Publishers Weekly
In Andrews's second exciting computer-as-sleuth mystery (after 2002's You've Got Murder), "Artificial Intelligence Personality" Hopper Turing draws on all her cyber skills to help investigate the murder of a gifted computer programmer, Ray Santiago, found shot to death in a Washington, D.C., alley, his laptop stolen. Turing and human colleagues Maude Graham and Tim Pincoski at Universal Library outside D.C. discover that Ray cleverly constructed a false identity and was deeply involved in the role-playing game subculture. Dangerous criminals have been preying on those gamers who turn to live-action role playing. The narrative mimics real software with layers of security for access to different databases and with worms to deny access and destroy intruders. Explanations of a few technical terms will ease the way for readers with little computer background, but those who are computer literate will most appreciate the author's talent for blending information-age details with an enjoyable crime puzzle. (May 6) FYI: Andrews is also the author of Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon (Forecasts, Jan. 20) and other titles in her Meg Langslow series. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
The principal sleuth here resides in a company computer: Turing Hopper, an artificial intelligence personality, sends employees Maude and Tim on a quest to find the murderer of co-worker Ray Santiago. Tim actually holds a new P.I. license, so he quickly determines that Santiago stole someone else's identity. Now the race is on to find out if Turing's intended new computer residence has been compromised. As the narrative alternates among the three sleuths, Turing becomes almost as real as any other character, with Maude and Tim serving as actual physical realities to whom readers can relate. A novel concept sure to keep readers guessing and amused. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Just because you’re an Artificial Intelligence Personality doesn’t mean that moving isn’t as traumatic as it is for your human counterparts. When programmer Tim Pincoski, secretary Maude Graham, and systems engineer Ray Santiago--the friends of Turing Hopper, the AIP of Universal Libraries--create the Alan Grace Corporation as a partnership that will keep her secure, she can’t help worrying that the uploads and downloads necessary to shift her from UL to AG will corrupt her files or compromise her security. But not even Turing’s gigabytes predict the troubles she’ll see when Ray is killed in an apparently random mugging in D.C.’s Adams Morgan neighborhood and his laptop computer stolen. The threats to Turing’s integrity and safety become even more alarming when Ray turns out to be an unknown who assumed the identity of a South Florida accountant for reasons Turing can only imagine. Tim, who’s studying to be a private eye, and the more level-headed Maude launch an investigation that turns up Ray’s complete lack of history or connections except for Nestor Garcia, who claims rather improbably to be Ray’s uncle--and obsessive gamesters like El Lobo and the Nameless Horror immersed in a tricky, violent computer simulation called Beyond Paranoia and its deadly live-action counterpart. Both human and AI detectives seem sadly overmatched until a denouement that reveals how closely they depend on each other to survive. Apart from that inspired final revelation, Turing’s second case isn’t up to her inventive debut (You’ve Got Murder, 2002). But the final fadeout promises her fans a challenging third installment.
