Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Spin, by Patricia Cornwell {ends 1/24}

Guest review by: Becki Bayley

“All right, let’s see what we’ve got here,” I begin surveying what looks more like the cockpit of a military aircraft than any law enforcement vehicle I’ve seen up close and personal.

Barely 300 miles on the odometer, and I have a feeling my Secret Service-inspired chariot with its new-car smell is another prototype like almost everything else, including Carme and me. The mileage probably is from racetracks, test-driving ranges, and for sure I’ll never figure out and manage all the systems without AI assistance, starting with the dark-gray pleathery-looking upholstery.

Based on transmissions I’m picking up in my CUFF, the material is woven with sensors, reminding me of the formfitting skin Carme had on at the Point Comfort Inn. I’m pretty sure my SUV’s smart materials are interactive, that they probably can self-repair, change appearance and are electrically conductive.

Captain Calli Chase finds out that she and her twin sister Carme are scientific guinea pigs. After the first few chapters, they’re both pretty scientifically enhanced, with PEEPs, CUFFs, and ART (their constant AI companion).

Official synopsis:

In the aftermath of a NASA rocket launch gone terribly wrong, Captain Calli Chase comes face-to-face with her missing twin sister—as well as the startling truth of who they really are. Now, a top secret program put in motion years ago has spun out of control, and only Calli can redirect its course.

Aided by cutting-edge technologies, the NASA investigator and scientist turned Space Force pilot sets out on a frantic search for the missing link between the sabotaged rocket launch and her predetermined destiny…a search that someone else seems very interested in stopping.

From NASA to the Chase family farm, to the White House to distant orbits of space, Calli plays a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek with a cunning and ruthless adversary. One wrong move will unleash cataclysmic consequences reaching far beyond the boundaries of Earth.

This is the second book in the Captain Chase series. So far it’s been labeled as book 2 of 2, but it still ended with a cliffhanger. Calli and Carme Chase are twins who have been raised in and around NASA. Their parents both work there, and the girls have been raised to be scientists and astronauts.

In this book, the acronyms abound! Captain Calli is outfitted with lots of personal technology and artificial intelligence enhancements to report everything that she finds and experiences in her work. The technology developments and details are interesting. Unfortunately, the technology and Calli’s internal monologue regarding it all far outweigh the plot.

Overall, I found this book a little more engaging than the first one in the series, but still largely aimless and mostly filled with narration from inside the main character’s head. I’d give it 2.5 out of 5 stars. The scientific details of space exploration and equipment were the most interesting part of the book.

{Click here to purchase. Currently FREE for Kindle Unlimited!}

Becki Bayley reads for fun. She also blogs at SweetlyBSquared.com.

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a hardcover copy of Spin!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Sunday, January 24th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified via email and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

Spin, by Patricia Cornwell