After reading the synopsis for this book, I thought it would be a unique, fun ride, but unfortunately, it just left me confused. I was drawn in by the concept of AI, especially in one's everyday life, and when you add in a murder, I'm all for it! However, this book was not what I was expecting. The book felt chaotic, with multiple plots and storylines that, unfortunately, did not tie in well together. I think this book would have been great if the author had focused more on finding out what happened to Jason and less on the other characters' backstories. 2.5 stars rounded up.
Thank you NetGalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction, Colleen Cobble, and Rick Acker for this read.

This writing duo is quickly becoming one of my favorites! This is a high concept book that pairs quickly evolving AI with bitcoins. The result is a twisty book that kept the pages turning late into the night. The romance is strong, the twist, fantastic, and the suspense solid.this is a novel I recommend to those who like romantic suspense.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are mine.

This was an unexpected read by one of my new to me but absolutely love Colleen Coble. The book follows Katrina who lost her husband to a fiery car crash and if that is not enough her job is on the line and the death of her grandmother. Thanks to tech she is able to talk to her husband Jason and then she dares ask it for the impossible and the response sends her in a spiral. Loved the premise ,the characters and perfect for fans of thrillers.

I loved this book. Great storyline, well thought out, and some romance mixed in to give you happy feels.
4 stars from me
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

I have to admit that the synopsis of this book along with the inclusion of contempory technology....AI, crypto.....meant I had to read this one. It helped that Colleen Coble and Rick Acker write some of the best mystery / thrillers in today's libraries. Katina Berg is living through the hardest days of her life, including the death of her husband. In search of happier memories, she has "built" a data base of her husband, including everything she can find and generating an artificial relationship. When she learns that there is a possibility, he was murdred, the story takes some quick turns and aims to the heart of the mystery. And wow!!! The mystery, tension, surprises, they all contribute to a great mystery.

I read and listened to this book, both are great and lent another dimension to the reading experience.

“I think I was murdered.” The message on Katrina Foster’s phone launched an icy fissure of fear through her. Her beloved husband, Jason, died in a single-car crash on a dangerous road in northern California. But Jason, well, chatbot Jason, proclaims another story.

For months, Katrina has depended on the chatbot her coworkers at Talk, a Silicon Valley startup company, have developed. Her best friend Liv, one of the program’s engineers, loaded all of Jason’s social media and text messages into the program, and Katrina uses the beta version to ‘talk’ to Jason when she struggles to work through her grief and the more recent death of her beloved grandmother, Bestemor.

But murder? Who and why? As Katrina learns to ask the chatbot the right questions, more information emerges. Someone wanted something Jason had found, and they would go to any lengths to get it. At the same time, The FBI serves search warrants at the Talk offices, and Liv’s boyfriend and company founder disappears. When Katrina agrees to testify, she puts her life and the life of her best friend in danger.

They escape to Katrina’s cozy hometown, North Haven, and Katrina reconnects with a local restauranteur, Seb Wallace.

Despite his difficult upbringing, Seb has returned to North Haven to help his aging father. An unexpected brother shows up, and while Seb has always longed for a real family, he struggles with Dylan’s appearance in his life and the ramifications of the relationship.

When Katrina Foster asks for his help, Seb can’t turn her down. After all, he harbored a crush on her during high school. He once thought of her as selfish and self-involved, but his opinion changes as he gets to know her as an adult.

Will they uncover the murderer’s identity before they claim another victim? And how should they handle the undeniable spark of attraction between them?

Why I Loved this Book

Fans of Colleen Coble will love her collaboration with Rick Acker in this fast-paced suspense novel set in a charming Norwegian town in northern California. The authors have mastered twisty plot turns and keep readers in suspense until the satisfying epilogue.

This was a very unique read with a plot that hasn't been done before. A woman is obsessed with a Chabot that keeps her connected to her deceased husband. She slowly discovers that maybe he was murdered. There are so many unique twists that kept me on edge.

4.5 stars

It’s no secret that I love a great suspense/thriller, and I’m especially intrigued by plots that involve emerging technology and explore the ‘what ifs’ in ways that make my own mind whir with the possibilities. I feel like these kind of books can be even more edge-of-seat than other suspense novels because they revolve around things we use / do everyday. Like engaging with artificial intelligence, like our heroine does in I Think I Was Murdered.

