Just when I thought this would be a four star book, it quickly turned into a five star. It started a little slow, but then wham! You don't want to miss this exciting book. It has suspense, romance, and a great story with memorable characters. There are a few times the wording and messages just really pulled me in. I have to quote this line, "Grief only eclipses those blessings for a little while. They're still there, and so is God."

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

This book was all the things. I am always glad when I can find clean books that challenge/teach me as a reader and this one fits the bill.
I enjoyed the AI technology aspect of it, helping Katrina deal with her grief, along with the bit of a scavenger hunt storyline. I appreciated the sweet friendship/romance between Seb and Katrina too. Since I am of Norwegian dissent, I appreciated the nods to all things Norwegian and the fact that some of the scenes are set in restaurants.

It took me about 60% of the book to figure out who the suspect was, even though I was correct, there were still twists and turns that I thoroughly enjoyed. I have always liked Colleen Coble's writing style and how she writes relatable characters. I am now coming to enjoy Rick Acker's writing too. They are a wonderful writing duo. The faith content isn't in your face, but it is there, which I am always a big fan of too.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the complimentary arc. This review is my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing me the opportunity to listen and review an early copy of this novel. All of the thoughts and the opinions expressed are my own.

Katrina Foster is a lawyer for a high tech company in Palo Alto. In one day, her grandmother dies, and the company goes bankrupt. Katrina goes home to her grandmother's funeral, and to escape what she is dealing with. While there, she learns that she inherited her grandmother’s Norwegian style breakfast restaurant. In the midst of all this, the Chatbot app on her phone that is loaded with her deceased husband’s voice starts telling her that her husband was probably murdered. Things start getting crazy. She gets hooked up with her old friend Seb and he helps her investigate.

I was disappointed in this book. After reading the last book by these authors, I was excited to read this one. It was a let down. It feels this book was hurried to press. The story was not nearly as fleshed out as it should have been. I feel like I would have understood it so much better if it had had more detail. Faith was mentioned but not elaborated on.

I feel like this book would maybe appeal to people in the tech industry.

This was such a great book. I enjoyed reading this book. It was an easy read, and was very thought provoking. I enjoyed the characters, would definitely recommend to someone wanting an easy read or a change of pace.

Wow, wow, wow!! This book kept ratcheting up the suspense! It was a GREAT story that kept me spellbound trying to figure everything out. I was suspicious a few times before the biggest reveal, but it still managed to mostly surprise me.
It does have light faith elements, the romance is sweet and kisses only.

I Think I Was Murdered follows the story of a woman whose husband dies in a mysterious crash. While chatting with AI constructed around his persona, it comes out that he may have been murdered. The synopsis sounds unique and interesting. The writing was easy to read and follow. Unfortunately, this story did not do it for me. The characters were not relatable, the story was not believable and there were no surprises. It also read almost like a young adult book and I am not a fan of YA writing.

It seemed like every character had too much of a story that could not be properly dived into in a book this size. A lot of it didn't effect the main story at all. I felt like certain characters' stories were going to go somewhere and it turns out maybe it should have just been cut out or simplified. Also, they were not very relatable people. It seemed like everyone had a Tesla, one of the girls had multiple $20k purses, the man with a Range Rover had multiple satellite phones and apparently everyone can rock climb. Also, each character reacted to extreme situations in such a way that was not believable at all.

As far as the story goes, I thought I was going to be reading a mystery but it was pretty obvious where it was headed from the beginning and then took a romantic tone about halfway through. The romance itself is fine but the dialogue was so cringe-y. And again, just unbelievable. The story line and dialogue reached a point where I just couldn't place myself in that world anymore. I'm sure there are people who would like a more "fantasy" type of story, but it's just not my style. Towards the end they started mentioning God a lot more which I thought was super random and out of place.

I appreciate and thank Thomas Nelson Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give my honest review of this book.

WOW! This writing duo is amazing! Coble and Acker write tight, fast-paced suspense like no other. Katrina Berg was working at a chat-bot start-up company and at the pinnacle of her career. She was madly in love with her husband Jason and life was grand.....until it wasn't! Jason was killed in a fiery car crash leaving her devastated and wondering how to go on. Her friend and co-worker, Liv, has installed a beta-protype chat-bot on her phone with all of Jason's emails, social media, pictures allowing her to "talk" to him every day. It's a crutch she knows that she needs to let go but can't - it's holding her together some days. One day when she asks it to tell her something she doesn't know, the message "I Think I Was Murdered" appears and the wild ride begins. When her grandmother dies, Katrina returns to her hometown for the funeral and finds she's inherited her grandma's restaurant. But with so much on her plate, she decides to sell to Seb Wallace, a local restaurateur. But things begin to spiral out of control and she's in a race to find out who wants her dead. Can she and Seb work together to figure out what's happening before it's too late? This amazing novel has so many twists and turns I couldn't put it down! Grab it for a late-night thriller - a 2024 must-read!

