Claudia Lin, an detective in the age of AI, is hunting once again through a dark cybersphere of tech systems in 鈥淭he Rivals,鈥� the second novel in a new mystery series by Jane Pek.
Pek, who introduced Claudia in her 2022 debut book, 鈥淭he Verifiers,鈥� has given the mystery genre fresh trappings 鈥� a vivid landscape of chatbots and apps that can create chaos or sniff out fraud, and a delightfully plucky new sleuth, who is in her mid-20s, Asian American and gay.
In 鈥淭he Rivals,鈥� Claudia and Becks Rittel are the co-owners of the fact-checking firm Veracity. It鈥檚 a tiny business 鈥� it only has one other employee, the unkempt gamer Squirrel 鈥� but helps clients of giant matchmaking platforms make sure the strangers they meet for dates are not unscrupulous liars or worse.
鈥淭he Rivals鈥� opens with a couple of customers from online meet-up sites seeking different kinds of assistance. One wants Veracity to make sure his new lady friend, the charming Amalia Suarez, is all she claims to be; the other, Pradeep Mehta, anxiously asks for help taking down a false online gay-dating profile that could ruin his life.
Claudia takes on both projects, despite Becks鈥� protests and disparagement. A curt, tough-minded colleague in her mid-30s, Becks is nicknamed the 鈥淏londe Assassin.鈥� In short order, both cases present Claudia with false turns, odd developments and scary possibilities. These twists make 鈥淭he Rivals鈥� a modern mystery unfolding amid synthetic culprits 鈥� cyberworld bots known as 鈥渟ynths鈥� 鈥� that can wreck real lives.
Pek adds a few vital human ingredients to the story鈥檚 digital mix. One is Claudia鈥檚 striving but dysfunctional family. Her siblings, Charles and Coraline, and their irritable mother are introduced in an early chapter as they gather in the West Village for a meal celebrating the Chinese New Year. Coraline鈥檚 beau is there, too. Their father is out of the picture. A celebration the meal is not, but the Lin family fracas adds sparks to the narrative throughout.
Pek also makes neighborhoods and go-to sites of Manhattan, Brooklyn and other city environs an integral and appealing part of the story. Claudia, for example, plays Ultimate frisbee in Prospect Park and takes the reader on her many rendezvous, from the touristy High Line to a bike path through Fort Washington Park.
Claudia鈥檚 sexuality is not a central tug-of-war plot issue. But it does give an edgy lift to the story line when Claudia, as the novel鈥檚 narrator, notes the inner romantic tingles set off in her by others.
Pek writes with wit and AI savvy. At times 鈥淭he Rivals鈥� unfolds with so much tech-heavy dialogue that it can be hard to follow. But Claudia is a winning new entry in the field of modern serial detectives. 鈥淭he Rivals鈥� hints that she has more work in store. With the freshness of Pek鈥檚 staging of online love and death, a third entry in the series will be welcome.
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AP book reviews:
Kendal Weaver, The Associated Press
