*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author and Flame Tree Press. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Blurb: Meet your new coworker. She’s brilliant. She’s beautiful. She’s unreal.
Everyone loves Alison, the new remote employee at a major energy company. She’s a rising star in the virtual workspace, displaying incredible intelligence and efficiency with digital technology. But Linda, her manager, has growing suspicions that Alison is not the person she claims to be. As Linda probes Alison’s background, Alison fights back through cyber-attacks, ravaging Linda’s work, her family and her safety. Linda must uncover the truth to save herself and discovers Alison’s past history is a lie – in fact, she has none. Is it possible Alison isn’t human at all?
I’m not sure I’ve ever had so many strong feelings about and for a character as I did with Linda in Brian Pinkerton’s The Perfect Stranger! I went from a wry ‘OK Boomer’ amusement as she complained about remote office working and the death of office ‘water-cooler’ culture, to feeling sympathy for her extreme isolation with her divorce and the death of her best friend, to alarm at how quickly she broke down under the physical and mental pressure of disturbed sleep and digital gaslighting, to sheer panic at how plausible the underlying plot felt and how helpless she was against the machine. Even my literal sigh of relief at the ending was tempered by a nagging fear that it might never be over and that it could, in fact, happen to us.
In other words, this was a perfect thriller for inducing anxiety and paranoia, and making one rethink ones digital footprint and online security measures. It could almost be called a horror, based on the pervasive terror that creeps in as you read – any electronic device could be turned against you; there is no escape from the screens and transmitters and microphones and ‘they’ know everything about you. Is it really dystopian fiction when there is so much truth involved?!
Main character Linda has her flaws and makes mistakes – she’s no perfect Mary-Sue heroine – but you can’t help but empathise with her situation as the life she understands effortlessly erodes under her leaving her scrabbling at technology she doesn’t understand, like someone shouting at a printer to fix a paper jam. And she shows previously unsuspected reserves of determination and resourcefulness as she deals with a threat that would have me curled in the foetal position sobbing. By the end, I thoroughly respected her and was rooting for her to succeed, or at least survive.
This is definitely a stay-up-all-nighter of a sci-fi thriller, exploring the world of deep fakes, AI and the possibilities of isolation in an increasingly online world. Don’t expect to sleep peacefully after finishing it. Do expect to be side-eyeing your phone/laptop/hub suspiciously for a while. Don’t trust anyone who seems too good to be true or believe everything you see on the internet. Do update your online security regularly and change your passwords. Don’t forget to check Brian Pinkerton’s other books here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Brian-Pinkerton/author/B001K7NOCS!
Lights began dancing on and off throughout the house. She ran from room to room to catch someone in the act, imagining a mad child playing with the switches. Then the doorbell rang again. She didn’t know which way to turn, she just wanted it to stop. The lights flickered faster and the doorbell banged out constant chimes and everything took on a horrible staccato appearance as her movements jolted like skipped frames in an old movie.
Then the entire townhouse went pitch-black.– Brian Pinkerton, The Perfect Stranger
Purchase Link: The Perfect Stranger on Amazon
About the author
Brian Pinkerton is a USA Today Bestselling Author of fiction in the thriller, horror and science fiction genres. His novels include Abducted, Vengeance, The Nirvana Effect, The Gemini Experiment, Killer’s Diary, Bender, Rough Cut, Anatomy of Evil, The Intruders, Time Warp and How I Started the Apocalypse. Select titles have also been released as audio books and in foreign languages.
Brian’s short stories have appeared in anthologies including Chicago Blues, PULP!, The Horror Zine and Zombie Zoology. Brian received his B.A. from the University of Iowa and Master’s Degree from Northwestern University.
Website: https://brianpinkerton.com/
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