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.

Colleen Coble has been a longtime suspense favorite for me... and I must say, I am really loving her newest books cowritten with Rick Acker too. These two truly make a wonderful team, delivering stories that keep me on the edge of my seat. First of all, that title? Even if I hadn't already been a fan, this title absolutely would have grabbed me on its own. The story inside was just as intriguing--- Katrina's husband Jason had died and she was using an AI chatbot that used his email and chat history to feel like she was still communicating with him. Things get weird when the bot tells her that he was murdered. I'm not super well versed in AI or bitcoin, which are very big themes in this book, but I did find I was able to enjoy the story nonetheless. It definitely felt unique to the suspense reads that I typically read... though I suspect AI will be something we see more of in fiction as it becomes more popular too. There were several twists and turns to keep readers guessing. If you're looking for an intriguing and unique romantic suspense, this is certainly one to check out.

**I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I thought this book was a fun twist on AI technology possibilities. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced review copy!

I am loving this writing duo. Coble and Acker combine their individual talent to form what feels to be a new subgenre in Christian Romantic Suspense.

Life for Katrina Berg has been out of control for the last year. Grieving the death of her husband, Jason, she runs to an AI “chatbot” to text with a computer generated version on her late husband. When questionable business tactics by her employer leave her jobless and her beloved grandmother dies, Katrina once again runs to the chat or for comfort, but what she finds is far from
Comfort. Her “husband” chat bot sends the mysterious message, “I Think I was Murdered”. From there, the action, mysterious, and questions continue to unravel and lead her home to North Haven and the familiarity of her Bestemor’s Norwegian restaurant and the somehow familiar, Uber successful restauranteur, Seb Wallace.

The mystery kept me guessing. The characters were intriguing and well developed. This book allows the cozy atmosphere of North Haven to envelope you all will keeping you in the edge of your seat to find out what happened to Jason.


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

Sinopsis en español:


Hace solo un año, Katrina Berg estaba en el pináculo de su carrera. Ella era una estrella en ascenso en la start-up de chatbot de IA de la que todo el mundo hablaba, estaba casada con un marido adorado y tenía más dinero del que sabía gastar. Entonces su mundo se quemó. Su marido, Jason, murió en un ardiente accidente automovilístico. Su CEO fue acusado y, como asesora legal de la compañía, Katrina se enfrenta a preguntas difíciles mientras los federales se hacen cargo y la encierran de su oficina. El golpe final es el fallecimiento de su amada abuela.

Su posesión más preciada es el prototipo beta de un nuevo chatbot ultra sofisticado cargado en su teléfono. El contenido del correo electrónico de Jason, las copias de seguridad de las redes sociales, las fotos y todos los datos que pudo encontrar se cargaron en el bot, y Katrina ha "hablado" con él todos los días durante los últimos seis meses. Ella se ha sorprendido de lo bien que funciona. Incluso la sintaxis y las palabras que usa el bot suenan como Jason. A veces, ella se imagina que él no está realmente muerto y está justo a su lado. Ella sabe que está ralentizando su recuperación de dolor, pero no puede dejar de fingir.

En un día particularmente malo, ella dice: Dime algo que no sé. El cursor parpadea durante varios momentos y parece congelado antes de que la respuesta parpadee rápidamente en la pantalla: creo que me asesinaron.

Angustiada, Katrina regresa a su acogedora ciudad natal de sabor noruego en las secuoyas del norte de California y recata con la ayuda de Seb Wallace, restaurador local y conocido desde hace mucho tiempo, para tratar de analizar la verdad de lo que realmente sucedió. Deben navegar por los complicados caminos del dolor, la dinámica familiar y las segundas oportunidades, así como las complejas preguntas de cuánto control tiene la tecnología. Y mantenerse vivo el tiempo suficiente para hacer eso es mucho más difícil de lo que cualquiera de ellos soñaba.







Reseña:
No esperaba que hubiera romance, no fue algo malo.

Katrina es una abogada que perdió a su esposo hace un año y sigue de luto. Una amiga le dio una tecnología en donde podía meter la información del esposo, sus correo electrónicos y cualquier huella tecnológica que tuviera para crear un chat en donde él pudiera contestarle y sus respuestas eran como si él estuviera vivo. Todo estaba relativamente bien hasta que el bot le dijo que lo habían asesinado, entonces ella se dió a la tarea de encontrar al asesino.

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." Fantastic book and series!! I really am not into this type of genre but I am loving this series! This book has wonderful characters, suspense, intriguing, action, murder, mystery, a great who done it and some crazy twists and turns! The story was very interesting and kept me glued to my kindle! I highly recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I wasn't expecting this to be so twisty-turny. Well, I did because Colleen Coble is attached to it, but wow! Great premise. Highly entertaining characters and overall an awesome read!

AI is a central piece of this novel. Katrina misses her deceased husband so much and uses an AI chatbot to "talk" to him. The chatbot was set up pulling in emails/texts from her husband and with his voice. It's a little creepy, but also very understandable that Katrina would find comfort in it. Over time, Katrina begins to believe that her husband was murdered rather than killed in a car accident. She partners with several friends/family members in her life to figure out what really happened to him.

