. Delaney’s The Girl Before comes a thriller that makes us question our relationship with technology and the lengths we would go to, to keep our family safe.
Three years ago, Ethan and Nikki Rhodes suffered a devastating loss. Their four-year-old daughter Grace was tragically killed when she ran from their garden into the path of a car. Ethan, a radio personality, escapes into work, while Nikki quits her job to care for their remaining child, Grace’s twin sister, Bella, who hasn’t spoken since that night.
Trying to give the family a fresh start, Ethan moves them to a revolutionary house designed by the world-famous architect, Catriona Fisher. For the Rhodes’, this is a life-changing move because a key feature of the house is the state of the art security system that allows them to be completely safe from the outside world within their own home.
But what if what they fear most is actually inside the house? What if 17 Church Row isn’t the safe haven that they think it is?
Publication Date: 28th November 2019
Publisher: Zaffre Books
8 Responses
AI holds a fascination as well as a creep factor for me
Would you have one at home? Smart home?
If it did cleaning, damn straight I would!
Hahaha I hate cleaning too. I have a maid… 😂 😂 SHE has grown old so both of us trotter with the Broom and end up not doing much ❤️
AI scares me, but then most of what I’ve seen or heard is AI gone wrong. Like equipping 18 wheelers to drive themselves, they are still going to be missing something–perhaps the right split-second choice. I don’t like auto-pay. No way would I entertain a smart home–no, no, no. 😜
Me too. I am scared of Alexa too. I want me to be the smartest in my home not a machine. No ways
Great review Shalini. Scares the pants off me too! ❤😍📚
Mine too. I shut off Alexa and keep her in a box