This book was good. I'm not a fan of AI so I won't comment on that much. However, I could understand the dependency in her situation. I was surprised with the revelation at the end. I did not see that coming.

After reading the summary for this book, I thought it would be a must read , 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 and it was too hard to keep up with.

I couldn't wait to read this book! It sounded so fascinating! Reading the book just confirmed my impression! Katrina was a young widow, her husband having recently died in a car accident. However, she could pretend to talk with him in the form of an AI bot, after his texts, emails, etc. were all downloaded. Once Katrina asked it to tell her something she didn't know, it replied, "I think I was murdered!" That opened Pandora's box to unravel more information about who might have killed him and why. Meanwhile, Katrina's beloved grandmother died, leaving her restaurant to her. She runs into Sebastian, who also runs a successful restaurant. Together they work to unravel the clues, while trying to stay alive, and learning to appreciate each other. What a fantastic book this is!
I appreciate being able to read a complimentary advance copy. The thoughts expressed are my own.

I just don't think this was the book for me. It seemed to have a well developed plot and characters but the concept didn't keep my interest personally. I have been a Colleen Coble reader for a number of years now but this book didn't quite have the same feel as her others as well.

I don't know how many books I'll read this year, but I know with absolute certainty this will be one of the worst.

On Netgalley this was listed as General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers, Romance. In my opinion, this was mostly romance? Honestly I feel cheated because given the blurb and the title, I would expect more murder investigation. Instead, poor Jason has to contend with his possible murder being an afterthought because his wife was too busy ogling at Seb; he has muscles, y'all! Oh, the reason she has to work with Seb was because he knew Japanese and at one point the AI started spewing Japanese terms. Somehow in an era of advanced AI, Google translate couldn't help her (that was the exact excuse in the book), and I'm like, "Sure."

Not that the romance was working. I didn't feel much chemistry. Katrina in particular annoyed me, because she only has one brain cell. For example, Frida left her a successful restaurant. Katrina, not knowing how to run one, agreed to sell it to Seb, who was seen as a natural successor to Frida. After all, Katrina was going to return to her 'big city life'. Then she changed her mind and decided to stay, and so she... reneged on the deal, going as far as to hurt Seb's feelings? But I was like, "You can stay without owning the restaurant? Can't you come up with some arrangement that worked for both of you?" Later on, Seb pointed out the exact same thing, and she went, "Oh, Seb's right." OF COURSE HE'S RIGHT, AND ANYONE COULD HAVE REALIZED THAT! FFS, YOU'RE A LAWYER, KATRINA!

There was also a love triangle involving Katrina's friend, Liv. Liv was the object of desire between Katrina's brother, Dude 1 and Seb's brother, Dude 2 (I have to admit that I have forgotten their names, even though it has only been days since I've finished this rubbish). And oh, Liv and the two dudes were hot too. But in case things were not stupid enough, the two dudes got into an actual fist fight over Liv. What were they, high school boys? Have some self-respect, please. Was there no other woman in this town? Incidentally Liv was also pregnant, supposedly with a third guy's baby. Now I'm not slut-shaming, but this sort of complexity is never fleshed out in the book, making everything feel contrived and ridiculous.

After all, remember that there was also a murder mystery? Hah, I'm betting that you've already forgotten that 'very important plotline' by now. This was precisely how I felt reading the book; I kept shouting, "BUT WHAT ABOUT JASON'S DEATH?!" Unfortunately because of the aforementioned romance bits, the story just plods along. There was zero tension. At one point an assassin was at their heels (a very deadly one, the book tells us), but somehow even when he was chasing or tailing Katrina, she still had time for romantic exchanges with Seb. This is how seriously they take the assassin. **spoiler, I guess?** Also because it's a romance now where you expect a happily-ever-after, you know Katrina will survive even when she was held at gun point.**end of spoiler**

By any means, one of the praises for the book promised, 'a complex puzzle, character-driven plot, and satisfying reveal.' Uh, I kind of figured out the puzzle early on, so... not very complex or satisfying, it turned out. Anyway, I suffered through so many pages to a point where I wanted every single character to die just so that I can stop reading (I didn't want to DNF this because I had requested for it, to my feelings of deep, deep regret).

This is a book that tried to do too much, sadly a common theme nowadays. There was a bit about Seb's backstory and his difficult relationship with his father. Admittedly, I don't hate Seb; he's the reason I gave this 1 star. But then we have Dude 2 (Seb's brother) with his shady past and forged documents. We also have a hint of family drama when Frida left the restaurant to Katrina, and her brother got mad but only for a few pages, so... it was kind of a pointless thing. A big deal was made about some Chinese mafia, which alright, has some link eventually, but for the most part it's ineffectual and just adding to the confusion. All these within 350+ pages!

Originally I wanted to show some samples of the writing and discuss why they don't work for me, but then I realized that I will have to read them again, so... no. You'll just have to take my word for it. Now if by any chance you've read this book and ended up enjoying it, uh, good for you. There are plenty of 5 star ratings as well, which... I don't get, but okay, reading is subjective!