Oh my goodness, I was intrigued by this story from the beginning as we have a front row seat to Jason’s death and then become acquainted with his young widow Katrina who works as a legal advisor for a cutting-edge AI company. After Jason’s tragic ‘accident’, the company took all of Jason’s emails, texts, social media posts, photos – basically his entire technology footprint – and uploaded them into an experimental chatbot program on Katrina’s phone. It’s so lifelike & realistic to Jason’s speech patters that she feels as though she’s really talking to Jason. Which of course isn’t helping her process her grief but for the purposes of the suspense elements here it’s AMAZING… and even though I knew the title of the book and had read the book description, I nevertheless gasped out loud when she gets the titular response, “I think I was murdered.” I mean… wow. Can you imagine getting that text message from a loved one, whether it’s through artificial intelligence or not?

Needless to say, from that moment on I couldn’t have put the story down if I’d wanted to. Which I didn’t. With those five words, all kinds of questions brilliantly enter the plot. WAS Jason murdered? Who killed him? Why? The more ‘he’ tells her, the more deeply entrenched we all become in the outcome. And the more determined someone (or someones) is to find the big secret Jason left behind. Ahhhh… I’m telling y’all. This one has some intense moments, for sure. But Coble and Acker also do a phenomenal job of easing the tension at the right times, injecting subtle humor or sweet romance or gentle faith… or just involving us in the family dynamics and day-to-day life in this small California town with a Norwegian flavor.

Bottom Line: I Think I Was Murdered is full of captivating suspense, layered characters, and heartfelt explorations of grief, purpose, and family. Colleen Coble and Rick Acker write together seamlessly, crafting a plot that grips your imagination and keeps you invested in the protagonists as well as the supporting players. I was totally caught up in solving the mysteries involving Jason and felt like I was along for every heart-stopping moment as everything builds toward an edge-of-your-seat showdown with some stunning twists too. I loved Katrina and Seb as individuals and I loved watching them reunite and fall in love. But mostly, I just loved getting to read another book from this fantastically talented writing team. I hope there are many more to come!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

I Think I Was Murdered by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker was quite the intriguing romantic suspense/mystery. I really enjoyed these authors first book together, What We Hide, and was greatly anticipating this book. I've been a fan of Colleen Coble for a few years; however, I have yet to read any of Rick Acker's books. But reading these two books written by both of them together has really made me want to try some of his. They've done a wonderful job so far.

I was quite intrigued with the premise of this book way back when I first heard about it. Katrina's husband died in what was believed by everyone to be a car accident. However, the reader knows better because the prologue begins with her husband, Jason, being pursued for a possession he has discovered. A very rare and valuable possession. The reader KNOWS how he died, though we do not know who the culprit is that caused his death.

When the first chapter starts it is a year later and Katrina is having a really bad time both in her professional life and personal life. The CEO of the company where she works as legal counsel has been indicted and the FBI is questioning her. Her grandmother is near death and she is dealing with the chaos at work. This all just adds more on to her grief she has been dealing with for the past year.

She's been clinging on to the memories of her husband through an AI Chatbot that she had access to because of her job. This Chatbot is just like chatting with her husband. Then one day, she asks a question that has her husband/the Chatbot answering that he thinks he was murdered.

Due to different circumstances Katrina ends up back in her home town. She reconnects with a friend from the past, and they, along with her friend from work, end up working together to solve the mystery of her husband's now-suspicious death along with the missing valuable object.

There is danger from unknown individuals which adds to the suspense. Though the suspense wasn't all that intense most of the time, there were instances of peril and tension. As they follow clues to find the needed information related to the object that got Jason killed, it feels a bit like a high stakes treasure hunt. There are twists, though I did sort of start to suspect the identity of the one culprit.

I enjoyed the second chance romance, a relationship that has a chance to develop while Katrina and Seb work together. Though I wasn't a huge fan of the sudden love triangle that developed between Katrina's friend and two other characters. Lots of secrets being withheld.

There was a LOT going on in this story, some of which did get a tad confusing at times. Especially trying to keep some of the side characters names and relationships to the main characters straight.
I did enjoy the parts about the two different restaurants, and getting to learn about different Norwegian dishes.

All in all, it was an enjoyable story and I felt that everything was tied up nicely at the end, even with everything going on.

I received an e-copy of this book through NetGalley and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.

I really enjoyed the bones of this story, and didn't see the twist coming! I do think our main female character could have been a bit more fleshed out and there was an awkward emphasis that the two main characters owned Teslas, but it was a fun read!

THINK I WAS MURDERED by Colleen Coble & Rick Acker
This is one addictive read! Colleen Coble and Rick Acker have knocked it out of the park with this story. This is the first book I have read by these two but certainly will not be the last. This is a romantic suspenseful well written story that starts with a death of a husband and becomes I Think I was Murdered by AI. I didn’t want to put this down! This is 5 stars.

