- Paperback: 416 pages
- Publisher: Zaffre (14 Nov. 2019)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1785768409
- ISBN-13: 978-1785768408
Synopsis
Three years ago, Nikki and Ethan Rhodes suffered a devastating loss when their four-year-old daughter Grace was tragically killed in a road accident. Ethan, a radio personality, escapes into work, leaving Nikki to care for their remaining child, Bella, who hasn’t spoken since that day.
Seeking a fresh start, the family moves into a revolutionary new house designed by renowned architect, Catriona Fisher. The house features a state-of-the-art security system, along with every amenity you could dream of.
For the Rhodes’ this is a chance to finally pick up the pieces and get on with their lives in a place where they feel totally safe.
But what if 17 Church Row isn’t the safe haven that they think it is?
Review
17 Church Row is a fast paced and tense thriller that grabbed my attention from the first page. Nikki and Ethan decide to move house two years after loosing one of her twin daughters, Grace in an accident when she was four. Bella is now six, she has never spoken since the accident and speaks via her tablet. With a new home they hope for a new start and a chance for Bella to heal. 17 Church Row is a new project with Artificial Intelligence that will meet their every need and offer the security and safety they need. But not all is at it seems, and what they thought could keep them safe actually puts them in danger, and their dream house soon turns into a nightmare.
People who know me know that I am not that good with technology and that I really don’t trust or understand it and 17 Church Row reminds me why I am wary of technology. Alice is like Alexa but with a huge upgrade, she opens and closes doors, makes coffee, orders shopping and take out and anything else the occupants desire. For Nikki and Ethan Alice represents security, she can monitor Bella as there are cameras in every room and even monitors their biometrics and understand their emotions. Alice can also learn emotions, and use inflections in her voice to portray them like humans, but all computer systems have glitches. Alice and the house are a character in their own right and aren’t loyal to just the family but also to the programmer and architect who can also access her cameras; spooky to say the least.
Architect Catriona Fischer is using the house as an experiment and chooses Ethan and Nikki for this project. Nikki and Ethan are the perfect couple for this trial, Ethan a well known radio presenter and Nikki a guilt ridden mother who will go to any length to keep her daughter safe, and this house offers that. Nikki is a character you cannot help but warm to, a mother who has lost a child and feels the guilt everyday even though the accident was not her fault. There are chapters the interlude the main story that tell of a child wanting to kill their father who apparently tried to kill them. This adds to the darkness of the book, just who is this person and how does it fit into the plot. Add in the architect watching the family and glitches in Alice’s system this book has a dark and sinister undercurrent that sent chills to my heart.
James Carol has created a tense and thrilling book with a fascinating plot line and an interesting set of characters, including Alice who seems real. 17 Church Row plays on every families fears when they have children, and focuses on our growing reliance on technology, but after reading this I won’t be moving into a house with a built in technical housekeeper. But it is these qualities that make it such a brilliant read, and one I highly recommend; a suspenseful and chilling read.
Thank you to Bonnier Zaffre books and Tracy Fenton for inviting me to be part of the blog tour for 17 Church Row.
