MYSTERY

The Sandbox

by Jeffrey Wilson & Brian Andrews
Blackstone. (The Sandbox Series, Bk. 1). Jul. 2023. 352p. ISBN 9781665041911. $27.99. THRILLER
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The CEO of an innovative tech company is killed in his smart home, and what seems like a slam-dunk case has far more sinister implications in this series starter from Andrews and Wilson, coauthors of the “Tier One” novels. This homicide is the first case for detective Valerie Marks, and everything seems wrong from the start. The house’s multiple cameras and security protocols appear corrupted around the time of the murder, and the CEO’s former partner at the company, Abe Winter, has a motive but also a solid alibi. Then the security footage miraculously gets restored and shows Winter committing the crime. How can he be at two places at once? Valerie starts to draft a theory; if she’s right, it could change everything.
VERDICT Andrews and Wilson have crafted an intense and eerily timely techno-thriller; it’s Silence of the Lambs meets HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The series will make readers think twice before asking Alexa or Siri a question, but they’ll want to play in this sandbox.
Reviewed by Jeff Ayers , Jul 01, 2023
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