While I'm not a huge fan of AI-themed storylines, I think I was Murdered kept my attention because of the writing. The characters were well-developed, although the romance at times was a bit cheesy. I felt like I was able to see the cozy Bestemor's cafe in my mind because of the detailed descriptions. Some suspense mysteries are easy to solve early in the novel, but this one took me much longer. The writing duo of Colleen Coble and Rick Acker is one I'm adding to my list of "Will always read".

A special thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for sending an ARC for consideration. All opinions are my own.

Full of twists and turns. This was my first Noble and Acker novel, but it will not be my last. With AI seemingly taking over many aspects of our daily lives, this pair weaves it into an important part of the story. Betrayal, family secrets, and drama drive this suspense thriller. This book will keep you guessing until very end.

Cutting edge technology mixed with betrayal and suspense. Original plot and intriguing characters make up this interesting story. Twists and turns will keep you turning the pages.

This was an intriguing concept for a book using AI but it was a tad bit unbelievable. Not sure about the premise of someone sharing his thoughts from the dead, But it was well written and I would recommend it. Colleen Coble is one of my favorite authors and the twists and turns in this story were perfectly executed.
This book was provided to me by the publisher. All my thoughts here are my own.

I Think I Was Murdered is a mystery with a very current theme - AI and bitcoins. Using a Chatbot, something of science fiction of yesterday which is becoming more and more real today, Katrina receives an alarming message that her dead husband thinks he was murdered. Who to trust? Seb and Katrina work together to try to put the pieces together. Along the way there is family drama, betrayal, many twists, plenty of suspense, and a growing romance. The book was intriguing, fast-paced, and kept me glued to the story. I enjoyed reading this book.
Thank you to Netgalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A very intriguing cover, title, and concept kept me hooked to the pages in I Think I was Murdered by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker. They’ve quickly become a dream team in the Christian romantic suspense world.
Katrina truly grieved the death of her husband and a chatbot offered the perfect responses when she needed to feel a connection to him. But her reliance became a crutch until it spouted the title, which was genius. I was wondering how anyone in their right mind would “think” they were murdered. Great premise and I can’t wait for more from these two.
Lastly, I liked the romance. Seb isn’t your conventional hero. It took a while for Katrina to have eyes for him. Also great job not having her be in love with him since they were young. He took that honor.
All in all, great book. Would’ve loved a little more triad interaction but the rock climbing scenes made up for that.
I received this book through Net Galley and was not required to give a positive review.

I Think I was Murdered
by Colleen Coble; Rick Acker
Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchangverale for my honest opinion.
I have read several Coble book and have met the author. I like this new partnership with Acker.
A grieving young widow. The AI program that allows her to continue to "talk" to him. And a message she never expected: "I think I was murdered."
This book would be great for book clubs.
Features a unique look at grief through the lens of technology
Deals with current topics and themes
Will appeal to fans of Ruth Ware, Laura Griffin, Laura Dave, and Sarah Pearse
Includes Discussion Questions.
4 stars

This book was definitely an interesting concept, using A.I. as a way to “speak” to your loved ones who have passed, but I was not a huge fan of the mystery aspect! I think I was expecting more twists and turns, I mean I was curious about what happened but not enough that I wasn’t able to put the book down! The romance was great though! There was also light faith. Overall, I’m glad I read it and will read more books by them!

*Thank you to NetGalley for this advance reader copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I was really excited to read this book based solely on the title and synopsis of the story.

The introduction was successful in setting up the "mystery" and core of what the story should have been about.
I say "should" because it just never got there for me.

There were too many characters.
There were too many storylines.

I felt like most of these just didn't go together to support or add to the main subject of the story.
I would like to have seen less family dynamics of the too many characters, less relationship drama and more investigation into a murder that had supposedly taken place.

While the AI aspect of the book was interesting, it started to seem like lazy writing to use it for direction in a murder "investigation".
There was literally no suspense whatsoever in the story.
No real emotion was conjured within me as I read the book.
It just fell flat.

