‘The Glass Woman’ by Alice McIlroy

Published by Datura Crime,
2 January 2024.
ISBN: 978-1-91552304-4

 Thirty-five-year-old Iris comes to in hospital in pain and not remembering a thing. She struggles to get out of bed, but doctors restrain her, giving her an injection. When she next wakes up a man named Marcus is beside her, he tells her he is her husband, but she does not recognise him at all. He says she had a ‘procedure’ involving A I technology to the brain, which was to help with her depression.  She has no recollection whatever of this.

Later she is told she is being monitored by a machine named PLUTO – a robot. Feeling scared and confused she insists on seeing a doctor, PLUTO refuses and gives her another injection.

Finally, the next day she is allowed to see Doctor Nicholls who tells her she was very sensitive to the ‘procedure’. It was therefore necessary to medically bring on the amnesia. In the night she leaves her room, PLUTO is silent. Along the corridor in another room she finds a man who she seems to know but he is looking very strange. He tells her his name is Teo that his memory has been messed with and he has been in there too long to hope for release.

Next day she tells Marcus about him, but he insists there is no such man. Is he lying or is Iris going insane? He even takes her and shows her the empty room where she said Teo was. Did he really exist?

Iris is soon allowed home and she starts to remember certain things. Marcus now seems more familiar to her, and she insists he tells her more about what has happened to her and why. He however lets her know very little, but he tells her they worked together and she is neuroscientist.

As her memory slowly comes back to her over the weeks, Iris discovers to her amazement that she had given birth to a baby boy. Where was he though? As time goes by she learns of one frightening disclosure after another, including what happened to Charlie their young son.

Will she be able to cope mentally with the terrifying truths that emerge?

An in depth look at one of the rather frightening uses of Artificial Intelligence, especially as the media at the moment is full of this continually advancing technology. I found it very thought provoking and a little disturbing.

I thoroughly recommend it though for readers interested in this advancement in science and how humans will or will not cope with it.
-------
Reviewer: Tricia Chappell

Alice McIlroy attended the Faber Academy's 'Writing A Novel' course in 2018 where she started writing her debut. Since then, The Glass Woman has been long listed for the Stylist Prize for Feminist Fiction 2021 and she is currently undertaking a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of East Anglia.

Tricia Chappell. I have a great love of books and reading, especially crime and thrillers. I play the occasional game of golf (when I am not reading). My great love is cruising especially to far flung places, when there are long days at sea for plenty more reading! I am really enjoying reviewing books and have found lots of great new authors.