I've seen J.A. Jance fill up an entire shelf in bookstores and libraries, but had never peeked inside any of her work for some strange reason. I met her at a writers conference and subsequently decided to try one of her books. It moved me to the point that I became a fan, and am now in her "group." No spoiler here - this is a masterpiece by a master. I'd give it six stars if I could. No synopsis - get it. Read it.

Jance is one of my favorite hometown writers, and so I was pleased to see this title offered on Net Galley. Thanks go to that site and Touchstone for the free review copy. It’s for sale now.

This is the 13th entry in the Ali Reynolds series, and its constant readers will likely want to read this one also. New readers may be a harder sell. Although the novel has some bright spots, it’s slow to wake up and burdened with a number of issues, some of which are deal-breakers.

The opening is slow, and there is a great deal of back story that slows down the inner narrative. If I hadn’t taken a review copy from Simon and Schuster, I would have tossed the book on my giveaway pile and called it quits. But staying with it has its rewards. Though Reynolds is featured in this story and it is set in her home and within the cybersecurity firm she and her husband own, the important characters here are Stuart, her technical wizard, and the surprisingly charming Artificial Intelligence entity named Frigg that bonds to him. Graciella Miramar, a talented Panamanian hacker and the daughter of a drug lord, is determined to hack into Frigg in order to get the password that serves as the key to a vast fortune in Bitcoins.

I am nearly halfway into the book before I am engaged, but once I am hooked I am in it for keeps.

The immense amount of money Reynolds and her husband toss around prevents me from empathizing with them. A large amount of independent wealth solves a lot of logistical problems for the novelist, just as it does for the affluent in real life, but Jance is a seasoned writer, and I am disappointed that she takes the easy way out. In addition, the denouement—not given here lest you decide to read it anyway—strains credibility.

All of the bad guys—we have one female villain, Graciella, and a whole list of her family members and associates—are Latino, either from Panama or Mexico. All Latinos, apart from the Reynolds’ domestic employee, are bad. All the good guys are Caucasian except for Cami, who is Asian-American. I am disquieted by the portrayal of at least a dozen immigrant characters as “gangbangers”, thieves, rapists, arsonists, and murderers. Particularly given current events and attacks on immigrants’ rights by the U.S. government, this is disturbing.

So if you are a reader who is heartily sick of fiction that wants to appear politically correct, congratulations. Here’s your book; knock yourself out. Everyone else is forewarned.

Duel To The Death – J.A. Jance
I was fortunate to receive this novel as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.
Ali Reynolds returns in Jance’s newest novel! In the prologue, we meet Frigg, an Artificial Intelligence ‘AI’, who seems to demonstrate the ability to grow and think beyond her programming. When her creator Owen is defeated by Stuart Ramey, a member of High Noon Enterprises, Frigg senses her imminent demise, and makes some moves ensuring her prolonged existence. Unprovoked, she transfers money, in the form of bitcoin, to Stuart, recognizing his efforts as altruistic, and hopeful that he will re-activate her to gain access to the funds.
Meanwhile, in Panama, a young woman, who’s father is the head of an international drug cartel, and whom managed Owens less-than-legal offshore accounts, recognizes the transfer of assets to Stuart, and recognizes that Frigg must have arranged the transfer. Eager to get her hands on the A.I. herself, she drafts a letter to Stuart, detailing the ‘gift’ of monetary funds, and the need for certain codes to gain access to the funds, betting that he will have to re-activate Frigg to gain those codes.
Meanwhile, strange things begin to happen. A man posing as a building inspector gains access to High Noon and leaves bugs around the offices, only to mysteriously perish later. Stuart, stunned by the ‘gift’ Frigg has bestowed on him, realizes that he needs to reactivate her, to gain access to the money for tax purposes. When Frigg comes on line, she assists High Noon in putting all of the pieces together, shutting down a cartel, and solving some old crimes as well.
I LOVED this book, as I love all of Jance’s work, and I can only hope that Frigg is here to stay in future Ali Reynolds novels! What a creative and great idea Frigg is!! A wonderful, all-in-one-sitting kind of read!!

The next book in the Ali/B series continues to delight! I love these spinoffs (and especially love the JA Jance Joanna Brady stories). This was such a quick read; I could not put it down. The topic of AI combined with a Mexican Drug Cartel was great. Thank you to the publisher for the advanced reader copy in exchange for a review.