Jigsaw [Mass Market Paperback]

Kathleen Nance (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2005

A woman finds her life, and her heart, in danger after developing a highly controversial artificial intelligence.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Daniel Champlain is hot on the trail of terror suspects in his job for the National Security Agency when he runs across a familiar name in a porn chat room linked with cyberterrorist Bella Quintera and her father. Bella now has a teaching job in the frozen Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and Daniel suspects that her father is working with the Cyber Soldiers, who hack into computers to show their flaws, but now may be playing a treasonous game. Daniel heads north and discovers that Bella is being threatened by a mysterious nemesis called Lokus. Meanwhile, Bella has created an Artificial Intelligence that she believes will redeem her credibility with the academic community, and tries to shield her creation from Daniel, who she knows will take it for national-security purposes. As they compete to unravel the puzzle, Daniel and Bella discover that they are still attracted to one another. Nance presents an engaging romance filled with dark undertones as it unlocks the secrets of the elaborate world of virtual reality gamers. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 371 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (April 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843954914
• ISBN-13: 978-0843954913
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,117,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complex, exciting entertainment, May 15, 2005

By 

Colleen Thompson (The Woodlands, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jigsaw (Mass Market Paperback)

Kathleen Nance's Jigsaw rocks. A complex, believable thriller set in the frigid Upper Peninsula in the near future, the book sucked me in immediately and kept me riveting, with its compelling characters, sizzling romance, and nonstop action. Bella and Daniel make a terrific couple, but many of my favorite scenes involved the newly-awakened artificial intelligence, Fran, a combination of computer genius and childlike naivete that fairly leapt off the page.

If you enjoy J.D. Robb, Catherine Asaro, or an action-packed, intelligent adventure, Jigsaw may just be the book for you.

Very highly recommended.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly ingenious sci fi, romantic suspense, mystery, and thriller, all rolled into one, January 9, 2006

By 

N. A. Genovese (Southeast Louisiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jigsaw (Mass Market Paperback)

A cyber terrorist tries to wrest control of a laptop computer with artificial intelligence from its creator, Bella Quintera. Her former lover, Daniel Champlain, who is an agent with the National Security Agency, reunites with her and together they combine their resources to save her and her laptop computer from the terrorist.

Jigsaw is filled with suspense and intrigue and kept me entertained from the first page to the very last page. The bigger than life characters are interesting and I cared for them a lot. The hero and the heroine are both strong willed and cling to their convictions and commitments even when those convictions and commitments are perilous to the other. The sexual tension between Bella and Daniel keeps building until they can no longer control their urges and desires.

One of the best characters in the story is Fran, Bella's interactive laptop computer possessing artificial intelligence. Even with her vastly superior intellect, Fran's sometimes childish behavior parallels that of a developing child that you can't help but love to death.

The story takes place in Michigan during its winter months and Nance vividly and evocatively used the frigid conditions to enhance the story. Many of the outside scenes had me shivering in my chair as I read.

Computer technology rises to its highest in Jigsaw. I've always feared identity theft, but Jigsaw presented something even scarier: identity creation, where a savvy computer guru hacks police computers and creates false files and charges against Bella to discredit her. In an interesting and exciting scene, Bella and Daniel enter a virtual reality game with other computer gurus devoted to the sport and I felt like I was seeing it all as a movie, because it was so vividly written. The virtual reality action was exciting and later turned out to produce a crucial clue that wasn't detected until near the end of the story.

Jigsaw is entertaining and filled with suspense and intrigue. I recommend it highly.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jigsaw, April 11, 2005

By 

AK "Bro" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jigsaw (Mass Market Paperback)

You must meet Fran. Who is she you ask? Fran is the world's first alternate intelligence, a laptop computer with not only a brain but a heart, not to mention tons of attitude. Not many people are supposed to know about her before the Turing Competition, but too many do, and some of them are willing to kill or worse to steal her away from Bella Quintera, her maker. Daniel Champlain, once upon a time, was involved with Bella, but scandal drove them apart. Now, a clue ties Bella to a case the special agent is working on, and they are thrown together once more, reunited professionally and personally on a quest to save Fran from Lokus, a diabolical hacker who wants to use her to throw the world into computerized chaos. In a chase that goes from the real world to the virtual one, Daniel, Bella, and Fran are in a fight for their lives.

***** On many levels, this is a wonderful book. The action and suspense keep you on the edge of your seat; the complexity of the plot keeps you mentally engaged, and then there is the sheer fun. Fran frankly steals the show with her candid wit and innocence. If Artoo Detoo could talk, he might sound just like her. She's definitely one of the best AI's ever created. *****