Rating: 3 out of 5.

This was a pretty good science fiction mystery/thriller set in the near future after a mysterious illness caused the entire population of the planet to go blind. A device was created that approximates vision, downloading visual data directly to people’s brains. Mark Owens, a homicide detective, investigates a murder in which the witness claims that the murderer was blacked out of her vision. He doesn’t believe her until the same thing happens to him. Mark realizes that someone is manipulating the data everyone receives from their tech. This starts Mark down a dangerous path in which more lives are in jeopardy and Mark can’t trust what he sees with his own eyes.

This book had an interesting plot and Mark was a tenacious detective, pushing through his own insecurities and anxieties to find the truth. His artist wife committed suicide several years before, and he’s still haunted by her memory. Unfortunately, the many flashbacks to this time in Mark’s life pulled me out of the story and I felt dragged it down. Not only did he feel guilt about her death, but it adversely affected his current relationship with a fellow police officer. These things were important to the plot, I just felt it could have been condensed a bit more and not been such a focal point in the story.

There is plenty of action and potential bad guys. There were a few twists, most of which were predictable, but it was still fun to read how the author brought it together. I listened to this book and I didn’t care much for the narrator, so perhaps if I’d read the book instead, I would have liked it a bit more. I think a lot of people will like this thriller, so definitely check it out for yourself.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and MacMillan Audio. All opinions are my own.