Delete All Suspects
by Donna Andrews
Published by Berkley Prime Crime
Click on book
cover to order
at Amazon.com
Reviewed by Kathy Perschmann, Chanhassen (MN) Librarian
This is the fourth Turing Hopper mystery. Turing is a computer, actually an AIP (Artificial Intelligence Personality) owned by the Universal Library. She sees through webcams, communicates through an artificial voice, and can make cell phone calls.
With her access to the Internet, Turing can pull computing power from anywhere, and can hack into anything (though she does have ethics, and uses her skills only to help her human co-workers solve crimes.)
Delete All Suspects involves the web hosting business of Eddie Stallman. P.I. Tim Pincoski is hired by Eddie's grandmother and landlady to find out who injured him in a hit-and-run car accident, and also about what is happening with his business.
The police think it is just an accident, despite an eyewitness' description, and have no interest in Eddie's business. Tim involves Turing and her human colleague Maude Graham.
Turing tries to break into Eddie's network to no avail--eventually paper clues in his messy and disorganized basement apartment and phone calls from his clients lead them to the conclusion that he is setting up and hosting web sites. There is evidence that he may have been involved in porn sites, and also gambling sites.
Could this have been the cause of the accident that has left him in a coma? Or could it have been Internet drug sales or "phishing" for credit card information? Could one of Eddie's techie friends, or his ex-girlfriend have been using his network without his knowledge? Additional murders and sudden complications make their job extremely difficult--even dangerous.
Turing grows with each novel. Her initial fears of Eddie's cat while her laptop is left in his office quickly change to affection, and eventually she adopts a cat, with Tim to physically care for it.
Armchair Interviews says: Turing's musings on the frailties of humanity and the meaning of existence are insightful and refreshing--considered they are from a computer, not a human.