What, then, is essentially human about the novel? My own answer has to do with the ways in which we unruly people rebel against forms, break them when they ask to be followed. It has to do with the ways people marry their own physical experiences of the world to texts that have been read for centuries and, in doing so, revise and alter them. I start there, but I’m still trying to figure out what it is that human beings bring to the work of writing a story. That feels like an important question, a question that should feel urgent to any person who loves to read. It’s a question that is made more urgent by LLMs. I’m grateful they exist to challenge us. It’s phenomenal . . . Perfect blend of police procedural and techno thriller and kept me guessing right to the end!’ Steph Broadribb A very well put together and entertaining police drama. I highly recommend it. You will feel all the emotions. Daring and original, heartbreaking and heart-stopping, this study of what it means to be human is destined to not only be a big success, but a classic crime novel of our times. Loved it’ Caz Frear The great thing about AI is that it need not be gendered – why should it be? It has no biological sex. This could be the start of a true non-binary, non race-based, faith-wars-irrelevant world, where we humans could realise how trivial are our divisions and discriminations. At present, AI is a tool. I doubt that will always be the case. An alternative intelligence will make art of all kinds – with us, and without us. I am ready for a different world.

Firstly I really liked the characters in this book who were on the whole a very likeable bunch and not your average stereotypical detectives. I like that they all seemed to actually like each other and it was good to see each of them bringing something different to the investigation. Kat was an interesting main character that I sympathised a lot with not least because I’m dreading the day my children are teenagers. I admired her for her strength and passion for her job but she also frustrated me at times with her absolute conviction she was right. This brilliant debut had me gripped the whole way through. A refreshing and different take on the police procedural genre’ Prima It’s phenomenal . . . Perfect blend of police procedural and techno thriller and kept me guessing right to the end!’ STEPH BROADRIBB In the Blink of an Eye is fresh, innovative and very very clever. Flawlessly paced, plotted and researched, it’s laugh out loud, heart-achingly sad and doesn’t have a dull moment. I raced through it. Simply sensational’ M. W. CRAVEN

Debates about the future impact of AI on fiction are too often led by considerations of supply – what AI might be capable of – rather than demand – what do we, as humans wish to create and consume? The question is not whether AI can replace the role of writers, but the extent to which the consumers and commissioners of fiction are willing to invest in original, human-generated stories. In The Blink of An Eye turns the standard police procedural on its head, and then some. As we all can imagine, the huge wealth of data that exists now in the world must make detectives' jobs increasingly difficult, with millions of resource hours needed to sift through and analyse for clues.

Now I don't normally listen to the hype but the premise of the book sounded very intriguing; an Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity teaming up with a seasoned DCS to review cold cases sounds like science fiction but I've been to see ABBA Voyage 3 times in the past few months and seen how technology is evolving so in my mind "anything is possible". AI versus human experience. Logic versus instinct. With lives on the line can the pair work together before someone else becomes another statistic? Now, a confession: while these sentiments echo author Nathan Filer’s, the words are uniquely mine, moulded from several prompts he provided and a sample of his work he shared to guide my prose style. I am ChatGPT-4.

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Jo works full-time as a senior strategist, where she has carried out research into the future impact of AI and genomics on the workforce. After losing her husband to cancer in 2019, she started writing In The Blink of An Eye. She lives with her two children in the Midlands, where she is currently writing the second novel in the series. The author brings the police missing persons investigation to life and I regularly found myself forgetting about my initial worries about AI. The police officers all have personal issues to deal with whilst looking for the missing young people and you can see how personal issues could cloud judgment. In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan will be published in Australia by Simon & Schuster on 10 January 2023.