Were this an AI review, it might dismiss my fault-finding. But I’m human
Last weekend, my wife bought her father a new bed. And since I’m the only member of the extended family who owns a trailer, it was quite natural and reasonable that I should be asked to transport it from the shop to his house. This, of course, was fine by me. It was when I was asked – again, quite reasonably – if I could take the old one away for him that the trouble started.
The problem is that my father-in-law and I don’t live in the same county, which meant that I wasn’t allowed to take it to his local tip on his behalf. To do so would make me an unlicensed waste carrier and that, if you’re a tip operator, is an offence akin to treason. And I couldn’t dispose of it at my own tip either because trailers – or vans – are only permitted by appointment. Which can only be made during normal council working hours, with a minimum 24 hours’ notice. Same day appointments are not permitted because … just because. But since I’m now due to be at work every day until Friday, the result is that I still have the remains of an old bed in my trailer and a mattress in my garage. No, I’m not going to fly-tip them in one of at least three locations where I know such activity is commonplace. But I can quite see why people resort to it.
I admit that, even by my own somewhat unusual standards, this is an odd introduction to a review of a book. Bear with me though, because the book in question is Leave No Trace by Jo Callaghan, and the insane costs, never-ending legislation and multiple pitfalls associated with waste management and disposal are just one of the issues dealt with. Jo has clearly researched it thoroughly and then managed to put a compassionate and utterly plausible take on it. Which is important because, even though it’s not the main storyline, it makes the rest of the book feel authentic.
What’s more, it – almost certainly, for anyone except me – doesn’t distract from the main story. The discovery of the body of a man, found crucified at the top of Mount Judd – which is a man-made spoil tip that is also known, humorously, as ‘Nuneaton’s Nipple’ – provides the perfect opportunity for (human) DCS Kat Frank and (hologram) AIDE Lock to investigate their first live case together in a follow-up novel to the fabulous In The Blink Of An Eye.
All of the essential ingredients of a police procedural are here, and they’re all done wonderfully. With the added dimension of artificial intelligence. The rapid ease with which this can undertake background checks, versus the perils of letting it ‘speak’ to journalists. A machine’s ability to present only cold hard facts, versus the human need to twist or even ignore morality in pursuit of the end goal – that of apprehending a multiple murderer – in a race against time. And yet, for all their fundamental differences, Kat is able to talk to AIDE Lock almost like a companion to help her overcome her own loneliness. If ever something artificial could be emotionally heartwarming, this gets close.
But it’s not just the head and the heart that this book manages to satisfy. The brain is given the chance to get involved too. I thought Jo did an excellent job of creating a scenario where men were warned to be careful when walking alone at night – something which it has, quite wrongly, been commonplace to say to women for years – and also convey the most human of responses. A few belligerent idiots take to social media to make comments, but most ignore the warnings and do what they’ve always done. AI can do nothing to change this.
We’re given some more food for thought later, when the identity of the criminal and their motives are revealed. Much like In The Blink of An Eye, the reader isn’t left wanting to excuse multiple murder. But they are very much left in sympathy with the reasons for it.
So, with my head fixed firmly to the plot and the fast pace, my heart strongly in support of Kat and my brain pondering over both mystery and moral puzzles, I remained absolutely glued to the book into the small hours, desperate to reach the ending. And when it came … hmm.
For me, there were two problems. The first is that the final chapters seemed to have too much going on for them to be as believable as all of the chapters leading up to them. They sort of passed beyond tense and frantic and became almost comic. That might have worked in a cosier crime novel, but not here. And the second problem is that I couldn’t quite get my head round the epilogue either. Is Lock trying to beat itself up for not being human? But surely the whole point of AI is that it shouldn’t be able to think like that? I’m afraid I couldn’t see where Jo was trying to go with it.
It’s doubly unfortunate that these problems occurred right at the end of the book, because this meant that they remained on my mind to the extent that I thought of a couple more. First, the title. Admittedly, this is a very minor point, but I found myself wondering why the book is called Leave No Trace when it is ultimately found that – no spoiler intended – the criminal has very much left a trace once the police know where to look. And secondly, the one chapter that introduces the use of ‘they’ as a gender-neutral pronoun. I appreciate that this is a hot topic at present, but I have to say that I didn’t think it needed to feature here. Or if it did, take it even further. Have Lock question, and Kat attempt to explain why the plural pronoun of ‘they’, not the neutral one of ‘it’ should be used in this circumstance. But as it was, this chapter only managed to leave me confused as I wondered ‘hang on a minute, how many people are there in this scene’?
Let me be absolutely clear, though: as problems go, these are nonentities. They shouldn’t put you off the thought of reading this book for one second. They absolutely won’t make me hesitate even the tiniest amount to pick up the next instalment just as soon as I can get my hands on it. And I’m sure that, if I had any AI to hand to process my thoughts, it would point out that I’ve criticised maybe 2% of the book and that the remaining 98% means that it still deserves five stars.
But my human mind is removing half-a-star for one reason only. The ending, like I said earlier, is a ‘hmm’ moment. And that’s not as good as the ‘wow’ that concluded In The Blink Of An Eye.
My thanks to the author, Simon & Schuster UK and Netgalley for the digital ARC of this book, which was published on 28th March 2024. I will publish my review on Goodreads, Amazon and my social media pages.
My rating: ★★★★.5
9th April 2024
The blurb
AIDE Lock and DCS Kat Frank return in the gripping new suspense procedural from the author of In the Blink of an Eye.
When the body of a man is found crucified at the top of Mount Judd, DCS Kat Frank and her partner, AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detecting Entity) Lock, of the Warwickshire Future Policing Unit, have their work cut out for them. Previously only dealing with cold cases, the FPU are thrust into the spotlight as another body is found – also crucified – and it appears as though there is a serial killer on the loose. But why these victims? And who will be next?
For if Kat and Lock know anything, it’s that killers rarely stop – until they are made to.
About the author
Jo works full-time as a senior strategist, where she has carried out research into the future impact of AI and genomics on the workforce. She was a student of the Writers’ Academy Course (Penguin Random House), was long listed for the Mslexia Novel Writing Competition and Bath Novel Competition. After losing her husband to cancer in 2019 when she was just forty-nine, she started writing In the Blink of an Eye, her debut crime novel, which explores learning to live with loss and what it means to be human. She lives with her two children in the Midlands, where she spends far too much time tweeting as @JoCallaghanKat and is currently writing the third novel in the Kat and Lock series.
My Cosy Book Nook 