A grieving young woman has all her late husband's texts and emails uploaded into an algorithm that will mimic him. It's exactly like him--it even remembers things from their relationship that she'd forgotten. So when she asks it to tell her something about him that she doesn't know she never expects the response she receives: "I think I was murdered."
Just a year ago, Katrina Berg was at the pinnacle of her career. She was a rising star in the AI chatbot start-up everyone was talking about, married with an adoring husband, and had more money than she knew how to spend. Then her world combusted. First, her husband, Jason, was killed in a fiery car crash. Then her CEO was indicted and, as the company's legal counsel, Katrina faces tough questions as the Feds take over and lock her out of her office. The final blow is the death of her beloved grandmother. Distraught, Katrina loads her Tesla with all it can hold and sets out to attend the funeral.
Her most prized possession is the beta prototype for a new, ultra-sophisticated chatbot loaded onto her phone. The contents of Jason's email, phone records, social media backups, documents, pictures, and every bit of data she could find were loaded into the bot, and Katrina has "talked" to him every day for the past six months. She has been amazed at how well it works. Even the syntax and words the bot uses sound like Jason. Sometimes, she imagines he isn't really dead and is right there beside her. She knows it's slowing her grief recovery, but she can't stop pretending.
My grandma died, Jason.
Aw, honey. I know it's hard. She loved you so much. We'll get through this together.
She stares at the phone. He isn't really here to help her get through this. Through a blur of tears, she taps out: Tell me something I don't know. The cursor blinks for several moments and seems frozen before the reply flashes quickly onto the screen: I think I was murdered.
She returns to her cozy Norwegian-flavored hometown in the northern California redwoods and enlists the help of Seb Wallace, local restaurateur and longtime acquaintance. Finding the truth--and keeping herself from being the next victim--will force Katrina to work with Seb and test them both to their limits.
I Think I Was Murdered:
- Features a unique look at grief through the lens of technology
- Deals with current topics and themes
- Will appeal to fans of Ruth Ware, Laura Griffin, Laura Dave, and Sarah Pearse
- Includes Discussion Questions
