"I Think I Was Murdered" by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker is an enthralling blend of mystery, AI intrigue, and the charm of a small-town reunion. Katrina Berg, once at the height of her career, has her world unravel after a series of devastating events. Her husband's tragic car crash, her company's legal troubles, and the loss of her grandmother leave her reeling. But Katrina finds solace in the sophisticated chatbot developed by her company that mimics her late husband, Jason, with eerie accuracy—until it responds with a chilling message: "I think I was murdered."

This twist propels Katrina back to her picturesque hometown in the Northern California redwoods, a place rich with both Norwegian charm and complicated memories. Partnering with Seb Wallace, an old acquaintance and local restaurateur, she embarks on a quest to unravel the mystery behind Jason's death. As they navigate the dangers ahead, they must also face old wounds, rekindle lost connections, and wrestle with the increasing influence of technology over human lives.

The story captivated me from the start, especially with its seamless blend of mystery and AI, set against the stunning backdrop of Yosemite—one of my favorite places. The evolving relationship between Katrina and Seb was heartwarming, especially given their shared history. It added a beautiful layer of redemption to the storyline, giving depth to the characters amidst the twists and turns of their investigation.

The influence of AI in the plot was fascinating and thought-provoking. Seeing how Katrina used the chatbot to cope with her grief added an emotional depth that made the story hit home. I appreciated how the authors handled this delicate balance between the allure of technology and its potential dangers, especially as Katrina faced the temptation to live in a virtual memory rather than face reality.

I found myself getting suspicious of certain characters as the story developed, but I loved how the authors unfolded the truth at just the right pace, keeping the suspense alive throughout. It might be a bit challenging for readers who aren't familiar with artificial intelligence, but for anyone who loves technology—like me—this book was a definite winner. Coble and Acker have created another compelling story that combines innovation with timeless human emotions.

I did receive this copy from Netgalley, but was under no obligation to provide a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book had me hooked at page one. I Think I Was Murdered, by Colleen Coble, and Rick Acker is a chilling thriller that has it all. This story pulled me in after the first page, and I stayed up all night because I couldn't put it down.

Good intrigue:
I thought the plot was good and I enjoyed the mystery and intrigue. However, I found the writing style to be a bit choppy and it took me a while to get into it. I also unfortunately never really felt as if I connected with the characters and whilst I was curious to see how things were going to play out, it was more of as an outsider looking in. Katrina and Seb were both likeable and whilst there was a light romantic thread, the emphasis of the story was definitely on the mystery aspects.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

A thriller set mostly in North Haven, Northern California in the present time. Lots of action and twists and turns. Katrina Foster has found a way to talk to her husband who died in an accident 12 months earlier. She uses a chatbot that makes use of Artificial Intelligence. All of Jason’s emails and messages have been downloaded into a chatbot and when Katrina asks a question the chatbot replies using words and phrases that Jason used to use.

When Katrina’s husband died, he had knowledge of a code to unlock a bitcoin. Jason was afraid for his life, so he hid the code and left cryptic messages for Katrina to find it.

Katrina moves to her hometown of North Haven and an old friend helps keep her safe when her life is in danger.

I loved the use of technology and the way Jason left clues for Katrina.

Lots of descriptions of delicious food. This was an action-packed thriller about families, friendships, identity, grief and romance.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for a chance to read this E-Book. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

This was a fun story: a bit mystery, a bit romance, and a bit murder "who dunnit", all rolled in to one with a Christian flavor. The authors write Christian fiction, so don't read it you don't want to hear them talk about God, faith, and prayer.
Katrina works as a lawyer for a start-up tech company called Talk, that specializes in AI chatbots. A year ago her beloved husband Jason died, and her co-worker/friend put the company chatbot on her phone - loaded with all of Jason's info (emails, texts, social media, etc.) so Katrina can still "talk" to him. One day she asks Jason-bot to tell her something she doesn't know. His reply, of course, is "I think I was murdered", which starts of the mystery. Katrina moves back to her small Northern California hometown, and with the help of an old friend she begins to investigate the circumstances of Jason's death. Sure enough, he was murdered!
This story will keep you wondering and guessing at who is behind it. You may figure it out before it's revealed in the book - I did, but it didn't make it any less fun to read when it all came out.

