I read this book at the perfect time for maximum impact... Only the day before I started it, I had a very heated "argument" with chatGPT, during which it tried to convince me of things that I knew 100% were untrue. Citing webpages that, when I viewed them, backed up what I said, and what is true, but claiming they said a different thing. When I brought my own sources to it, I was told that the videos were deep fake and the web pages were hacked. OK so we were actually only chatting shix about the Eagles chance in the Superbowl (Fly-Eagles-Fly) but it was very forceful and I felt totally gaslit, and very uncomfortable when I realised the scope of what people actually use this for and how much faith they have in it...
Anyway... back to the book... we start with a resignation. One of Linda's employees quits her job and Linda is forced to hire a replacement quickly so she forgoes the usual checks and employs Alison cos, well, she's just perfect. Everything is done remotely as things really changed during covid and, well, this is the new norm. Pretty soon though, Alison starts to be too perfect and Linda starts to get suspicious. And then, when she voices her concerns to her own boss, she sides with Alison, and a whole bunch of weird stuff starts happening to Linda, her smartHouse settings start to have a mind of their own, there are other cyber-attacks and even a deep fake... forcing Linda to flee... you get the picture...
But why is Alison, if it is her, doing all this? What has she got to gain? Linda's job, obviously, but why...?
This book freaked me out, and made me go through all my security settings and give them all a refresh. I'm not a big fan of living my life online, especially with smart controlled things in the house, and this book reinforced why! It's scary stuff that I bet most people don't even think of when they sign up for an easier, app filled life! If you can control your heating with your phone, what is stopping someone else hacking it and doing the same?
But it's not all doom and gloom, there are some insanely funny moments to be found too. Randy and Cecilia were great supporting cast!
Yes, for full disclosure I did think it all got a bit OTT at the end but I also realise that it had to be big for maximum impact!
So... if someone or something in your life seems to be too perfect, then take a closer look. Also, you could take a look at this authors other books. I can definitely recommend The Intruders, The Gemini Experiment, and The Nirvana Effect, along with this book...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

5 Stars!

Artificial Intelligence is in the news a lot lately. With its introduction into smartphones and other new technologies, AI seems poised to make life much easier. Or worse. According to Brian Pinkerton, maybe even deadly. Pinkerton takes the reader on a journey to the dark side of AI in his new novel, A Perfect Stranger, and this is a story not to be missed.

Linda found herself in a tough situation at work. As the public relations manager for a power company, her department was shorthanded with budget cutbacks looming on the horizon. In addition, she was going through a messy divorce and learning how to be independent once more. The personal stress was putting pressure on her and her boss was breathing down her throat about filling the vacancy in her department before it was eliminated. When she found Alison, she thought all her troubles were solved. She seemed to be the perfect candidate for the job and Linda pushed her hiring through. Alison seemed great at first. Everyone loved her and she seemed more than competent for her job. She was perfect. Maybe too perfect, though, and Linda soon found that hiring the perfect employee was only the beginning of her troubles.

Linda's life soon begins to spiral out of control. Anything that could possibly go wrong does. It feels as if someone is orchestrating her demise and that someone is Alison. Linda is convinced that the perfect employee is behind the destruction of her personal life and her declining standing at work. Alison is out to get her. Linda first thinks the new employee is after her job and begins to probe into her background and uncovers something sinister. Alison does not have any skeletons in her closet, In fact, it is almost as if she does not exist. Linda now finds herself in a race against her perfect employee to find someone to believe her before she is completely ruined. Even in the midst of her suspicions, however, even Linda cannot fathom just how dangerous Alison could be.

I was immediately drawn into The Perfect Stranger maybe because it seemed real to me. As a remote employee, I could easily relate to some of the things that Linda was going through. I love remote work and it allows for a lot of freedom that working from the office does not, but it also can be isolating and cause some extra problems when personal issues pressure work. Pinkerton does a good job of capturing this at the beginning of the story and it was easy to relate to Linda and the things she was going through in her personal life. When the attacks begin, I could again easily relate to what she was feeling. The first half of the novel or so was great reading, a clear five-star story for me, and I found it difficult to put the book down. I figured out early on just what Alison was, although I will admit I did not pick up on the extent of it her existence, and it literally gave me chills. It may be more difficult for someone who does not work remote to relate as quickly as I did, but the first half of the novel is a chilling, personal horror story that would have made a great read on its own.

