Everything is different about this cozy mystery. From the protagonist to the structure. The protagonist is Turing Hopper, an artificial intelligence personality or AIP. She works for the Universal Library or UL as a researcher. She has achieved sentience. She becomes worried when her programmer and friend, Zack goes missing. There is only so much Turing can do from within UL’s vast computer system, so she enlists the help of two of her other human friends: Maude, a secretary for one of the higher-ups and Tim, who works in the copy center. Together they work towards finding Zack and discover a lot about UL in the process. Can they find Zack before UL Security does?
Turing is a computer with a distinct personality. But as a computer she has a limited view of the world. The book alternates between Turing’s thoughts and Maude and Tim’s actions. There are no chapters. Sometimes Turing’s thoughts went on and on for several pages. This interrupted the flow of the book a little for me. I did love Turing’s interactions with Tim and Maude; especially as Tim was convinced she was a shy redhead and couldn’t possibly be an AIP. I loved Maude’s perspective on Turing and UL. This was the first book by Donna Andrews I’ve read and I already have the first in her Meg Lanslow series in my to read pile. I like her style and her humor.