When you live on the bleeding edge of technology, you’ll eventually get cut. On the worst day of Katrina Foster’s life, she lost her husband in a car accident. To help ease the pain, her employer loaded Jason’s information into a bleeding edge AI chatbot, which Katrina used to talk to her beloved after losing him. And on the second worst day of her life, as everything that remained after losing Jason came raining down in ashes around her, Katrina asked him to tell her something she doesn’t know. I Think I Was Murdered is a million tiny cuts to leave Katrina, and the reader, reeling from the swipes as the truth unfolds. Nestled in a Pacific Coast setting that can be both cozy and chilling, and with characters equally lovable and despicable, this is a story to keep you on your toes from start to finish. Colleen Coble and Rick Acker have fabricated a tale that gives no rest for the weary until the last bitter truth is told.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Absolutely riveting! This book has mystery, intrigue, a love story blossoming, and the tough coping with the loss of a loved one.
It was hard to put down toward the end because I wanted to know the outcome!

Highly recommend!

Katrina is the legal counsel for a very successful company. Her career and marriage is going great. Then, her husband died in a car crash. It's been a year and she still misses him so badly it hurts. Then, the company's CEO was indicted and the Feds take over the company. Katrina has some tough questions to answer. Then, her grandmother passes away before she could get to her. Katrina and she were very close.
The company had a super duper chatbox that when the app was loaded onto one's phone, along with texts, emails, pics, all communication from an individual, you could essentially 'communicate' with that person once they were deceased. Mind blowing, right? Even after reading the entire book, I still couldn't wrap my mind around it. Apparently, such a thing actually exists. Katrina had been using this chatbox for a the year her husband, Jason, had been dead to 'communicate' with him. It helped her feel near to him-or so she thought. Eventually, she did realize this was not a good thing for her. It only aided in deceiving her and not allowing her to fully accept he was truly gone and to move on with her life without Jason.
One day while 'talking' to Jason, she typed out, 'tell me something I don't know.' The bot replied back, 'I think I was murdered.' Naturally, this was very upsetting to Katrina. She went ahead with her plans and made the trip back home and learned her grandmother had left her restaurant to her. There are some family dynamics here. Her brother felt it should have been left to him.
Katrina knew Seb Wallace from childhood and the growing up years, but hadn't seen him in quite some time. He lives in their hometown and owns an upscale restaurant, and MY, how Seb has changed! Quite the attractive man now! He becomes her confident and helps her with her question surrounding her husband's death which puts both their lives in danger.
Edge of your seat thriller. My only disappointment was that I was able to figure out the killer very early on in the story.
I was given an advanced ecopy by the publisher, Thomas Nelson, through Netgalley. I was under no obligation to leave a positive review.

Can AI bring back to us those who have died? Will the facsimile relationship be healthy or dangerous? Those are the questions at the heart of I Think I Was Murdered.


Katrina Berg had a perfect life - a brilliant career at a hot tech company, a handsome husband, wealth, and a loving family. That all ended the night her spouse Jason was killed in a fiery car crash. It was an event that caused a domino effect; shortly after, the CEO of her firm disappeared with a large chunk of change, the FBI is now questioning her ethics and competence since she is legal counsel for the company, and then her beloved grandmother passes away.


Katrina’s main support through all this is the beta prototype for a new, ultra-sophisticated chatbot created by her firm. All the contents of Jason’s email, social media, pictures, and every other bit of digital data Katrina could find had been loaded onto the AI platform, with the result being that she can talk to her phone and have it respond to her just the way Jason would have. She questions how healthy it is to use the app as frequently as she does, but she can’t stop. Every day, she seeks advice from this digital Jason. Every day, she gets answers using the syntax and words her living husband would have. Until one afternoon, when she begins to receive responses she doesn’t expect. Phrases in Japanese, a language she didn’t know Jason was familiar with. And then, after an innocuous question, the answer I think I was murdered.


Even as she is processing this, another shoe drops. Her best friend Liv, the head programmer at Katrina’s company, tells her the CEO was involved with Chinese gangsters. And those gangsters are now after Liv, his ex-girlfriend, and Katrina, his attorney. Feeling insecure in Silicon Valley, the two head to Katrina’s hometown of North Haven. The kitschy tourist community provides a picturesque stop for those visiting the Redwoods area but is sufficiently isolated that the gangsters will hopefully be unfamiliar with it. This seemed like a stretch to me. The gangsters are involved with a tech company, so I assume they’ve heard of internet research and could probably find out Katrina’s background. It didn’t make sense to me to visit the family with potential killers on her tail, but whatever.


