Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When a debut is so well received, authors (and readers) get nervous about their second book, especially when it’s a follow-up in a series. Thankfully, Jo Callaghan has nothing to worry about. Leave No Trace is just as good – if not better – than In the Blink of an Eye.
This time, we see the relationship – for want of a better phrase – between Kat and Lock deepening. Lock is still leading from the head, but the more he learns and understands of human nature, the more Kat starts to question how she sees him. He goes from ‘it’ to ‘he’, which also allows the author to discuss the theme of identity in a very clever way. Towards the end, Lock is watching Christmas films and this is surprisingly heartwarming, as he struggles to understand why they affect humans so much (and for the record, the Muppet Christmas Carol is superior to all other versions). I for one did not expect to be so emotional over an AI Detective, which just shows the exceptional quality of Jo’s writing.
The story itself is gripping, with the sudden role reversal of men being told to stay vigilant, met with scorn and anger throughout the county. There are several suspicious characters, and it took me a while to figure out the perpetrator as I was so wrapped up in the sub stories of Kat, Lock and the team. This is so much more than a crime novel, as we also get an insight into human nature and how we deal with various situations; Kat and Lock continue with their struggle to find a balance working together, but Kat is also dealing with empty nest syndrome, which increases her frustrations with Lock failing to look at things in non-literal terms.
The ending is intense and there are so many potential victims and close calls! This is also where Lock realises his limitations and somehow, Jo makes this quite an emotional journey for readers as we sympathise with what is effectively a computer.
No doubt we will see some of the secondary characters develop in the next book, which I am already desperate to read.
This time, we see the relationship – for want of a better phrase – between Kat and Lock deepening. Lock is still leading from the head, but the more he learns and understands of human nature, the more Kat starts to question how she sees him. He goes from ‘it’ to ‘he’, which also allows the author to discuss the theme of identity in a very clever way. Towards the end, Lock is watching Christmas films and this is surprisingly heartwarming, as he struggles to understand why they affect humans so much (and for the record, the Muppet Christmas Carol is superior to all other versions). I for one did not expect to be so emotional over an AI Detective, which just shows the exceptional quality of Jo’s writing.
The story itself is gripping, with the sudden role reversal of men being told to stay vigilant, met with scorn and anger throughout the county. There are several suspicious characters, and it took me a while to figure out the perpetrator as I was so wrapped up in the sub stories of Kat, Lock and the team. This is so much more than a crime novel, as we also get an insight into human nature and how we deal with various situations; Kat and Lock continue with their struggle to find a balance working together, but Kat is also dealing with empty nest syndrome, which increases her frustrations with Lock failing to look at things in non-literal terms.
The ending is intense and there are so many potential victims and close calls! This is also where Lock realises his limitations and somehow, Jo makes this quite an emotional journey for readers as we sympathise with what is effectively a computer.
No doubt we will see some of the secondary characters develop in the next book, which I am already desperate to read.
I thought this was okay. As with the first book in this series - In The Blink of an Eye - I found this is a likeable book, and I find Jo Callaghan a likeable author. But I have more issues with this than I had with the first book. I found the tension that was set up between Kat and her boss (MacLeish?) kind of silly - with Kat's entire reputation, and possibly even her job, resting on successfully solving this particular case. This just felt cheap and unnecessary to me.
Another big problem I had was that I always felt way ahead of the investigation - far too much for my liking. The way the investigation was carried out seemed ridiculous to me, with obvious clues and lines of inquiry being ignored for far too long, while meanwhile the detectives seemingly flailed around trying to pull suspects and motives out of thin air.
Also, this book is trying to make some serious points about misogyny and violence against women, but I found it a little blunt and heavy-handed, I'm sorry to say.
Also, some of Lock's (the AI detective) expressions of confusion about human behaviour did start to veer on being a little repetitive.
This is still an enjoyable book, with a good heart and a sincere intent. Others will undoubtedly enjoy it more than I did, but for me I wanted a little more from it - a more well-structured plot, a more well thought-through investigation, greater verisimilitude, maybe more nuance and subtlety. I think what saved the book for me is that Callaghan writes very empathetically, with gives the book heart, warmth, a likeability that kept me reading.
Another big problem I had was that I always felt way ahead of the investigation - far too much for my liking. The way the investigation was carried out seemed ridiculous to me, with obvious clues and lines of inquiry being ignored for far too long, while meanwhile the detectives seemingly flailed around trying to pull suspects and motives out of thin air.
Also, this book is trying to make some serious points about misogyny and violence against women, but I found it a little blunt and heavy-handed, I'm sorry to say.
Also, some of Lock's (the AI detective) expressions of confusion about human behaviour did start to veer on being a little repetitive.
This is still an enjoyable book, with a good heart and a sincere intent. Others will undoubtedly enjoy it more than I did, but for me I wanted a little more from it - a more well-structured plot, a more well thought-through investigation, greater verisimilitude, maybe more nuance and subtlety. I think what saved the book for me is that Callaghan writes very empathetically, with gives the book heart, warmth, a likeability that kept me reading.
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This is the second book in the Kat & Lock series: book one, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦, was a strong five star read for me so I absolutely couldn’t wait to read this one + I LOVED the audio format.
