The book was just ok. It had an interesting locked room mystery. The main character had very questionable views on the LGBTQIA+ community as well as coming off as racist and sexist. Because of those things, I will not be reading more by this author based on this. If by the end of the book the character became aware that these views were bad I may have reconsidered. However, those views are not something I am interested in reading about if it's not made clear that they are bad qualities for a character to have.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

A big thank you to the author, Rod Pennington, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

This is a thrilling story with a mysterious murder, hackers, bad guys, rich families and two badass detectives. It is a story that makes you think about where we are going with technology and whether we are on the cusp of potential tragedy?

It was a thrilling ride and I recommend.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit techie for me, but what's wrong with learning something new?

Loved the main characters. Loved the plot. Loved the book. Great ending.

Pryor & Cummings The GAIA Incident is a really well written techno thriller locked room mystery by Rod Pennington. Released 24th May 2022, it's 266 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

The murder of a research assistant in a highly secure research facility draws Detective Pryor off a suspension back to active duty, paired with a young detective Cummings. The interplay and dialogue between the two added a lot to the read. The addition of interrelationships between Pryor's family and the facility in which the murder took place as well as the arrival of the FBI and inter-agency rivalry add some interest and complexity.

Aside from having a good grasp of plotting and characterization, it's intricately and cleverly constructed. I love locked room "no suspect" mysteries and this is a good one. There are technical aspects in the story, but nothing which would render it problematic to laymen. It's not necessary to have a grasp of geophysics to understand what's going on at all. I was nonplussed by some of the author's descriptions of "stereotypical" science geeks, which were unnecessarily cliché and condescending.

Four stars. Well written and engaging. Some rough language and situations but nothing really egregious.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Book source ~ NetGalley

Someone snooping where they shouldn’t be gets killed. With high security and survellience video it’s a head scratcher how the murderer got in and back out without leaving evidence. But there’s always evidence if you know where to look.

This started out pretty good. A locked room murder is always fun to try to figure out. However, it soon became a ho-hum mystery with over-the-top characters trying to outdo how awesome they each are, so much so that they miss clues. The detective’s daughter in particular is supremely eye rolling. Could she be more perfect and awesome at every single thing she does? Conveniently and neatly wrapped up with a fast track romance tossed in for good measure. Rich people with money to burn grease the plot along but don’t make it any more interesting. Overall, a very meh read.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Old school and new school combine to solve this technology mystery. They made a good pair.

Date made up. I feel behind on reviews.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this. However, I wasn't really enamored with the main character. He was kind of off-putting, but that might be a "me" issue. While this story is pretty tech-savvy, it's pretty easy to follow. I won't lie; there were some things I did have to look up, but it was nice to learn some things. Overall, it was enjoyable.

Well this was certainly an interesting story. And not one I would have expected to like. But I did. Maybe some would think it is a little far-fetched but then again, with today's technology is it really? Enjoyable book.

This is an oddly fun book! That being said, it's also a murder mystery, maybe some sci fi elements...maybe not, some humor, & a little romance too?! It has quite a group of characters, all easily imagined/seen in your mind's eye....the author has done a good job at description. It's a pretty fast & entertaining read. The title does fit/work/is appropriate, & the cover art does have it's place too......but for some strange reason ......for me, it kind of strikes me as 'boring!' The synopsis of the story is what drew me to this book, not the cover! It's kind of deceptive, I felt that the story was way better than the cover looks! Not sure what I'd change there........maybe the writing is too plain? I would say 'don't be fooled by a 'bland' cover .....it's a good, fun, entertaining read!
I did receive a complimentary e-copy of this book from Integration Press LLC/ ePubPress.com via NetGalley for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

When a student is killed at high-security campus computer lab, Detective Albert Pryor is teamed with rookie Kevin Cummings to solve the case. Pryor is an unorthodox highly competent, ex-military officer, and Cummings is a computer geek. Both have a lot of close ties to the case.

Part police procedural, part closed-room mystery, and part techno-thriller, this mystery kept me interested, and I did not predict the ending.

This was a great roller coaster of a ride story. I loved the writing style and was kept engaged throughout.
Many thanks to Integration Press LLC and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a solid suspense book, with interesting characters and a bit of humor as well. At first, I was afraid that it was going down the road of hotshot young techie, partnered with completely clueless old guy, with all the cliches. Well, the characters were young and techie, along with older and not technie, but not so cut and dried - as Pryor said often, he didn't already know a lot of this stuff, but he wasn't stupid. Together, their strengths combined to allow them to solve the mystery and save the day!

It was a fun read!

Rod Pennington has written a book that kept me glued to my phone for a little over 24 hours (that’s a record for me!), with exceptions for taking care of family members and household things. This story was even better to me than any cop show on television.
The two cop MCs, Detectives Albert Pryor (veteran) and Kevin Cummings (rookie) were a force together, and separately. Pryor’s experience coupled with Cummings’ tech savvy combined to make this a story you can’t help but keep reading. Plus, adding in some of the other characters quirks and personalities made for quite a read.
I was given a copy of this book for my honest opinion.

