Monday, April 23, 2018

Duel to the Death

Title: Duel to the Death
Author: J.A. Jance
Published: March 20th 2018 by Touchstone
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Genre: Mystery
Series: Ali Reynolds #12

Of all Jance’s series, Ali Reynolds is the only one that I like. I understand that the writing is ordinary and that the aha moments are reached without the needed work, yet there is something that brings me back to each new book in the series. Originally, that reason was Leland Brooks, but now I can say that Stuart Ramey is turning into my favorite character. Yet, if Jance brings back Sister Anselm, then all bets are off.

Continuing where “Man Overboard” left off, Stu and the employees of High Noon Enterprises are dealing with the aftereffects of Owen Hansen and his Artificial Intelligence creation Frigg. Graciella Miramar, Hanson’s money manager and daughter of a cartel head, had taken too much interest in Frigg when Hansen was alive and now that he is gone, she wants to lay claim to the AI and use it for her own hostile takeover.

Since Figg has taken center stage in the last two books, I am beginning to wonder if she is here to stay. Can a series that had in the past centered on an ex-news broadcaster, turned cop, turned co-owner of a cyber-security company, take a backseat to a machine that has the capacity for both good and evil? I am now wondering which characters will no long need a voice since Figg is capable of doing the work of them all. A curious question that will have to be decided in future installments.

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