My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Girl Friday Productions - Strawberry Creek LLC, for the electronic copy.

I really enjoyed this book. This is #3 in the Special Agent Paul Grale series, and have to admit I haven't read the previous two; however, this is a good read as a standalone. I cannot fault the summary of this story given in the title description:
"FBI bomb tech Paul Grale isn’t a computer expert, but he knows trouble when he sees it. Independence Base, a new top-secret military facility north of Las Vegas, houses a breakthrough artificial intelligence that has US enemies worried and on the move. Threat chatter is already way up when a known terrorist bomber—and Grale’s archnemesis—slips past border security. Then two of Independence Base’s star computer coders go missing. Were they kidnapped as part of a terror plot? Or did they quit in protest, taking their vast knowledge of the potentially dangerous AI code with them?
Special Agent Grale still grapples with the injuries sustained clearing IEDs in Iraq years ago. He’s managed the pain with exercise and over-the-counter drugs for years, but it’s getting worse. People at the office are beginning to talk. When he’s accused by a crooked pharmacist of illicit use of painkillers, he finds himself isolated and facing an uncertain future. Possibly, the end of his career. But first, Grale must push through the pain long enough to thwart an attack . . . as a terror team waits for the right moment to strike."

This hooked me from the very beginning - artificial intelligence being given free-rein to defend its own creation, but have the scientists and programmers gone too far? There are lots of people who seem to think so and to them the destruction of the base is paramount. Grale is doggedly determined to thwart not only an attack, but to finally confront the elusive Frederic Dalz. Matters become complicated when his new partner Jace is asked to watch him regarding his taking pain-relieving drugs, but she regards Grale as her mentor and needs his reassurances that she is up to the job in hand.

You can't do a complete investigation via a computer - you need the human instinct of an experienced investigator, and Grale stands by that mantra. Nevertheless, he has some decisions to make regarding his future, and reluctantly makes them.

This is a tense and explosive thriller - edge-of-the-seat stuff. A really good read.

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No hesitation by Kirk Russell is the third book in a series featuring FBI agent, and wounded sapper, Paul Grale. Mr. Russel has written several novels, and he is in the process of writing the fourth novel in the series.

Paul Grale is an FBI bomb tech investigating the disappearance of two computer programmers responsible for a breakthrough in artificial intelligence. The government is afraid they either got kidnapped, or plan to sell the code.

Grale finds out that the AI is a dangerous drone, which runs through millions of scenarios before deciding to attack whoever enter the Las Vegas’ base perimeter. The AI, however, makes mistakes, or sees so far into the future when it makes its decision, and has no ability to think like a human before making a life or death decision.

To Grale’s chagrin, a known bomber that works with terrorist groups might be involved. That is a man that Grale and other intelligence agencies around the world have been trying to catch for decades.

No hesitation by Kirk Russell is the third book in a series featuring FBI agent, and wounded sapper, Paul Grale. Mr. Russel has written several novels, and he is in the process of writing the fourth novel in the series.

Paul Grale is an FBI bomb tech investigating the disappearance of two computer programmers responsible for a breakthrough in artificial intelligence. The government is afraid they either got kidnapped, or plan to sell the code.

Grale finds out that the AI is a dangerous drone, which runs through millions of scenarios before deciding to attack whoever enter the Las Vegas’ base perimeter. The AI, however, makes mistakes, or sees so far into the future when it makes its decision, and has no ability to think like a human before making a life or death decision.

To Grale’s chagrin, a known bomber that works with terrorist groups might be involved. That is a man that Grale and other intelligence agencies around the world have been trying to catch for decades.

One of the themes No hesitation by Kirk Russell tries to address is artificial intelligence (AI), and at what point to we stop pushing it. This is a very interesting discussion which people have had for ages. The author’s AI uses very powerful code, which can even learn to replicate itself (if it has parts), and can run millions of scenarios a second to take action. Those actions, however, seem to humans as unnecessary, cruel, and irresponsible.

The acts might or might not be proper, as our minds cannot follow the AI’s logic or how it attempts to foresee the future. The two programmers in the story act as a collective conscious of creators who regret their creation, that is out of the control. As many other weapon smiths have found out, once their weapons took on their own lore, it’s difficult to control. Many novels have been written about this issue, from Greek myths, to Frankenstein, to Watchmen, and to fictionalization of the Manhattan Project.

One other theme, which I found to be just as interesting, is when Grale is looking towards the near future and realizes that his career is over, and he needs to plan ahead. This is something many people who are in mid-career realize, sometimes it comes as a shock (injury, fired) and sometimes the clues have been around for a long time. Sometimes you cannot keep up with the new technology, keep learning at nights or in Grale’s case an injury which has been bothering him, and getting worst, for years.

I wouldn’t call the book fast paced, but the narrative moves quickly enough without sacrificing the story or the characters. I did not read the first two books, but frankly didn’t feel like I missed anything relevant. Besides the conjuncture of the AI technologies, I did not feel any of the story was way out of line, the author did not hurry his characters to move the story along, as its moves at its own pace.

The book was well written and fun to read. I enjoyed the characters and will, mostly likely, read more from this author. There were a few small editing errors that I caught, but nothing major.

WOW! This is suspense at another whole level!
Special Agent Grale is facing a whole new type of trouble, Artificial Intelligence. When a known terrorists slips through the security of the country, and 2 coders from a secret military base go missing, Grale knows something huge is happening , but figuring out what, where, and who in time is not going to be easy. Faced with his own roadblocks in the investigation, he is more determined than ever to fight through all the obstacles put in his path to stop this latest terrorist attack. But can he succeed?
Great characters, page turning plot gets you right from the start.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.