Speaking of her kindred, Katrina’’s family is pretty irked with her. Her grandmother left Bestemor’s, her restaurant, to Katrina, and Katrina plans to sell it. Her mother and brother both want it to stay in the family, but Katrina feels Seb Wallace is, in a way, part of the family. The popular and talented restaurant mogul got his start working at Bestemor’s and has a great deal of affection for it. He’s assured Katrina he will keep the staff her nana had trained and will not make any major changes to the decor or menu. While Katrina and Seb hadn’t been close growing up, the two bond over their mutual love and knowledge of Norweigan food when they discuss the sale. Kartina is confident she has made the right decision. As an added bonus, Seb also knows Japanese and might be able to help her gain insight into what the AI on her phone is telling her.


I was drawn to this book because of the main question posited in the text- could an AI version of you figure out you had been murdered and why, based on your digital footprint? The portions dealing with that and how the use of AI both hindered and helped Katrina in her grief were fascinating. Technology has had a profound impact on us in the last hundred years, and I enjoy narratives that explore that.
The descriptions of the setting were good as well: The huge trees, hundreds of years old, and rugged terrain, with homes at the end of rocky, muddy unpaved paths and steep drops off on the roads that are paved. Most people in North Haven have guns because mountain lions and other beasties abound in the area. All of this contrasted nicely with the very modern issues our heroine was dealing with.


That said, I struggled with other aspects of the tale. The writing tended to be too much tell and not enough show. Once the heroine met (or reunited) with Seb, she seemed to begin a very rapid climb out of grief; I found this unbelievable because Jason had only been dead for a year, and she had just learned he was murdered. Additionally, she was addicted to the AI version of him. I appreciated that the authors didn’t resort to turning Jason evil just to make Katrina hate him, but I would have preferred they put more time between Jason’s death and Katrina falling for Seb.


This kept me from rooting for them as a couple, although I like Seb well enough as an individual. He is kind, thoughtful, generous and caring. There are moments in the tale when he is almost too perfect, but he has just enough flaws to make him down-to-earth and realistic. I did find the depiction of his wealth unlikely, but I accepted that as part of romancelandia culture.


I liked Katrina a bit less. She could be thoughtless of others' feelings and too self-focused. She definitely lacked communication skills; the mess with her family could have been easily resolved with a few heart-to-heart conversations. Moreover, the mystery's resolution and her inability to recognize what had been happening right under her nose left me questioning her intelligence.


I also felt the story had a bit too much going on. Both Seb and Katrina have family issues that constantly intrude upon the text, and the mystery itself winds up being needlessly complex.
I’ll add that the book also brought up nationalities too often for my taste. From the Japanese chef who worked at Seb’s restaurant to the Chinese gangsters chasing them and the endless talk of Katrina’s Norweign heritage, the tale felt unnecessarily race-conscious. To be clear, there is no overt racism, but I found the focus on the gangster’s nationality distracting and unnecessary. I would label anyone who was shooting at me a villain and wouldn’t much care where they came from.
Fortunately, not all the baddies are of one race (some are white Americans), and not all the good people are white. Conversely, for a book marketed as Inspirational, the story has very few faith aspects. God is mentioned half a dozen times, Jesus never, and the characters pray a total of three times, the contents of said petitions being of the sort that an agnostic might use in a foxhole. I’ll add that while there was no on-page sex, it was made clear a lot of sexual activity was occurring off-page. None of it was the hero/heroine, but their siblings and friends were active.


The mix of positives and negatives resulted in a midlevel grade. I think fans of the author may enjoy I Think I Was Murdered, and those intrigued by the premise, as I was, might be able to overlook its flaws, but I would recommend it to only those specific audiences.

This mystery had me wondering what was going on! I thought that the authors did a wonderful job of writing a suspenseful story that was hard to put down!

Colleen Coble & Rick Acker are a dynamic duo mystery team! I’ve really enjoyed their collaborations with smart, up-to-the-date whodunnits which capture the emerging technological world. This story really took me on a thrilling chase with hidden clues, cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, & chatbots. Along with the intriguing mystery, was a sweet second chance romance, inspiring faith, & ethical questions which caused me to pause.

Katrina Berg was devastated when her perfect world came crashing down a year ago. Her husband Jason died in a fiery crash, the high-tech company where she was a rising star as their legal counsel is being indicted with the CEO missing, & her beloved grandmother recently passed away leaving her a restaurant. Her only comfort is the prototype chatbot she’s installed on her phone which has all of her deceased husband’s emails, photos, & texts, & who can converse with her like Jason.