I have been a fan of Colleen Coble's for such a long time, and no one was more surprised than me when I didn't love this book. I have such mixed feelings about it.

What I Didn't Love:

I didn't love the whole AI thing. I felt that Katrina was way too attached to feeling that she was talking to her dead spouse. It didn't feel healthy to me. And while it made for some intriguing plot points, it just wasn't working for me overall. And then the way their "relationship" was at the end - it just didn't flow with the rest of the book.

I felt like there were some plot holes. I can't do into detail about these because of spoilers, but they definitely bugged me.


What I Loved:

The pacing. The story was pretty fast paced and that's how I like my thrillers. It made for a quick read, and though I felt like a few things fell flat, I was still able to read for long periods of time because of the pacing.

Coble does keep you on your toes as to who the actual killer is. I really enjoyed trying to figure it out - everyone looked suspicious throughout the entire story.

Seb. Even though I had some suspicions about him (because for awhile everyone was a suspect!), he turned out to be a really sweet character.

All in all, this was just an ok read for me. Readers that are not looking for a lot of depth, but looking for a fun ride will really enjoy this book. I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was interesting. The plot was different and I liked it. This book had everything you could want; mystery, suspense, romance, plot twists. I definitely enjoyed this book.

I Think I Was Murdered, by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker, is a modern day techno thriller set mostly in the fictional north California town of North Haven. Originally a Norwegian settlement on the pacific coast, it is now a quaint coastal tourist destination. Katrina Berg Foster, a daughter of North Haven, returns home from her Silicon Valley tech position as legal counsel at Talk, Inc., an AI based technology set to launch a game changer. Katrina has endured a series of losses. First, her beloved husband Jason was killed in a fiery crash on a stormy, foggy night on the twisty coastal highway coming into North Haven a few years ago. Then, recently, her beloved bestamor (grandmother) passed away after a serious illness. And now her company is being taken over by the FBI after both the CEO and COO, who happen to be cousins, have disappeared, presumably back to China.

As Katrina travels home for the funeral and reading of the will, she is aware the FBI want to talk to her. With bestamor’s estate being divided between Katrina and her brother Magnus, and threats coming to her and her best friend Liv Tompkins, chief technology officer of Talk, they take refuge at her bestamor’s apartments above the restaurant Katrina has inherited.

Katrina’s teenage acquaintance, and her grandmother’s protege, Sebastien Wallace, has been back in North Haven after years working and traveling around the world and becoming a Michelin chef. When bestamor contacted him telling him of his estranged father’s Parkinson’s diagnosis it was time to come home. Seb has now opened a successful upscale restaurant in the old lighthouse. As a friend, Seb offers to help get Katrina up and running as the cafe’s new owner. However, Seb’s help becomes far more valuable than a quick course in restaurant management.As the threats become more menacing and the clues to solve Jason’s murder begin coming together, Seb and his newly discovered half brother Dylan come to be invaluable.

This book is a fast paced mystery thriller that will glue readers to the story. And as the climax approaches, readers will be taken on a heart pounding journey to solve the mystery. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

Colleen and Rick are Christian suspense/mystery writers. This is the second book from this duo that I have enjoyed! I like that their books are suspenseful, but not filled with a ton of violence. This one also involves a love story.

This was a unique story that involves a chatbot and “gunting” (or, “egg hunting”, which the book defines as “metal detecting for nerds”. ) The term came from a sci-fi novel called “Ready Player One” that a male character from the book had read. Definitely the first book I’ve ever read where artificial intelligence played a significant role in the story.

Jason dies in a car accident. His wife, Katrina, is an attorney for a tech AI company called Talk, Inc. After he died, all of Jason’s text messages, emails and social media posts were added to the chatbot so that Katrina could “talk” to him. The chatbot tells Katrina that he was murdered. The entire book is spent trying to figure out who killed him. They determine early on that the murder likely had to do with Jason finding a Satoshi egg (related to gunting), which contained a passcode for $30 million worth of Bitcoins.

Topics include: murder, AI, romance, friendship, betrayal, family conflict

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

Overall I really enjoyed this book. There were twists and turns I didn’t see coming. The chatbot was an interesting addition.

The only thing that was irritating for me was the few religious references. One standing out to me was that you should believe everything a specific person says because they’re a Christian. In my life I’ve found many Christian’s lie more than non. But with that said, I enjoyed the book as a whole!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This one was a bit different for me as it revolves a lot around technology and I'm pretty unsavvy when it comes to things such as AI, Bitcoin, Chatbots and the like which are part of the story. Katrina is grieving over her husband's death and uses the above to help her solve the mystery surrounding his death. Very novel to me! But it's really very sweet in some ways. She makes an AI to communicate with and it tells her in her husband's voice, "I think I was murdered" and thus begins the twists and turns.

I think Colleen Coble is a very skilled characterization author, as her characters are all developed so well. I'm not familiar with Rick Aker's writing but this book being co-authored turned out very engaging even though I am not into AI's or Bitcoins (at all) or Chatbox, but now I see where the word chatterbox comes from. lol And it didn't heart that it's set in my backyard as I live close to Yosemite National Park. I very much enjoyed this one.

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.