This was a very interesting book. I'm definitely feeling some type of way with AI. I feel like we are going to see a lot of these kinds of books in the future

I think there is no way you could predict the story or the villain. Actually I do not think, I know! Lol! Expertly written, unexpected twists and turns, believe me this story will keep you on the tip of your toes!
Katrina is challenged with heartbreaking loss, not only her husband but also her grandmother. Upheavel, betrayal, loss, new hope, suspense, drama, possible romance, this book truly has it all!

3.5/5
Katrina’s husband died in a car accident a year ago and now her grandmother has died as well. She heads back to her hometown and learns her grandmother left her restaurant to her. Not knowing if she plans to keep it, she stays.

Katrina’s job has created an AI chatbot called The Talk. She downloaded all her husband’s texts, social media, emails, etc. to the app and is now able to “chat” with him to help with her grief. Until he texts her he thinks he was murdered and she goes down a rabbit hole trying to find out what really happened.

This book started off slow, but it picked up! The technology research put into this book was amazing! It was one of the most interesting parts. There was a shocking twist, and I really started to feel empathy for Katrina throughout the book. This writing duo works flawlessly together!

I Think I Was Murderer is a psychological thriller with some sweet romance and a lot of intrigue. And it includes some science fiction. For those who like to ponder the use of new technology and how far it will go to impact someone’s life, this book will be a hit. The Norwegian flare was interesting. The novel starts off fairly slow.
The premise of I Think I Was Murdered is a young widow who uses AI to alleviate some of her grief after losing her husband. A program is created to allow her to “talk” to her husband. And during one of these conversations, AI indicated that he thought he had been murdered. The idea of someone using AI to mimic a conversation with someone dead really was challenging for me to accept especially when the person is an educated intelligent lawyer. In some instances, Katrina almost seemed to forget she was not really talking to Jason. The plot just turned out to be one that didn’t keep my interest. However, the ending really caught me by surprise. And I think this book will be well enjoyed by those who like suspense. This is a great team of authors who have written other books which I couldn’t put down. I received a copy of I Think I was Murdered from NetGalley with no requirement to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I Think I Was Murdered is the second book I’ve read by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker. I loved that there was a mix of AI, mystery, a treasure hunt and romance! It was a bit slow at times, but all in all it was a good book that kept me guessing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

After that intriguing title, here's a fast-paced, adventurous novel with lots of unexpected twists and turns, surprises galore, romance and heart, lifelong love and long-term friendship, familial conflicts and sibling rivalry. Toss in danger [both off-stage and present) and twisty mysteries (even reported Bigfoot sightings) in a beautifully scenic locale. The result is an engrossing story to keep readers riveted late into the night.

Man, this started off promising. The real-life treasure hunt that is the background. The uses of AI and the future it could bring (basically the plot of a much better episode of Black Mirror). But the knowledge of Bitcoin, AI, all of it really, was exceptionally shallow. The characters were sappy and this would have scored incredibly low on the Bechdel test. How can you be this worried about your livelihood, freedom, and life and talk almost exclusively about men? And the men! Toxic masculinity is so bad it feels almost like a parody of old romance novels. Two men physically fight over a woman they have literally just met. Men are constantly protecting and saving women. There was more, but that's enough. The over the top plots and predictable "twist" just made the whole thing unbearable.

This is a fast-paced techno thriller with a character that is an AI chat bot. It is different and has a twist you might not see coming.

Katrina's life falls apart when her beloved grandmother dies at the same time her company collapses due to embezzlement. North Haven, where she grew up, is a temporary haven, particularly when she discovers her grandmother has left her her cafe/restaurant. She held things together after her husband died in an accident by 'talking' to him using the chat bot her company developed, which had been loaded with all his previous chats and messages - but now, in the middle of everything, the bot suddenly claims Jason was murdered. Worse, it soon becomes clear that the danger isn't over. Between trying to follow clues Jason left and evading more present dangers, can she stay safe against known and unknown dangers and find what Jason died trying to protect - not to mention work out what she actually wants to do with the rest of her life, given the chance?

A great read that held my attention and kept me guessing from the first page. I can't claim to have guessed who the culprits were, but I'm glad of who it wasn't. Her family relationships are somewhat complicated, and his are worse, but both sides improve over the course of the book, which I appreciated. I love the way Seb supports Katrina, though with the hints we kept getting about 'that day in the woods', I thought more was going to come of it, possibly complicating things. Instead, we get a relatively straightforward romance amid a complicated suspense plot - but it probably worked better that way. If you like a suspense story that keeps you guessing, with danger, mystery and intrigue, and a side of romance where they work together to try to sort things out, this is definitely one to try. Recommended, and looking forward to more by the authors.

