Member Reviews
Ok wow. I only requested a review copy of this book because it was one of the few Christian audiobooks available. I loved it so much more than I expected! The cover made me think it was going to be all tech-y and suspenseful. While it does have an AI aspect to it and plenty of suspense, it also has the cozy small town vibes I love. I also loved learning about the influence of Norwegian traditions in Katrina’s life. And! The small town is on the coast of Northern California, a beautiful area I’m very familiar with. Ok, enough with the fangirling. I guess you want to know what it’s about.
Katrina’s husband passed away a year before in a car accident. She’s able to continue “talking to him” through an AI chatbot. Of course it’s not really him, just an app that has access to every message he ever sent. During a conversation with the chatbot she finds out he was actually murdered. This book follows the story of her following clues to find out exactly how and why his death happened. She also goes back to the small town where she was raised and reconnects with an old friend who’s able to help her.
A few of my favorite things…
-the audiobook narrator did a great job!
-the goat on the roof of the Norwegian restaurant
-Northern California scenery
-family reconnecting
-the message about doing what’s right even when it’s hard
I didn’t care for…
-one of the characters, but the way it ended I liked
Know that…
-one of the main characters is pregnant and we realize she’s had a history of sleeping around
Perfect for…
someone looking for a suspenseful read.
Mystery with heavy religious and romance overtones.
I like thrillers that have to do with cutting edge technology and my impression was that this book was about an AI app and also about bitcoin. Although those were parts of the story, the main focus was on the character of Katrina Berg and her Norwegian family in North Haven. The concept of hygge (mood of coziness, warmth and comfort) is also emphasized and appears constantly within the prose. In addition, her romance with a restaurant owner, Seb Wallace, is another huge piece of the novel.
This was fast paced and a quick read, but it just had too much sappy romance for me. I would have liked much more focus on the AI chat bot aspect. Lots of family, home, hearth, sentimentality, and a bit too overly sweet.
I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. As always, a good narrator can enhance my enjoyment of a book, and this was well done. I always believe, however, that a larger cast with male and female voices would add to the quality of an audio production.
This book was different in a good way. Katrina is grieving the sudden loss of her husband and not well. She’s communicating with a chat bot that has all her husband’s online info. It chats like he would. And then one day he says I think I was murdered, and hunt begins to see if he was.
I really enjoyed the characters in this book, although Katrina’s obsession with the chat bot got a bit annoying. At the same time, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have done the same if the technology was available when I lost someone.
This book was extremely well written and I look forward to more offerings from this duo.
I listened to this as a free audiobook from NetGalley and am leaving this review voluntarily.
This story was launching into the future with its AI references and bitcoin.
I wasn’t prepared for the twist and turns of the story! You feel bad for the main character at point but she is determined and strong after the death of her husband.
An amazing thriller that kept me hooked! Colleen Coble and Rick Acker are my favorite duo suspense authors. It's amazing how far AI has gone and the twists it brought to the case was outstanding.
Another suspenseful whodunnit from one of my favorite authors. I was introduced to a lot of terminology that I wasn't familiar with but as the story revealed itself I came to understand the technicalities. The characters were endearing and while the mystery unfolded I had a hard time determining who was the killer. The narrator was great too and I highly recommend this intriguing and complicated novel.
I think I was murdered
Katrina is a young widow dealing with a myriad of difficult situations- aside from her husbands death, the business she works for is being investigated, more death in her family and she just finds herself unable to cope.
This is when she uses a chat bot in her phone with sophisticated AI that uses Jason’s email, phone and other personal data to chat back with her so she can pretend he is still alive.
Then one day the chat bot / Jason replies “I think I was murdered.” This leads Katrina in a journey to learn if there is any truth behind the statement.
I was very intrigued by the AI aspect of the plot and feel it was well done while not the whole focus. I enjoy the thought provoking sentiments of the book and the “what would you do” in the same situation.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 11/12/24.
Another great suspense novel from Colleen Coble and Rick Acker! They did a great job dealing with technology and AI. It piqued my interest but didn't confuse me. I loved the characters and the mystery! I had my suspicious and did figure out whodunnit. I listened to the audiobook, which was well done.