Loved the use of AI and Norwegian influences throughout the novel. And the title is cunning.

This book was so good! Another great one from this duo. I’ve always loved Colleen Coble’s books but pairing up together with Rick Acker has been great too! Their books together work so well!

I received an ARC copy of this book from the out and NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

Está narrado por: Katrina, Seb y Dylan. Tiene misterio, romance, secretos, asesinatos, traiciones y segundas oportunidades.


Jason fue asesinado, todos creen que tuvo un accidente automovilístico, pero todo fue causado por un huevo de Satoshi.

Katrina es una exitosa abogada, pero todo últimamente le sale mal, primero su esposo muere, luego su empresa es acusada de fraude, su abuela muere y finalmente descubre que posiblemente su esposo fue asesinado.
Estuvo casada por 3 años, lo extraña mucho y utiliza un botchat para seguir comunicándose con él. Cada que se comunica se siente más cerca de él, lo malo es que esto no la deja avanzar.

Seb es dueño de un restaurante descubre que tiene un medio hermano, tiene una conexión con Kat porque fueron a la misma escuela y además, la abuela de ella lo ayudo a convertirse en chef

Dylan ha tenido una vida dura, está huyendo de la ley y decide acercarse a su medio hermano.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This team did not disappoint in their second book. Definitely on trend with AI and chatbots. I enjoyed the discussion questions at the end and can't wait to introduce this book to my book club. This is going to spark some amazing discussions with my group! How do you let go if you keep hanging on? Great book!

I have adored every book I’ve read by Colleen Coble and this book was no exception. Colleen Coble and Rick Acker were in perfect synch while writing this new book! You cannot tell when one author stops and the other begins. I am not one for more contemporary reads very often but I really enjoyed this one. The AI aspect, Triads, bitcoin and modern day scavenger hunt was really intriguing. I Think I Was Murdered really shows how detrimental AI is, especially to those who are in the grieving process. Right from the prologue you are sucked into this amazing story of possible murder and mystery. You can really tell a lot of time and research went into this book. The Norwegian phrases and family history really add to the book and make you feel at home in Bestamores’. This book has several twists throughout, as well as a bit of a love story. All of which will keep you captivated until the very last page. Honestly, I was a bit saddened that this was a standalone book because I want more of Liv and Seb, also more of the supporting characters. I loved watching Liv and Seb reunite and have their now friendship grow into something more and face several minor and major challenges.
This book is not a cozy mystery but a mystery none the less. I have read a few post that say it’s a cozy mystery when it is not. It is not a psychological thriller either. I’d say it falls right in the middle of the two. It’s a great mystery read that has a bit of everything. Though this book does contain a bit of romance it has no spice at all, but it does make you fall for the two main characters. I would have enjoyed having seen more Christian aspects from Colleen, like I have read in her other books.
Overall, if you are looking for a fast paced, quick, clean read start here and start working your way through Coleen Cobles other books.
Thank you to Netgally, Colleen Coble, Rick Acker and Thomas Nelson Publishing for this ARC. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I could not put this book down! This was a fast paced, roller coaster ride with many twists and turns. Absolute must read for all thriller and romantic suspense fans!

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

I Think I Was Murdered by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker is such a fabulous novel. It takes a unique spin on AI suspense. This book is just as brilliant as their first collaboration. I have so many questions about AI after reading this book. I loved this book and can’t recommend it enough. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

This book was so different than my usual read, but it was so good! I was very impressed with the writing style and all the technical aspects of this book.

This, I think, will be a plot we will see more of in the future - AI and it's place in our society.

I found the plot unique and interesting, however the first 70% was definitely a slow burn. Only the last portion I feel coul claim to be a thriller.

While the plot was slow, I enjoyed getting to know the character's and see them develop throughout the story. I feel it's this that made the story as the plot went in many directions with Japanese and Norwegian words thrown in which to be honest just confused the story for me. It was the people that kept me reading.

Definitely an interesting one if technology advances are your thing, with Bitcoin, AI interfaces and other stuff I personally don't understand being one of the main focuses.

Colleen Coble and Rick Acker have done it again! I Think I Was Murdered will keep you guessing until the end. When Katrina’s life is upended by the death of her husband and the loss of her job and an investigation led by the FBI about her job, she doesn’t think she can take much more. Then her dear grandmother dies and she returns home. She is alone and sad and her only relief from grief comes from a chatbot that she uses to “speak” to her dead husband. But when the bot tells her that he was murdered, the real mystery begins. Very well done! Five stars!

Colleen Coble and Rick Acker create brilliant work together… I Think I Was Murdered is a NEW CONCEPT for me and in many ways for the thriller genre. Ultimately,
I think this will be the first of many we will see in the vein of AI infused storylines.

BRACE YOURSELVES!!!

Note: The romantic suspense elements were greatly appreciated and as much of a driving force as the information intake opportunities and the twisty storytelling… Overall, I loved how the various elements worked in a sort of harmony to yield a balanced and intriguing story!

I hope this pair continues to write together!!!

Special thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for the amazing digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Day 11/12/24

#ithinkiwasmurdered #aithriller #romanticsuspense #netgalley @colleencoble @rick_acker @bookshell_f