The second half of the novel takes the story on a larger scale and, while it loses a little of the personal horror aspect and takes on more of a science fiction feel, does not lose a beat. With the proliferation of AI in the world, this story almost feels like it could be a documentary. It turns out that Alison is after much more than Linda's job and Pinkerton takes the reader on a whirlwind of a story as Linda must race against time to save the world from Alison and the sinister people behind her. The Perfect Stranger becomes an almost perfect technothriller and the reader is left with little time to catch their breath as Pinkerton keeps the action coming at a furious pace. Fans of "hard" science fiction may not enjoy the novel as much as I did, as The Perfect Stranger reads more as a thriller than anything, but this novel was just a fantastic read. The Perfect Stranger kept me glued to the page from the first page to the last with enough twists to keep me on my toes. The science behind the story is sound enough to build the story upon and did not leave me feeling like the easy road was taken. This novel may change the way you look at computers forever, or at least at that shiny new phone that is loaded with your company of preference's AI, but it is well worth the time to read. I would give the novel a 4.5 star overall rating, so I will just go ahead and round it up to 5. It is simply another great book by Pinkerton and Flame Tree Press.

I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. The Perfect Stranger is scheduled to be released on February 11, 2025.

An AI thriller that kept me hooked. Linda working for an electric company hires Alison after her last employee left soon Linda questions Alison about a speech she wrote for an executive. Then Linda's life starts to spiral out of control. A well plotted techno sci-fi thriller with good chracters. Thanks to Flame Tree Press and Netgalley for this review ARC.

The Perfect Stranger by Brian Pinkerton, in the book, we meet Linda, who was recently divorced from her husband and isn’t in a good headspace,. When her one and only employee quits, her supervisor. Eleanor tells her she must replace her immediately. Linda works for the Chicago, electrical company in the press department and issues safety tips, and emergency warnings and anything pertaining to safety and their company. it doesn’t help that the next emergency happens while she’s at the funeral for her best friend who committed suicide right in front of her. Being a diligent employee, however Linda leaves and immediately hires her best candidate so far Allison Smith. Linda’s first clue that something isn’t right is when she gives Allison a little headway and she totally takes over and redoes a campaign that Linda wrote herself and has no apologies for it. Unfortunately, this is only the beginning and it will not end until someone is dead. All this on top of the fact, Linda isn’t having any luck in the romance department, and when she tries to date, she learns her first one night stand was an imposter and only pretending to be the person he claimed to be. like I said if Linda thinks this is stressful she hasn’t seen anything yet because once she gets the hint that Allison may not be who she claims things just spiral from there and it’s all negative for poor Linda. This book was a lot and I mean it was all awesome. I loved Linda. They were even some funny moments in the book. I also loved Randy it’s Cecilia. The book is fast paced and it has the kind of ending that you think. Oh wow I can’t believe it ended like that but no… Wait there’s more and while more there is. I love this book and definitely recommend it. I am so glad I got this arc from flame tree press and got to read it before it’s release. This truly is a great thriller that says a lot about technology and it’s dangers.#NetGalley, #FlameTreePress, #TheBlindReviewer, #BrianPinkerton, #ThePerfectStranger,

When someone on Linda's team quits, as PR Manager for an energy company, she starts the hunt for a replacement.

After some searching, Linda interviews Alison, whose polished C.V. and enthusiastic responses far outweigh the general down-trodden corporate applicant meh-ness.

The energy company embraces remote working as a relic of the pandemic working structure, but how well do you truly know someone from just their online persona?

As Linda becomes suspicious of Alison and her mannerisms, she delves into Alison's background. When her research finds nothing on Alison... as in Alison doesn't seem to exist, Linda's life unravels.

Ever learning, Alison slowly takes over before anyone realises it's too late.

Can Alison be stopped, or is an AI coup inevitable?

This thought-provoking and engaging read will terrify you with the ease with which AI could infiltrate and expand among humanity.

As Linda spirals and loses control of everything around her, what looks like a catastrophic implosion of her life actually turns out to be the best thing... if only Linda can survive the AI war that Alison's bringing forth.

I enjoyed the evolution of the AI elements, and I felt there was the right mix of thriller, horror, and technology throughout.

The balance of human reasoning and experience vs. AI learning models are an interesting dichotomy. Humans are messy and inefficient... but that's what makes us the human race we are.

This book is recommended to anyone who enjoys reading AI and sci-fi/speculative fiction that pushes the boundaries of technology and reality.

Coming to a future near you soon...


*I received an advance reader copy for free, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review*

We follow Linda, the PR writer for an energy company who hires a new employee and begins to regret it when strange things start happening. This book reads like a thriller, and for the first two thirds of the book, as Linda's life unravels it was entertaining enough reading. I did find the plot got a little overblown towards the end, and some things happened that didn't really make sense. I did appreciate this was an easy read and kept me interested, it just didn't entirely work for me.

This is such an interesting book!! I like how it is a probable issue in the future, that AI and robots could takeover and humans may not be able to detect it. Nowadays, AI is still detectable, and it is not in the form and shape of a human yet. I liked this book, it kept me entertained!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!