I loved the idea of the chatbot of Katrina's dead husband. Honestly I would do the same with some of my deceased loved ones, so no shade there. Though I'm not sure I would follow a murder accusation from one, it's a good thing Katrina did.
This book has a lot of romance, which is not normally my genre but I thought it was well done within the story. Similarly the book was written by Christian authors and so that plays some part in the novel but did not pull away from the main story. Overall this was a very intriguing story and I would absolutely read another one by these authors.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, and the authors for my advance copy of this audiobook.

𝐀𝐑𝐂: Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I was half way-ish right….
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: Tuesday, November 12, 2024

This book was super good, I thought I had called the original killer within the 100 pages but I was wrong by the end of it I kept going back and forth on who the killer was which was amazing!

I saw that I was halfway right (kind of) since I called it but then I changed it later on so I didn't fully suspect the person tell the action was happening and I was shook.

I did enjoy this book because I loved the aspect of the chatbot and being able to talk to someone who has passed. On top of that, the author brought in bitcoin which was a super cool aspect to read about even if the ‘eggs’ that they had to find were not real were okay.

The audiobook itself was fun and easy to listen to, I will say that I did have some confusing parts where I lost track of whose POV it was but other than that I did love it and I can't read more of Colleen Cobs work.

This book has:
🌑 2nd chance romance
🌑 solving mystery
🌑 Nerd things

Really great, clean mystery with romance by one of my favorite Christian authors, Colleen Coble along with Rick Acker. This is their second book together and I think I liked it even more than What They Hide. The AI aspect was pretty interesting to me and I can see how one can get addicted to the communication with someone who has passed through the app Katrina had. I loved watching her and Seb's relationship grow and it was fun to try to figure out who killed her husband.

Once again, Karen Peakes is a wonderful narrator. I was able to read/listen to this book in 2 afternoons and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 12 November 2024

As this book took off with an AI-chatbot I might have rolled my eyes a little but ended up enjoying the book. I really enjoy consuming Colleen Coble books in their audio format and this one didn't disappoint. I was a little confused in the beginning as we unwound all the characters for the book but I eventually found my way. I am sure I might have missed a few things about some characters in the beginning and know I had to restart at one point missing some key details of character development. It felt like we were given every character right out of the gate and that can be hard sometimes.

Katrina is a little hooked to her chatbot as it replicates her deceased husbands. After the chatbot tells her he thinks he was murdered she sets off to find out what happened to her husband. The mystery unfolds in her hometown where she takes over ownership of her grandmas restaurant and reconnects with an old friend, Sib. With her bestie, Liz, at her side she sets off to find out what happened to her late husband.

My second book by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker and will not be my last! Love the way these two write together. Solid plot, characters, and writing style. As Christian writers, the prose are kept suitable for general audiences including teens. Great choice for a book club. This book kept me guessing until the very end.
I listened to the audiobook and the narration was great. Volume, speed, and inflection were all exceptional.

Thanks to Net Galley, Colleen Coble, Rick Acker, and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the ALC and chance to give my honest opinion.

I Think I Was Murdered by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker is a thriller that's unafraid of modern technology. With elements of AI, bitcoin, and blockchain included as major plot drivers, the read somehow doesn't feel too tech-heavy for a reader who isn't completely on the up-and-up with these emerging technologies (like me). It maintains its balance with the incorporation of the very organic realm of relationships, family, and friendship. I have read Colleen Coble books in the past and they are generally fast paced, and action packed. The one I read I absolutely loved and couldn't put down you never knew what was going to happen. This book did feel as if something was missing though, it wasnt as filled with the action packedness that i have loved in the past. But that being said i cant wait fo rher next book to come out.

This was a really slow book and I dnf. The narration was done well, but the plotline just did not have enough movement in it to keep me thethered.

#netgally #IThinkIwasMurdered

I received this audiobook ARC from NetGalley - I’m always thankful for ARC opportunities.


Here’s what I enjoyed:
*The conflict the FMC faced with her grief and moving on
*The characters were likable
*The premise was intriguing, with the AI bot pointing out “he” was murdered
*It kept my attention
*The narrator did a good job

What was lacking for me:
*It didn’t really pull any emotion from me
*I called the twist at the end - wasn’t much of a stretch
*Some of the “action” elements and some plot points felt forced or unrealistic


Overall, I liked this book but it left a bit to be desired.

☆ALC REVIEW☆
Publication date: November 11, 2024

Unfortunately this was just so slow moving, and I found it really hard to keep focused on the story.

Thank you NetGalley, the authors and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had to unfortunately DNF this book at 26%. This book was not for me. With a title like I Think I Was Murdered, I wasn’t expecting it to be a cozy mystery. The main premise was interesting but there was too many side characters and side plots.

What would you do if the advanced AI bot that has all of your dead husband’s texts and messages, says to you, “I think I was murdered”? This unexpected revelation propels a high adrenaline adventure where finding those who want her dead are as surprising as all the twists and turns along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson, and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook!