I Think I Was Murdered is about Katrina, who finds herself in a dangerous situation and is still mourning her husband who died a year prior. She and her best friend, Liv, helped to create an app with AI where Katrina could “talk” to her dead husband based on his old emails, texts, etc. We also have Sebastian, a talented chef.
I love Coleen Coble’e writing. This isn’t the first book of hers I’ve read and won’t be the last. This pairing with Rick Acker didn’t disappoint. I loved being a part of the mystery that Katrina and Seb were trying to solve.
That being said, Katrina was not ready for a relationship. If you’re talking to your dead husband on an app more than live people, you may still be mourning. It’s time for therapy, not a new man.
The AI and bitcoin lingo can confuse me, but I loved that aspect. What a cool idea for an app. I still don’t understand the eggs in this book, though. But that’s just me being me.
I also don’t understand how Liv wasn’t pregnant with her old boyfriend’s baby. It came out of nowhere, and there just wasn’t a point to it. Also two men fighting over a pregnant woman? Really? I just hated that.
Seb was a sweetheart, and I wanted to see more development from him.
All in all this book is thrilling and entertaining. I read it in two sittings. I can’t wait to see what else Coleen Coble has in store for us.
I received this ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review
Okay I LOVED this, really well done mystery and the way it’s figured out is incredible, but not only is it an incredibly well thought out and written interesting mystery, there’s a beautiful romance. I loveeee seb. I’m going to be grabbing myself a physical copy! I recommend.
I'll be publishing my review on Goodreads and StoryGraph 27th November and on Tik tok most likely will add to a monthly wrap up post with review the beginning of December.
What a phenomenal book!!
This one touched on a little bit of EVERYTHING!!!
Close Knit Family as well as Family Drama and feelings of being abandoned.
Love and Hope. Love and Despair. Love and Loss. Love and Light... and that butterfly feeling...
Best of Friends. Worst of Friends. Changing friends over time. Teenagers to Adults...
Established Families with Means and Money, and Families Falling Apart...
And did I mention the AI concept?
There's a chatbot (a what??) Look it up! They actually exist!!!
Catrina is a well known, well paid, lawyer for an AI establishment/company.
Her life was perfect...Until....
One day her beloved husband Jason is killed in a fiery car crash in a hairpin turn. She's devastated.
But it gets worse... Her job is placed on hold as the entire office is investigated as one of the key players seemed to have a money scheme going... (Mind you this is all in the first few minutes of the book!!) 😮🫣😩
Shortly afterwards her dear Grandma dies, and now she is totally wrecked. She returns home to her small town near the woods and is drawn in by all the memories of her family and especially her Grandma, as well as her Grandma's restaurant...that she has now inherited.
Throw in that a local boy who had a schoolboy crush on her now owns one of the Top Restaurants in the area (which is also Michelin rated!)...and he was a big fan of her deceased Grandma, and you have quite the story.
Now, add in the chatbot that takes info from all her chats, texts, emails, pix etc...that she and her husband shared, and when she talks to it, she feels like she's talking to Jason. And then she asks it 'what happened the day you died?' and it responds "I think I was murdered!" Wait. What????? 😮😮
This one had my heart pumping and on the edge of my seat the whole time! Not to mention the biting of the nails, nausea, etc, etc....
AND, at first I thought it was this one...and then that one...and I was WRONG EVERY TIME! Seriously, not even close! My mouth was HANGING open!!!
5+++ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💫💫💫💫💫✨✨✨✨✨ for me!!
#IThinkIWasMurdered by #ColleenCoble and #RickAcker and narrated beautifully by #KarenPeakes.
Thanks so much to #NetGalley, #HarperCollinsChristianPublishing and #ThomasNelsonFiction for an ARC of the Audiobook which is due to be released next week!!
***** Look 👀 for it on 11/12/24!! *****
Feel free to like, follow and friend me on: Goodreads,
Insta @ #BookReviews_with_emsr and/or
My Facebook Book Club: Book Reviews With Elaine.
Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, & click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️
The book was very confusing at first. It was hard to follow along with who the characters were and how they related. It went smoothly after about halfway was able to figure out who was who and how it was related.
