4☆

Picked this up for no reason other than it being Waterstones’ Thriller of the Month and I’m so glad I did!

In the Blink of an Eye follows DCS Frank as she leads a pilot to assess the feasibility of using AI in the police force to cut costs. Focusing on cold cases as a means to generate data without risking the progress of a live investigation, the team are propelled into action when discovering links between two cases that change each investigation status to active.

I’m picky with police procedurals because they’re either a) over the top or b) boring af. Although the case reveal itself was predictable, I was hooked the whole way through.

The plot highlights medical misconduct in a highly impactful way. For the most part, the case is realistic and something you’d expect to hear about on your favourite true crime podcast - somewhat far-fetched, but not completely beyond the bounds of the credibility, thus raising interesting points about technological and scientific advancement.

The protagonist is well-developed and I very much enjoyed being a part of her emotional journey.* I also appreciated the topical focus on AI and the ongoing acknowledgement of how tech will change the way we work and operate as a society.

-1☆ because the dialogue between Frank and Lock (the AI Detective Entity) was a bit cringe at times, but this was redeemed slightly before the end.

I’m looking forward to reading more by Jo Callaghan, and would love to see a DCS Frank #2.

*ps. this is even more emotional when you read the acknowledgements