Katrina is a young widow who has used her connections in the technology world to get an AI bot to communicate with her as her deceased husband. But when he tells her he thinks he was murdered, things start getting a bit weird and scary.

I’ve read quite a few of Coble’s books and though I’m not crazy about her romances (nothing against her writing, that’s just not my cup of tea) I have really enjoyed her suspense books. It’s hard to compare this with her others because it’s been a while since I’ve read them but it’s safe to say that for me, this was one of my favorites. There was a lot of action and a big red herring and just enough romance to spice things up a bit. I knew right away who the killer was, from the moment that person is introduced, but that didn’t ruin anything (who doesn’t enjoy feeling a *bit* smug when the mask comes off and you find out you were right all along?)

This book was also pretty thought-provoking. What would you do if AI could bring back your loved one? Was it good for Katrina, or not? Did it keep her from moving on? If so, so what? Interesting scenario to think about!


For anyone who enjoys romantic suspense I think this book is well worth checking out.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think I was murdered by Colleen coble and Rick Acker
Narrated by Karen Peakes
The narration was good, so I will definitely recommend the audiobook but I was disappointed with the mystery part of the book.

Audiobook rating : 3.5 stars
Book rating : 2.5 stars
Overall rating : 3 stars

When I read the glossary of this book, I was quite intrigued. I have read a book before where AI was involved in the lives of main characters. As there are many uses of AI in our lives, its too much use is going to cost us and yet we are definitely headed that way.

Everything was going well in Katrina Berg's life when her husband suddenly died in an accident. It's been a year since then but she isn't yet over him. But that's not it. Now her CEO is indicted and, as the company's legal counsel, Katrina faces tough questions as the Feds take over and lock her out of her office. She starts using company's best asset and prototype which lets her talk to her husband "Jason" through his data saved. To be honest, it felt weird but I can understand how grief can make you do things so I will let it slide.

Then one day "Jason" tells her he thinks he was murdered and that leads to a chain of reactions which is explosive, combustive and unstoppable. When her grandma dies and leaves her restaurant to look after, she has to come back to her town and family and it leads to further complications.

Seb has always had feelings for Katrina and is ready to help but he too has past he can't seem to get rid of. Together they are on a quest to find out if Jason was murdered.

This mystery definitely had potential but writing just didn't click for me. It didn't have that adrenaline pumping or tension building quality. I did not care for any character or even the love angle felt dull to me. It didn't feel like falling in love but situational thing. Again the characters are not well developed and thriller did not give me any thrill.

I had somehow figured out who might be the killer in the very first few pages, coz that person was always there but nobody ever suspected. That person was very close to the story the whole time so when reveal came I wasn't surprised at all. It was too easy and lacked the shocking factor. I will say it is good to read once but frankly I was disappointed big time.

Thank you Thomas Nelson fiction and Harper Collins Christian publishing and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

A little suspense, a bit of a love story and a lot of thought provoking ideas looking forward into the future. After her job is on pause from an investigation, Katrina returns home for a much needed visit. To help with her loss she communicates with her dead husband through an AI bot created by the company she was working for. With each interaction he gives the advice she needs for decisions. As they are chatting he reveals to her his death may not be an accident after all. Investigating this theory sends her down a rabbit hole questioning everything. At the same time it is revealed through her grandmother's will that she has left her the family business. Torn between focusing on the murder and running the restaurant she turns to Seb, who has past ties with both the restaurant and her grandmother. They form an alliance to deal with both. With lots of twists and turns it's a wild ride to reveal the truth. Thank you to Netgalley and Harpercollins for this free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily

I really enjoyed this book. The premise was unique and I liked the twist at the end (which I didn’t suspect at all until the characters pretty much figured it out). I’m definitely going to recommend this book to the women’s bible study group I’m a part of at my church

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narrator(s): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tropes, etc: Whodunnit, AI, Friends to Lovers
POV: Multiple, 3rd Person
3rd Act Breakup?: No
Cliffhanger?: No

The Praise: The premise of this was really intriguing. I love futuristic things like using AI chat bots to assume the personality of a loved one. As someone who is typically a romance reader, I really enjoyed the romance aspect. I also liked how the authors included religion without being heavy-handed or over the top about it.

The Critique: I really wish the story had more interaction with the Jason bot. I went in expecting that to be a large part of the story but it seemed like an afterthought. I also felt like the dialogue was a bit stilted at times.

Final Thoughts: This was fine. It kept me interested, it just wasn’t quite what I expected.

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing!

I truly thought I would love this one, but I just couldn't get into it at all. The story wasn't grabbing my attention like I thought it would. I had to DNF.

Just a year after the shocking death of her husband, Katrina, still grieving the loss, is rocked by the news that her beloved grandmother has passed away. She rushes home upon receiving the news and is immediately embroiled in family drama, inheritance surprises, and a murder mystery. For the past year, she's been using an AI program loaded with text messages and social media posts from her late husband to "speak to him," something that has become an unhealthy obsession and turns even more dangerous when the bot tells her "I think I was murdered."

