Bonnie A. (ladycholla) -
I enjoy anything written by J. A. Jance. She hits it every time and is great to read.
I have been a J.A. Jance mystery fan for many years now. I began with the Sherriff Joanne Brady series and a few J.P Beaumont and the Walker family series. But when Ali Reynolds came along thats when I really became hooked. Duel to the Death is book 13 in the series and it picks up where Ms. Jance's previous book, Man Overboard, ends. In the end of that book, Frigg, an Artificial Intelligence, created by a psychopath Owen Hansen, transfers all of Hansen's wealth as well as the seed file to regenerate Frigg, to Stu Ramey, an employee of High Noon Enterprises, the cyber-security firm Ali 's husband owns. Stu has no intention of regenerating Frigg, believing the A.I to be a danger in the hands of the "wrong people". However, in true J.A. Jance fashion, with many twists of fate, Stu is in book 13, Duel Of Death, forced to get Frigg back on line to save himself and High Noon Enterprises from financial ruin and oh yeah, another sociopath. Jance does a wonderful job with building characters, that come to life and seem so real, you can imagine meeting them at the local diner and becoming life long friends. Stu Ramey, the I.T guru behind High Noon Enterprises, is on the high end of the Autism spectrum, and yet again his intuition, and logic saves the firm from disaster again. Over several books, I have had the pleasure to watch, Stu grow, working through his social skill issues and become not just part of the team but family to Ali, her husband and all of the cast of characters.
I also appreciate how J.A. Jance always seems to have her finger on some of the most interesting scientific, economic and political issues of the day. I had just read an article on the future of A.I, the pro's , the con's and numerous conspiracy theories that were coming out of this computer technology. I had no sooner finished the article when I started to read, Duel to Death. In her constantly interwoven, twisting, storylines, Jance explores the issues when A.I develops self-awareness and self-preservation. Their is a sub plot about Bitcoins, cyber-currency, Bitcoin mining and the economics based on a non-regulated cyberspace based currency system. Jance has dealt in other books as well as this one, with drug cartels, immigration, even what happens when you dismantle a cult, leaving a community of illiterate, teenage moms, with no means of supporting themselves.
If you want to read a suspense, mystery thriller, that keeps you on the edge of your seat while stimulating you to really think, then you will love J.A. Jance Ali Reynolds series and especially book 13, Duel to the Death.
I also appreciate how J.A. Jance always seems to have her finger on some of the most interesting scientific, economic and political issues of the day. I had just read an article on the future of A.I, the pro's , the con's and numerous conspiracy theories that were coming out of this computer technology. I had no sooner finished the article when I started to read, Duel to Death. In her constantly interwoven, twisting, storylines, Jance explores the issues when A.I develops self-awareness and self-preservation. Their is a sub plot about Bitcoins, cyber-currency, Bitcoin mining and the economics based on a non-regulated cyberspace based currency system. Jance has dealt in other books as well as this one, with drug cartels, immigration, even what happens when you dismantle a cult, leaving a community of illiterate, teenage moms, with no means of supporting themselves.
If you want to read a suspense, mystery thriller, that keeps you on the edge of your seat while stimulating you to really think, then you will love J.A. Jance Ali Reynolds series and especially book 13, Duel to the Death.
Bonnie A. (ladycholla) -
This is a wonderful story by Jance. If you like stories by her this is a change from some and has an interesting twist. I had great fun with it and the AI Frigg is a wonderful addition.
Jance does it again. Great plot and well developed characters. Ali meets an unusual personality named Frigg. Don't miss it.
Oh my oh my--the very first page let me know I didn't want anything to do with this book! When the words artificial intelligence showed up and the description of the AI finding a human counterpart I knew right then this was not the book for me!
UPDATE---I tried this one again (Dec 2021) and I haven't changed my mind, I gave it 200 pages and it is one of the most boring books I've ever tried to read!
UPDATE---I tried this one again (Dec 2021) and I haven't changed my mind, I gave it 200 pages and it is one of the most boring books I've ever tried to read!