What an enjoyable read. A "locked room" mystery. Pryor has been suspended from his police job due to an infraction with a superior officer, His K-9 along with him. They are called back and reinstated because the mayor wants the best quick solution. Now is ex-wife's husband is very involved with the death but proving it is impossible. Very technology oriented it does make you think about what computers can do. I enjoyed the interaction between the old school detective and the new tech friendly newby. Hope there are more books by Rod Pennington with these characters.

Love a good mystery. It's a little scary when you think about the possibilities of artificial intelligence. Pryor & Cummings make a great team for solving this crime.

I love a good locked-room mystery and dove into the technothriller, Pryor & Cummings: The GAIA Incident by Rod Pennington, not knowing what to expect. Pennington delivered a suspenseful mystery with interesting characters and plenty of twists. Fans of crime thrillers and technothrillers will want to grab this one.

Detective Albert Pryor is taken off probation and made lead when the body of a GAIA Institute graduate student is found in a locked computer lab. He is partnered with rookie Max Cummings. Cummings is a techie and despite not being happy about it, Pryor soon has to admit the kid knows his stuff.

I like Pryor from his dog to his cherry red classic 1958 F150. The GAIA Institute is run by his ex-wife’s new husband and the reason for Pryor’s recent suspension. Not only was the mystery interesting and but so were the characters from Pryor’s daughter to his ex-father-in-law.

I loved the conversations between Pryor and his college daughter Brooke. The girl is a techie geek and completely fearless. There is a little romance that involves Max and Brooke. I loved the thread and how it affected interactions between Pryor and Cummings. The author did a great job of pulling me and keeping me invested. I laughed, cheered and rooted for each of these characters.

The locked door mystery was well done and kept me guessing as the suspense built. Rod Pennington was the perfect villain, but there is more to this story. Pryor was determined to pin the murder on him. The author delivered plenty of twists, while allowing the reader to ponder the future of artificial intelligence.

While I am not a fan of the cover, I was impressed by the story from the flow to the characters and will definitely read this author’s work again. Fans of murder-mysteries and small-town dynamics will want to grab this one. I am hoping we see more of Pryor & Cummings.

Detective Albert Pryor is reminiscent of Nelson Demille’s John Corey, if you add a dog, a new tech savy partner, a daughter enjoying her grandfather’s wealth and a murder or two you have a really engaging police procedural. There are some very interesting hypotheses in a closed room setting, a ton of very scary scenarios, a whole lot of snarky comments.

This book has everything that makes it a hit for me - well developed characters, just enough of the backstory to flesh out what is happening in the present, a solid murder mystery, and really great dialog. Thank you NetGalley and EpulpPress.com for a copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Intergrated Press, LLC for an e-arc of this novel.

If you like fun, sci-fi, mysteries this is probably a very good choice for you.

I enjoyed the characters, but found the book had too many plots. I love a good mystery, but don't like sci-fi, so it was kind of a miss for me.

Pryor & Cummings one-ups the locked-room mystery with an entire locked building where a scientist is murdered. There is no gun and no suspect despite the building being locked up and the high-tech surveillance security reveals no one coming or going.

The site is a massive computing center where earthquake predictions are generated by super-scientist and media personality Plato Vane. He’s an entitled jerk, surprised that he would even be questioned but then with a name like Plato Vane (hear Vain) you know he has to be a jerk.

The relationships are internecine. The main detective, a walking trope-machine named Albert Pryor has a daughter who dated the deceased and is dating his current partner. Vane is married to Pryor’s ex-wife to add to Pryor’s joy. Pryor is walking copaganda, you know the schtick, the good cops are persecuted, sure they cross the line, but they clean up the messes we can’t handle.

If author Rod Pennington were paid per cliche, he would not need to write another book. However, mystery readers often love cliches, it makes new books seem like a comfortable old sweater, soft from hard living. Pryor is a very stereotypical character, the irascible, often violent, cop who crosses the line. There is nothing original about him. The plot, though, is fresh, though absolutely not anchored in reality. The mystery is fair and the solution quirky and unique. There are good points that somewhat mitigate the tiresome cliches and stereotypes.

Pryor & Cummings at GoodReads, it has not been added to the publisher’s site
Rod Pennington at GoodReads

I've read several of Mr. Pennington is works and have enjoyed them all. Take them at face value or make assumptions. You'll never know for sure. This book is a thriller with a lot of imagination and computer science minutia included that obviously took considerable research. Various professions are given stereotypical characteristics and dialogue that are probably true to a degree, but as noted, you can just take them at face value and enjoy the book and not get all political about it as others have noted. A little magical comic book action along with some 'Twilight Zone' possibilty is included. All the while you might wonder, could this really be done? Either way, its a great fun read, with interesting characters with lots of twists and turns to keep you engaged. Read and enjoy.
I was provided an advanced reader copy and was under no obligation to review the book. The opinions expressed are my own. Many thanks to those who made that possible.