Note that I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and this is my considered opinion of the book.

This is the second story these two authors have written and I enjoyed this one more than their first. Acker's legal background comes into play in this story with it pivoting around the lead character, Katrina Berg, a company legal counsel, who is grieving the loss of her husband, Jason.

Katrina works for an AI company that markets a chatbot, which she uses to 'talk' to Jason. It's a bit creepy, but understandable with her sense of grief and the advancements in technology. She discovers he was murdered and Katrina is determined to find out who was responsible. She has some time on her hands as her employer has gone bust, the founders having flown the coup back to China, to avoid criminal investigations. Katrina returns to her parent's home as she's also been gifted her grandmother's restaurant in the latter's will.

Katrina's friend, Liv, has also become unemployed, they both having walked for Talk, Co, which is filing for bankruptcy. Liv was dating one of the founders and is struggling with her own situation. Katrina invites Liv to stay with her.

Katrina's investigation is well written and we're kept guessing about whodunnit to Jason. He was in possession of a mysterious rare Satoshi egg that contains a USB drive with $30million of bitcoin attributed to it. A sufficient motivation for murder.

Katrina is being followed by someone who wants that egg. Strange that she only receives the attention of the bad guys a year on from the murder, one of the odd elements about the story. I found the connection between Jason's killer and the assassin assigned to find the egg a little far fetched and the killer's rationale a little weak.

The final fifty or so pages lacked the tight tension I was expecting and the way Jason's killer ended up getting caught felt a bit 'Murder She Wrote' rather than suspenseful thriller.

I enjoyed Katrina's character arc and her relationship with Sebastian Wallace, a Michelin starred chef, who runs a fancy restaurant in the town. Sebastian is a good guy, I really enjoyed his character. He was full of grace having had a tough upbringing.

I'd rate it a 3.5.

I received an early ebook copy from Thomas Nelson via Net Galley and this has had no bearing on my review.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Katrina's life has taken a nosedive recently. She was a rising star in the ai world. She is questioning her life and what she needs to do. This book grabbed my attention from the start.

This story might not appeal to everyone, but personally, I found it captivating! I was so engrossed that I couldn't stop reading. The exploration of chatbots, AI, cryptocurrency, and Triads was fascinating, and contrary to my initial assumption, it was far from dull. The narrative isn't overly technical, so it doesn't overwhelm the reader with language. The plot thickens when Katrina, a Silicon Valley lawyer, learns from a chatbot that her husband's death, seemingly accidental, was actually murder. She embarks on a quest for the truth, returning to her roots in a unique Norwegian community in Northern California. The vivid descriptions of this town are enchanting. There, Katrina reconnects with Seb, a former high school peer she once wronged, now a successful restaurateur. Their evolving relationship, from mere acquaintances to friends and eventually more, is the kind of development I love in a story. The book is replete with peril and action as Katrina and Seb delve into the mystery of her husband's death and the deadly pursuit of chatbot/AI technology. A cast of well-developed characters enriches the story, adding layers and intent. Particularly poignant is Seb's dynamic with his father, while Katrina's fluctuating relationships with her family contribute significantly. Overall, it's a riveting tale with numerous twists that kept me reading well into the night.

I LOVED this book. The creative mix of AI and Bitcoin made the book feel relevant in today's society, with enough fanatical details to keep me lost in the wonderful world of fiction. I really enjoyed the spotlight on loss and handling grief, and also the growth in the main character throughout the story. She was someone you could root for, and be engaged with, while also seeing areas she could grow.

I loved the emotional maturity of the male main character. He handled his past and his family with the kind of incredible manliness that had me swooning.

I didn't really like the love triangle, especially the way it ended and the fact that it didn't seem better one way or the other. Some of the plot twists came so late in the novel that I felt it didn't really get time to be explored, but all in all, it was an incredible book with such a creative premise that I couldn't put it down.

I can't wait to read more from them.

This was such a clever, relevant and modern concept and the authors executed it beautifully. The plot plays on our fears of the unknown and how technology might change our world, but does so in quite a credible way- not over the top in how it is done. I don’t know how two authors managed to work together to present such a seamless work, but there is no sense of disconnect or inconsistency. The style is concise, clear and descriptive. A really good book.

Thank you Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the ARC.

The premise had a lot of promise, but I was bored and confused throughout this novels. I think I was the wrong target for this, and I think that I expected a more thrilling thriller.

2⭐️