Death Logs Out by E.J. Simon : A Review

BOOK TITLE: Death Logs Out

AUTHOR: E.J. Simon

ISBN/ASIN: B07F3YZNDC

GENRE: Fiction / Technothriller

NUMBER OF PAGES: 300

FORMAT: Digital

SERIES / STANDALONE: Michael Nicholas Book 3

HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: I thank iRead Book Tours for this review copy.

SUMMARY:

Is Alex Nicholas really dead?

Two years since the brutal shooting of Alex Nicholas, a gambling underworld boss in Queens, NYC. But his brother, Michael, a respected CEO, struggles with a secret: his murdered brother has been communicating with him via his laptop using AI. This AI-Alex can foresee dangers in Michael’s path, and appears to be trying to help him – even controlling machinery and electronics via WiFi. Meanwhile, trouble is stirring in the historic capital cities of Rome, Berlin and Paris. Inside the Vatican, Monsignor Kurt Schlegelberger has designs to build his power and prepare for the sudden ascension of the Free Forces Party, a throw-back to the Nazis.

Schlegelberger will stop at nothing, but first he must deal with a new threat: someone appears to know the true story behind a series of murders in the US, committed by clergy to cover their tracks of child abuse within the Church. Alex’s re-appearance puts Schlegelberger’s plans in jeopardy. Dead or alive, the way to finish off Alex for good can only be to get to his close family, namely his brother Michael…

This fast-paced third instalment of E.J. Simon’s Death series will keep readers guessing to the very end.

FIRST IMPRESSION:

Sometimes, some book series is so thrilling that by the time the reader has finished previous books, there is only an insane urge to know more, and read what the author has written next. There is practically no time to read and absorb the summary or wonder if this book would live up to what it promised. The author had managed to create an interesting world (using the term 'create' loosely here, as the book is very much in the here and now, not in some fantasy land) with his first two books and when I picked this one up, I barely skimmed through the summary. I just wanted to delve deeper and know more about what happened next.

REVIEW:

This book is advertised as a standalone, and would work that way. But as always, it is better to have read the previous books for complete enjoyment.

The successive books of a series always have two main requirements - they should have something new to offer for regular readers, and they should not disappoint the hype that is set by the preceding books. These conditions sound simple on paper but are incredibly harder when attempted to weave into a narrative, especially one where the sequences still have to follow real world logic and be thrilling enough to keep the reader guessing and engrossed. That is probably one reason why, though the main characters remain same, techno thrillers do not necessarily attempt to have follow up stories (or those that try to go backward to explain what happened at the beginning.

So it was with some trepidation that I picked this book up - but it did not disappoint me. Instead, I felt this book explained the transition in book 2, Death Logs In, in a much better way, making the actions of the characters have more sense and infuse better logic. I had a few complaints with book 2, especially about the mind makeup of the protagonist which were solidified and then cleared with this book, that is more of a thriller than technical fiction. At the outset, it is logical that the overall 'AI Alex helps a struggling Mike who takes over his responsibilities' premise is the backbone of the story, this can quickly get monotonous. Thankfully, the book does not veer in that direction and instead keeps the reader guessing about what new dangers would present themselves as the story progresses from one challenge to another.

The eternal question of AI, for all its 'humanlike qualities,' still being a machine form that has no conscience or compassion has been addressed wonderfully in this book, amidst all the rapid scenic changes. Revenge and retribution are the core themes that push this book on its plot. I personally liked how it began with the background scenes of Alex's funeral, which was very much needed. Though there were too many theories that could have overcrowded the narrative, thankfully the author brought it all to a nice, clear box where he tied up all the different elements together. This book wins in a weird way. The premise is still the same, the plot's one-liner is similar, but the events are nothing similar, and are portrayed in a manner that clearly makes the reader wonder about some major organisations in the world.

Overall, an interesting read but by the time I was done with it, I just could not overlook how even the best of thrillers had to veer off course a bit to keep the readers engrossed.

WHAT I LIKED:

• The moral dilemmas faced by characters are presented wonderfully
• The book is fast paced and keeps the reader guessing.
• Michael's self-realisation is a relatable emotion, that cinched the deal for me. A much needed transition from book 2.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:

• Complaints about the protagonist are not healthy for any novel, and Michael invites a bunch with this book too.
• The shifting between timelines and cities took some time to get used to.
• This is not a huge complaint but the book deviates a bit from the main aspect by now - AI is no longer the central theme.

VERDICT:

A fitting book for this series. Interesting page turner.

RATING: 3.5/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

E. J. Simon is the author of three commercial fiction thrillers, Death Never Sleeps, Death Logs In and Death Logs Out. He has just completed his fourth manuscript, Death in the Cloud.

He is a member of the Authors Guild, the Mystery Writers of America and the North Carolina Writer’s Network. He holds an M.A. in Corporate & Political Communications from Fairfield University and a B.A. in Journalism from the University of South Carolina. He lives with his family in Cary, North Carolina in the United States. For more information, visit his website: www.ejsimon.com.

EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Kindle, Paperback

PRICE $2.70 for Kindle, $8.99 for Paperback

BOOK LINKS: Amazon