17 Church Row tells the story of Nikki and Ethan Rhodes who decide they need a fresh start after the death of their daughter, Grace, three years before. The devastating accident left their other daughter, Bella, Grace’s twin sister, mute and she can only communicate via her tablet; typing in sentences, which are then read in an emotionless voice.
The move from their busy, bustling Bedford Street house in St John’s Wood to a futuristic house in a quiet Kensington cul-de-sac called Church Row is, hopefully, a new start for the family; an opportunity to finally move on and escape the haunting memories of their precious daughter, which still make them anxious and uneasy in their house, reliving the awful past events.
The stunning, one-off house, designed by architect Catriona Fisher, has a virtual assistant called Alice for ‘their comfort and convenience’, who is supposed to help make the family’s lives as easy as possible and keep them all safe and secure. There’s even a panic room! Alice opens and closes doors, adjusts the temperature, makes coffee, orders shopping/food, makes lists, make phone calls, play music/TV programmes, give reminders, etc, etc. Anything you could need really!
There are cameras in most of the rooms, which help Nikki to keep an eye on Bella and make sure she’s safe and she can also ask Alice to locate her daughter. Oddly, Catriona Fisher also uses the cameras to spy on the family, without their knowledge!
Alice follows their every command and, as the next generation in artificial intelligence, is even capable of intelligent thought and can anticipate their needs. She can also learn emotions and speak in a human-like manner with different intonations to her voice. Is it all too good to be true though?! These things generally are! A few minor glitches in the system make Nikki concerned, especially when their housekeeper, Sofia, ends up in hospital after a fall. And from a smooth running system, things start to fall apart and everything turns a bit nasty, in more ways than one!
Interspersed in the chapters are asides from someone called Katy who mentions her father, with whom she seems to have a rather intense relationship. All rather intriguing and we learn more about them as the story progresses.
The concept of Alice was all very eerie and slightly menacing. I didn’t really trust her as she was rather controlling and obtrusive. I find it bad enough when my Alexa listens and butts in, let alone an Alice who is trying to take charge of everything, without asking her owners!
The tragic death of Grace in an accident outside their home was so awful and I particularly felt for her twin, Bella, who basically lost her other half at such a young age. And the constant reminders in Bella for Nikki and Ethan of what Grace would be like were heartbreaking. Nikki’s emotions and feelings of panic were hard to read; the death of a child and constant reminders must be awful.
This well-written book held my interest throughout and had some good twists and turns that I hadn’t seen coming. The concept was intriguing and rather chilling, and I could easily see something similar happening in real life! I don’t really trust those Alexas, Googles or Siris!
This was a thrilling read and I really enjoyed how the rather dark story developed. The ending was particularly nail biting and I was frantically turning the pages to see how it would all be resolved and the loose ends tied up!
I hadn’t heard of James Carol before but I’ve now purchased another of his books, Kiss Me, Kill Me, and will be keeping an eye out for him in future.
The move from their busy, bustling Bedford Street house in St John’s Wood to a futuristic house in a quiet Kensington cul-de-sac called Church Row is, hopefully, a new start for the family; an opportunity to finally move on and escape the haunting memories of their precious daughter, which still make them anxious and uneasy in their house, reliving the awful past events.
The stunning, one-off house, designed by architect Catriona Fisher, has a virtual assistant called Alice for ‘their comfort and convenience’, who is supposed to help make the family’s lives as easy as possible and keep them all safe and secure. There’s even a panic room! Alice opens and closes doors, adjusts the temperature, makes coffee, orders shopping/food, makes lists, make phone calls, play music/TV programmes, give reminders, etc, etc. Anything you could need really!
There are cameras in most of the rooms, which help Nikki to keep an eye on Bella and make sure she’s safe and she can also ask Alice to locate her daughter. Oddly, Catriona Fisher also uses the cameras to spy on the family, without their knowledge!
Alice follows their every command and, as the next generation in artificial intelligence, is even capable of intelligent thought and can anticipate their needs. She can also learn emotions and speak in a human-like manner with different intonations to her voice. Is it all too good to be true though?! These things generally are! A few minor glitches in the system make Nikki concerned, especially when their housekeeper, Sofia, ends up in hospital after a fall. And from a smooth running system, things start to fall apart and everything turns a bit nasty, in more ways than one!
Interspersed in the chapters are asides from someone called Katy who mentions her father, with whom she seems to have a rather intense relationship. All rather intriguing and we learn more about them as the story progresses.
The concept of Alice was all very eerie and slightly menacing. I didn’t really trust her as she was rather controlling and obtrusive. I find it bad enough when my Alexa listens and butts in, let alone an Alice who is trying to take charge of everything, without asking her owners!
The tragic death of Grace in an accident outside their home was so awful and I particularly felt for her twin, Bella, who basically lost her other half at such a young age. And the constant reminders in Bella for Nikki and Ethan of what Grace would be like were heartbreaking. Nikki’s emotions and feelings of panic were hard to read; the death of a child and constant reminders must be awful.
This well-written book held my interest throughout and had some good twists and turns that I hadn’t seen coming. The concept was intriguing and rather chilling, and I could easily see something similar happening in real life! I don’t really trust those Alexas, Googles or Siris!
This was a thrilling read and I really enjoyed how the rather dark story developed. The ending was particularly nail biting and I was frantically turning the pages to see how it would all be resolved and the loose ends tied up!
I hadn’t heard of James Carol before but I’ve now purchased another of his books, Kiss Me, Kill Me, and will be keeping an eye out for him in future.