The overall storyline was very drawn out and disconnected at points. Then it seemed to skip a huge portion of the plot but then circled back.
Although it was not my favorite book, I would not mind reading more from the author.
Colleen Coble does it again! There’s a reason she’s my favorite author in this genre - she never disappoints!
The idea of this story was so fun with the AI program and Katrina being able to communicate with her husband who passed away. It kept me on my toes wondering what he would reveal to her next.
I played the guessing game the whole book, and when the big surprise was revealed, I was shocked! I did not see it coming at all! And the surprises didn’t end with the who…
Katrina handled everything so well - her grief was believable and relatable, but I’m so happy she slowly learned to open her heart to Seb.
I will forever read anything Colleen Coble writes and can’t wait for her upcoming books!
The narrator can make such a difference when it comes to audiobooks and this narrator did a great job!
Katrina Berg lost her husband Jason in a horrible car accident. And now her grandma has passed away, her company went under, and she is under scrutiny by the FBI. How could it possibly get worse? But it somehow does.
Katrina worked for an emerging AI chatbot company and as a test, they uploaded all electronic files, texts, emails, pictures etc. of her late husband Jason's. So now she can talk to "Jason." The chatbot then claims that it was murdered making Katrina question if Jason's death really was an accident.
As she looks into it more, more danger comes her way. Before long she has recruited an old friend from high school, Sebastian Wallace into helping her find clues and discover what really happened to Jason.
This book was so interesting and whole concept of the chatbot was quite fascinating. The book was full action and mystery and some turns that I did not see coming!!
Seriously give this book a listen!
I went into this book totally blind, and I'm glad I did. It was a cool angle to use an AI chatbot as part of the story, but in a realistic way and not in a "science fiction from the future" way. I also have to admit, I didn't see the big twist as soon as I should have, so props to the authors for that. I enjoyed the main characters, Katrina and Seb, and I loved the Norwegian influences in the town. I do recommend this.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook in exchange for this review.
I picked this up because it had an interesting premise with the use of an AI chat bot and solving a murder mystery. While I enjoyed some aspects of this it did feel a little disjointed. Im guessing it’s always a little tricky when two writers work together to create a story and that felt like the case here. There was one main murder mystery storyline but there were also a ton of side stories for different characters each with their own backstories. There was also a little Christian aspect but it was actually very minimal with just a few references to prayers and beliefs. Overall I was entertained but I didn’t like this one nearly as much as Fragile Designs solely written by Coble.
Thank you Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the alc via Netgalley.
Katrina believes her husband Jason’s death to be an accident. Her grief is unbearable and she talks to him daily and feels his presence by communicating with a chatbot developed by her employer. She is unable to move on and relies heavily on the AI to give her comfort until one day it announces “I think I was murdered”.
What follows is a good clean mystery with a few twists along the way.
I like the amount of research the authors put into AI and making the storyline seem realistic and believable. The characters are well developed and you feel the struggles and angst as you follow along on their quest for the truth.
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for my advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.
I really enjoyed this book. It had aspects of technology, mystery, adventure, family and love which combine into an incredibly enjoyable experience!
I Think I Was Murdered is written by the dynamic duo of Colleen Coble and Rick Acker. This edge of your seat thriller had me riveted from the very beginning. The concept for this book is very relevant in the age of artifical intelligence. Honestly, with the way technology evolves, this may not be that futuristic at all. When a young widow keeps a bot on her phone that has her dead husband's voice on it, she asks it to tell her something she doesn't know. It answers by saying he thinks he was murdered. With the help of an old friend, who happens to be a handsome restaurateur, they look for answers. Action, suspense and romance ensues.
I listened to this nail-biting thriller and the narrator was spot on. She was perfect for the performance. My husband listened to it with me and he agrees wholeheartedly. 5 stars!!
This one wasn't for me. I expected much more of a thriller but this was more of a cozy mystery plus a romance. Also, somehow I missed that this was Christian fiction--guess I should have paid more attention to who the publisher was! For people who like cozier stories and romance, especially if they like a religious element, I think this could be a big hit! Would definitely recommend to those readers, and recommend that anyone expecting more of a traditional thriller to be sure they know what they're getting into.