Intense, gripping & pacy, this was a real page turner that captivated my attention from the first to the very last page. With a diverse, authentic & realistic cast of characters, a troubled killer with a unique motive and short chapters, this was such an easy and enjoyable read that I flew through in just a few sittings.
AIDE Lock has quickly become one of my all time favourite fictional characters. I LOVE him. He may be AI, but his unintentional sarcasm, quirks & the way he takes everything so literally and says it exactly how it is, is so refreshing and fun. Seeing him adapt and learn to become more “human” is so interesting and the way he and Kat have adapted to work so well together is fascinating.. their relationship really evolves in this second book. The scene toward the end with Lock and the killer really pulled on my heartstrings🥹
I had my suspicions of the killer relatively early on + I was partially correct, but this only added satisfaction to the reading experience. I loved the thought provoking element of male privilege.. the contrast between how men reacted to being told to stay vigilant/cautious in comparison to the norm of women being told the same thing every day.
This series would make SUCH a brilliant movie + if you’re looking for a unique, thrilling police procedural thriller with an AI twist, definitely pick this one up! 👏🏽
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
‘Oh my God,’ said Kat [...] How could she have been so blind?
Good question, Kat. How could you?
I was so excited for this book after reading [b:In the Blink of An Eye|62072146|In the Blink of An Eye (Kat and Lock, #1)|Jo Callaghan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668617861l/62072146._SY75_.jpg|95967285] earlier this year. I loved the characters and thought the concept of an AI police detective was both interesting and quite plausible. The dynamic between DCS Kat Frank and AIDE Lock was fantastic.
Unfortunately, this sequel gave off the impression of being rushed and poorly-edited. I saw through the mystery immediately, quickly putting the pieces together and figuring out not only who did it, but also why.
It was then very frustrating-- not to mention, boring --to watch the detectives pursuing red herrings and being clueless. I think I'm of fairly average intelligence, so I do expect trained detectives to get there faster than I do.
I actually felt like there was a lot of incompetence all round here, especially with the male characters. I do like all the strong women leading in this book, but I'm not sure why the men have to be either bad or complete doofuses (doofi?). DI Rayan Hassan is so useless AGAIN that it's hard to believe he got this job. When he isn't salivating over Professor Okonedo like a little puppy, he's stubbornly pushing stupid theories. Which was his role in the previous book also-- to keep repeatedly insisting someone did the crime when everyone else can see it's clear they couldn't have.
McLeish, too, is a total fool. It seems his only job is to sit at a desk and bitch at others.
Even Lock, whom I love, had way too many “Huh, humans make no sense” moments in this book. As I said in my review of [b:In the Blink of An Eye|62072146|In the Blink of An Eye (Kat and Lock, #1)|Jo Callaghan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668617861l/62072146._SY75_.jpg|95967285], if ChatGPT can understand an idiom, then this sophisticated AI should definitely be able to.
Also, while I think myself and the author are probably politically on a similar page (as far as I can tell), even I found the messages here extremely heavy-handed. I felt a bit like I was being lectured to at times. All men are awful or stupid (or dead). And, despite the fact that this book has a female DCS, a female Professor leading the AI experiment, a female minister commissioning the project, a female local businesswoman, and a nonbinary pathologist, all of them seem convinced that men are out to get them.
Of course, the men in this book are so stupid that offensive things just fall out of their slack mouths, seemingly so that the women can give them a telling off.
I think better editing would have polished some of these themes and, had it not been so heavy-handed,
Spoiler
I may not have so easily figured out what the culprit's reasoning wasYet, I do have hope for this series as Kat and Lock are such strong characters. I know I won't be able to resist reading the next book. I hope it's better.
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"I couldn't have solved the case without my team. Or Lock, sir."
I know that some reviewers have written they liked this book less than the first. Not I. I liked Leave No Trace every bit as much as I liked In the Blink of An Eye. Are these books 100% logical or realistic? No! I'm not sure why, but I love that about them!
Here is one of my favorite parts:
"So you're my wild card, Lock. I want you to unsettle her by looking clever and all-knowing."
Lock turned towards her, its expression unfathomable in the fading light. "In other words, you want me to be myself?"
Kat laughed. "Was that a joke?"
HUGE thanks to both #RandomHousePublishing and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Leave No Trace. This book is #2 in the Kat and Lock series, and has an expected publication date of January 7, 2025.
#JoCallaghan #ScienceFiction #Mystery #Suspense
I know that some reviewers have written they liked this book less than the first. Not I. I liked Leave No Trace every bit as much as I liked In the Blink of An Eye. Are these books 100% logical or realistic? No! I'm not sure why, but I love that about them!
Here is one of my favorite parts:
"So you're my wild card, Lock. I want you to unsettle her by looking clever and all-knowing."
Lock turned towards her, its expression unfathomable in the fading light. "In other words, you want me to be myself?"
Kat laughed. "Was that a joke?"
HUGE thanks to both #RandomHousePublishing and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Leave No Trace. This book is #2 in the Kat and Lock series, and has an expected publication date of January 7, 2025.
#JoCallaghan #ScienceFiction #Mystery #Suspense