I always like to start my reviews out with the good bits, so here goes... Karen Peakes is a great narrator. She does a wonderful job reading and bringing the characters to life. I am often annoyed when narrators try to bring voices to characters that are opposite their gender, but she actually does a great job reading for the male characters in the book. Her pronunciation and slight accent for certain characters seemed pretty good to me as well. She didn't try to go too over-the-top or stereotypical. Plot-wise, despite a lack of proper development, in my opinion, I did like the relationship between Katrina and Seb. I also enjoyed the character of Seb's dad, not because he was a good guy by any means, but his character gave Seb a depth that he was, frankly, lacking on his own, and brought another layer to the story as well.

Now, for the not-so-great, I was, frankly, so disappointed in this book. I'm giving it three stars to be generous, but it's more like 2.5. And maybe this is because I am a huge fan of Colleen's work and I really did enjoy What We Hide, the other book she wrote with Rick Acker. But this book just did not feel like her at all (aside from the relationship between Katrina and Seb that drew me in). I love her books most of all because the characters always have a connection to God. It's called Christian Fiction for a reason. Even if they struggle, even if they doubt, even if they start off not thinking God is there for them at all, they always, always come around and they have a godly support system around them. God is mentioned more than in passing. Their faith actually shines in the book and isn't portrayed by saying "I prayed..." This book did not feel like Christian Fiction to me. I read a lot of secular mysteries as well, and they're enjoyable, but if I pick up a Christian mystery, I want to feel that faith in the book. These characters were so secular in the way they acted, spoke, carried out their lives. If I picked this up thinking that it was a secular book, I might feel differently in this regard.

Aside from being incredibly disappointed with the way faith was portrayed in this book, I just didn't enjoy other aspects much. The AI bot was absolutely unsettling and I was so glad that they acknowledged that Katrina's obsession with it was unhealthy and dangerous. The plot was over-the-top and not in a good way. Asian mafia. Guns everywhere. It was just too much. And the characters weren't enough. Liv was so annoying the entire time. Dylan wasn't fleshed out enough and only added to the too over-the-top nature of the book. Seb and Katrina had chemistry, but weren't fully fleshed out either. Katrina was apparently a lawyer but very much didn't feel like it. And Seb was a chef, but felt more like a marine or law officer. Katrina's family can really only be defined by a deep sigh. I don't even remember their names or what they did. They were just Rich and Entitled 1, 2, and 3.

I did sort of enjoy the ending because what do you know some faith finally showed up like maybe Colleen remembered that she writes Christian Fiction? Overall, quite disappointed in this one.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC audiobook for an honest review.

This had such an intriguing premise...we have grieving widow, Katrina, whose husband died in a car crash. She has access to AI chatbot technology where she can text her dead husband, Jason, and "he" makes a statement "I think I was murdered..." There is mystery and suspense as well as a lot of emotional depth through the different character relationships. I really enjoyed Seb's character and the reestablishing connection with Katrina. Even though she is still grieving her husband, their relationship growth from friendship to more felt organic (albeit a little quick) I appreciated the Christian elements, and it didn't feel forced or "in your face." The book had many subplots (some added and some detracted) from the main storyline.

I did guess the twist/"bad guy"...but was still invested in the outcome. The ending, while it did contain a happily ever after, felt a little lacking with how things ended after the grand reveal. Maybe a little too anticlimactic...if you are going to have a "bad guy" go all out making the person bad.

The narration was well done!

I am looking forward to the next collaboration from this duo!

3.5 stars

1.5⭐️ What I thought was a thriller about an AI ChatBot, was in fact a cozy romantic mystery with an AI ChatBot. Yes, the plot was full of suspense, but the vibe is more Sweet Home Alabama meets Mission Impossible

✨ Read if you enjoy: romance, cozy mysteries, Norwegian culture
✨ Don’t read if you loathe: sentimental love stories, genre mashups and far-fetched plots

Katrina, a lawyer for a tech company, returns to her hometown to attend her grandmother’s funeral. There, she reconnects with Seb and her hometowns Norwegian vibe in California

Her husband Jason died a year earlier and the prototype AI ChatBot is programmed to text as dead Jason. During a conversation, ‘Jason’ tells her he was murdered

Katrina teams up with her brother, old friend Seb, his cute half brother and her Silicone Valley bestie, Liv. Together they work on uncovering the mystery of Jason’s death

What follows is a mixture of romance, mystery, AI, rock climbing, Teslas, a bitcoin quest, the Chinese triad, and an excessive amount of Norwegian references…

My rating reflects the lack of character depth, and the convoluted, far-fetched plot

If you enjoy romantic genre mashups, with far-fetched adventure, this could be for you. Bonus points if you like super sweet and smut free

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for access to this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review