LEAVE NO TRACE
Jo Callaghan
“In the beginner’s mind, there are many options, but in the experts, there are few.”
Shunryū Suzuki
What aspects of being human could not be replaced by artificial intelligence? How can we use AI when our aptitude is lacking to forge a new future alongside our creation?
LEAVE NO TRACE follows Inspector Kat Frank and AIDE Lock, her artificial intelligence officer. Aide is a hologram manifested from a watch-like attachment on her wrist. It is up to her to activate the hologram and decide when it is used.
They are on their second case together as partners and this time they are set to solve a gruesome murder in the dead of winter. A man has been crucified on a cross atop a hill. Not just any hill. A hill made of waste at their local recycling and waste station.
It happens deep in the frigid winter months and traversing to the top of the hill is a significant part of the trouble in solving the crime. They must enter and exit the scene as if they didn’t. They must solve the crime and LEAVE NO TRACE.
This is the second book in an incredibly interesting crime fiction series written by Callaghan. I read the first book in the series last year and loved the questions it raised and the thought-provoking situations our characters found themselves in.
The dynamics would be interesting with any type of plot, but I find it more so within the context of a crime fiction novel. It seems perhaps that one of the first ways AI will be used would be in crime prevention and investigation.
The book is excellent first because of the writing and second because of the context. There are several situations these partners get into where the strengths and weaknesses of each partner are explored.
There are obvious advantages to having AI investigate crimes but there are also many disadvantages and key oversights that need to be addressed.
Coded in probability when put in situations where there is only one viable option, we as humans are superior in our ability to hold several possibilities in one mind. Several opportunities in one hand.
Sometimes you do what needs to be done, sacrificing what is perfect for what is right.
Excellent conversations and I can’t wait for the next in the series. 10/10 recommend!
LEAVE NO TRACE… ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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