I absolutely loved this pacey, intelligent, futuristic whodunnit, with a unique technological spin. The main character Alex is a traumatised but still ballsy reporter, digging into corruption in a near-future alternate reality. We find her on the trail of a bribe which takes her through lots of twisty, tech-bro and coder geek realms, with a dose of classic British gangster and economic theory thrown in for good measure. I thoroughly enjoyed the wry, self-aware nods to 'our' present / reality (such as The IT Crowd). The concept of the Strange was intriguing and felt highly pertinent to virtual reality / metaverse discussions happening today (although I spent the entire reading of this book with People Are Strange by The Doors stuck in my head...). And the book poses interesting questions about morality, society and technology - such as the role of Thimblerig in showing how internet anonymity sometimes unlocks the worst in us. The mystery unravels at a thrilling pace - I feel this would make a great movie and I'd be first in line to watch! Highly recommended, such a fun read. Thanks to Netgalley & the publishers for the opportunity to read.

Lucky ghost by Mathew blakstad.
Early one Monday morning, much like today, journalist Alex Kubelick walks up to a total stranger and slaps him across the face. Hard.
He thanks her.
They've both just earned Emoticoins in a new, all-consuming game that trades real-life emotions for digital currency. Emoticoins are changing the face of the global economy - but someone or something seems to be controlling the game for their own, nefarious purposes.
A very enjoyable read. Strange and unusual. I liked alex. 4*. Netgalley and hodder and stoughton.

Excellent book. Great main characters and a real page turner. I loved the plot and would recommend this book.

I’m going to make a confession, despite marrying a computer scientist very soon my knowledge of computers is sub optimal. Similarly, my knowledge of economic theory is a little lacking so as much as I would love to tell you all how super accurate this book is in both of those factors…I cannot, nor will I try. There is a lot of interesting knowledge thrown about in this book though which just adds to your enjoyment of the reading. It’s done in such a way that it doesn’t feel boring but you do get the sense that you’re being exposed to some interesting and important concepts. My kind of learning, the kind where you don’t have to work too hard for it.

My favourite aspect of this book was of course the idea of The Strange which is sort of like if Google glass teamed up with amazing game developers and made virtuality gaming like how all those ‘in the future’ programmes from the 90s thought it would be? Does that make sense? If it doesn’t sound like the best thing ever then I explained it wrong. Fact is, even though I know the reader is meant to understand that The Strange is not the healthiest or best thing to do with your day I still wanted to have a go. Blakstad’s writing is such that it gets you hooked on the very thing you are told throughout the book is not necessarily good for you. It’s a book of subtleties, which was a surprise to me.

Our main character Alex is a lesbian which was a happy bit of representation that could easily have been otherwise. I liked that it wasn’t the main part of the book or of Alex’s personality it just was.

This is a longer read than I’ve been used to recently, but it didn’t get boring so I didn’t mind. As I say, there’s a bit of technical speak but I don’t see that as a bad thing. It’s got intrigue, action, video game elements, shortly put it is an incredibly fun and simultaneously thought-provoking read.

My rating: 4/5 stars

By the way, I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own.