Synopsis
Detective Ada Byron is pumped to be assigned her first murder case–until she sees the crime scene. Someone has been killed exactly the same way as her father was seven years earlier. But, impossibly, he died using VR and the programmer responsible is still in prison.
To see if this is a copycat or something more sinister, Ada must confront her father’s killer: the enigmatic Jazlin Switch. What she discovers will change the face of both the real world and the metaverse forever…
Review
I was really looking forward to trying Thrill Switch by Tim Hawken because it was the shortest SPSFC finalists out of the lineup. I had recently read multiple chunkers and was ready for something quicker. Combined with the short but intriguing description and the eye-catching cover, I was ready! And maaaan, did I love this book!
I was a little apprehensive at the beginning because some of the darker scenes were right at the edge of what I’m comfortable with, probably even a little bit over, but they gave the story such a compelling start that I had to continue anyways. I also liked the banter between the fMC and another character a lot and wanted to see how that would develop. While the tension between them ebbed a little too quickly for me and their (non-romantic) relationship development was a little predictable, I didn’t feel that was a hindrance and still enjoyed following along.
The plot was fascinating. It had a great pace all throughout, the mystery was great, and the psychological aspect was really fun. I especially enjoyed the call-out of the MC over a habit that I personally didn’t enjoy either! Hah! I’ve said this before but I love books that allow me to theorize about things throughout and this was one of those! I wasn’t always right but that’s part of the fun. Some of the reveals were awesome and I’m glad that I couldn’t predict everything.
I loved the cultural and ethical themes in this book and really want more of all that. The related novella was an interesting experience, but there is so much potential for this world that I hope we’ll get even more stories set there!
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