I ended up thinking that this book should have been fodder for 4 different books.
It was just too all over the place, with little time taken to develop each story.

The solution to the "who done it" was unsatisfactory.

The twists in the end regarding friend/family relationships, while unexpected, also fell flat for me.
I think this is because there was no back story to really warrant such big "reveals".
There was really nothing to "reveal", and yet.... there they were, this big "reveal".

I didn't hate the book.
It just didn't grab me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

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

I find it hard to put this book in a box because it’s a lot of things: contemporary-fiction-cozy-thriller.
The good: the book was off to a great start, I found the synopsis interesting. The story was fast-paced, it was not boring; and I liked the multiple POVs.
The bad: the main characters were too flawless (and yet they managed to be annoying), their reactions were not plausible at all. In my opinion, the pregnancy was treated weirdly (it was not fully a secret but no one talked about it either), they were not concerned at all about the baby after the attacks - it made me think (after the betrayal) that she was actually faking it… it would have been better, more plausible.
In short, it was indeed a cozy thriller, and this book made me realize that I don’t like cozy stories - I need tension, nail-biting scenes, twists and turns, I don’t like this size of convenience.

I adored the setting for I Think I was Murdered. It's set in a Norwegian inspired town in California known for it's hygge. And that comfort is exactly what widow, Katrina, needs after she loses her job and her grandmother and travels back home. This story is intriguing as it explores the world of AI and bitcoin, But the real heart of the story lies in the people who surround Katrina. Her old friend, Seb Wallace, has certainly outgrown his awkward adolescent self and has made his way to the top of the restaurant business. He's there to help in any way he can. The balance of hygge and high tech makes for a fascinating story I didn't want to put down.. I received a free copy, and opinions are my own.

This book was a little hard to follow. Not sure it was my favorite Colleen Coble book. I would not read this again.

Reasons to Read this Book:

1. Let’s just cut to the obvious visual…. Check out that cover!! Sigh…..

2. For anyone who read their first book together, you know that they are a terrific writing team. If you e ever read any of their individual books, you know how good they are. So….. Coble’s romantic suspense meets Acker’s legal suspense? Umm, YES, PLEASE!!

3. Though A.I. (artificial intelligence) admittedly creeps me out, this novel is so very timely for today. However, there can be good to come from it. Buuuuut, there can also be a whole lot of bad. The premise of this book is fascinating. Katrina, the main female character, uses her AI chatbot from work to “talk” to her late husband. Actual info, e-mails, social media, texts, etc. were all put into a chat bot to ‘become’ Jason. But, then one day, ‘he’ tells her that he was murdered!

5. The reader will find both positive and negative personal struggles, familial situations, and issues with the main characters as well as with some minor characters. It makes them very relatable.

6. There is a fantastic balance of intense moments and regular life. That balance always make the best suspense books by far. There is some mystery and a a treasure hunt of sorts within this story. There are clues that the female main character’s late husband had left for her. I was fully engaged in the adrenalin AND the everyday happenings throughout this book. This is a WOW novel!!

7. As someone who is more than half-Norwegian and who has travelled there twice, I truly enjoyed all the Scandinavian (predominantly Norwegian) references: meals, desserts, art, words/phrases, style, history, and various other things. This novel has prompted so many wonderful memories of my dearly missed Bestemor (Grandma), our trips there, all my family there, etc. This novel kept me in a state of “hygge” throughout….. 🥰 Norwegian heritage or not, anyone can appreciate the culture, history, and traditions that this book sprinkles out so beautifully.

After reading that amazing novel, I personally need a Norwegian lutefisk meal with some cloudberry dessert, and then some sjokalade on bread for a snack later. And someone must send me a boat load of Freia chocolate NOW because I personally KNOW how good it is!!! (The authors only mention it about 34 times or so! Or at least it felt that way because of my cravings!). I NEED some serious Freia chocolate time as I decompress from the amazing adventure that is this novel.

I do have ONE complaint….
As much as I wanted to keep swiping through my e-reader pages to learn what would happen next, I also didn’t want it to end! I felt invested in the characters and Norwegian settlement community of North Haven. Therefore, I feel I ‘deserve’ to not-so-subtly HINT that there should be a couple more books to make a series. I have minor characters already in mind who really should share their stories, too. Just sayin’….

***My appreciation for an advanced reader copy goes to Net Galley and the publisher. My review is voluntary and written in my own words.