When the chatbot suggests Jason was murdered, she returns to her quaint Norwegian hometown to search for answers & escape the threats she & her friend are receiving. Looking for a buyer for her grandmother’s restaurant, she renews her friendship with Seb Wallace, a talented restauranteur who’s nothing like the nerdy kid she remembers. As their relationship deepens & threats escalate, Katrina & Seb must work together to decipher her husband’s hidden clues to a vast cryptocurrency fortune.

I really felt for Katrina. Her reliance on the chatbot really made me think. Is it healthy to create a shadow personality of a dead loved one? I was so glad that Seb was there to help her as well as her faith. I enjoyed their slow build, friends to more, second chance romance. Seb has his own issues with a troubled past, ailing father, & a brother he didn’t know he had showing up out of the blue.

I thoroughly enjoyed the fast-paced mystery. It took me a minute to fully understand everything because so many things happened at the beginning. Once I figured out what was going on, I enjoyed the engaging plot. I loved how each clue had a purpose & lead to the next location. I also loved the surprises at the end. There were a few things I didn’t see coming & love when that happens.

Highly recommend to romantic suspense fans! Looking forward to the next mystery from this talented duo. I received an advanced complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own & voluntarily provided. 4-4.5 stars!

What an interesting book. I Think I was Murdered dealt with topics i was not familiar with. Chat bots, bitcoin, and let's throw in a scandal or two. This book had all the suspense that we know & love from Colleen Coble. A few of the twists were a little interesting but all together, it was an enjoyable book!

Loved it! The prologue had me hooked. Who could have caused the fatal accident and why? Was it all because of the Satoshi egg? It was a good thing Katrina found that adorable kitten when she did or the mountain lion would have had a tiny, furry snack. North Haven sounded like a beautiful place to live. The waffles sounded amazing at Bestemor's. I can't imagine why Katrina wanted to move away, except maybe for her overbearing parents. Her mom wouldn't even let the kitty in her house. From the start, I was very suspicious about Liv and Dylan. I thought Dylan was lying and might want something from Seb. Rory doesn't have anything to give Dylan, except a disgusting, run down trailer in the middle of nowhere. I'm not sure what it was about Liv, but I thought she might be hiding something. There were so many twists and turns throughout the book. The chatbot was the creepiest part of the book. At times, it seemed like Katrina thought the chatbot was really her husband answering her. Some of the responses seemed strange and not something someone would actually say. How can you let someone go when you keep thinking you're talking to them on your phone? The ending was scary and crazy. People will go to great lengths for money, even murder. Loved the relationship between Seb and Katrina. They were exactly what each other needed.

Definitely recommend the book. It was a great mystery/thriller that had me guessing until the end. Loved the characters, story and writing style. Look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Fiction through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I Think I Was Murdered is the second novel by writing duo Colleen Coble and Rick Acker. A lawyer for Silicon Valley AI startup, Talk Inc, Katrina Foster has been widowed a year when her life is again upended: her beloved grandmother, Bestemor dies, and the FBI are investigating Talk’s CEO, David Liang who, it turns out, has been embezzling company funds and has disappeared to Shanghai. His girlfriend, and Katrina’s best friend, Liv Tompkins is Talk’s Chief Technical Officer, and has been left holding the baby (well, near enough, she’s pregnant).

Jason Foster was killed in a terrible car accident while on his way to a meeting in North Haven. Talk’s current project is a chatbot, and Katrina has the beta version loaded with texts, emails, social media and anything else needed to emulate Jason’s personality. Although she’s well aware it’s not him, as realistic as it is, it brings her great comfort and emotional support. But has relying on it retarded her healing? And lately, there might be a few glitches: Japanese text, quotes from books and movies out of left field. And then this: “I think I was murdered.”

The adverse publicity from the FBI raid has her seeking refuge with her family in North Haven. Ivy feels they may be in danger from the influential Liangs, and Katrina invites her along. There’s a funeral to attend, and Bestemor’s will holds a surprise that gives her a reason to seek out local restaurateur, Seb Wallace. They have a history from high school days that she’d all but forgotten, but his fluency in Japanese leads her to share the bot’s revelations.

When he realises that she isn’t self-centred like he thought, Seb is very happy to help Katrina in any way he can, although he does have the distraction of a half-brother of whom he was unaware, turning up on his doorstep. Dylan Carter claims to be the son of Rory Wallace and Linda Carver, but is there more to him than meets the eye?

The premise of an AI chatbot that can respond in character is certainly a topical one, although of course, its output always relies on what goes in. Coble and Acker give the reader some appealing characters and a plot that has a few red herrings and takes a turn or two, including some climbing action and a visit to Yosemite, and a nail-biting climax, before the final resolution.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction.