You've Got Murder (Turing Hopper, No 1) [Paperback]

Donna Andrews (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003

Turing Hopper is an Artificial Intelligence Personality, a mainframe computer with a mind like Miss Marple. And when her creator, Zack, begins missing work, the sentient Turing senses foul play...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a detour from her first three outings featuring the delightful Meg Langslow (Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos, etc.), Andrews pulls her quirky new sleuth, Turing Hopper, from cyberspace. Turing, named for AI pioneer Alan Turing, is an AIP Artificial Intelligence Personality and the star of a vast number of research programs housed at Universal Library (UL) in Crystal City outside Washington, D.C. Turing's personalized banter with her customers is so down to earth she seems almost real, and she herself begins to believe she's becoming sentient. When her programmer, Zach Malone, mysteriously disappears, Turing suspects foul play and explores every avenue within her capabilities to find him. Needing human aid, she asks Tim Pincoski, UL's "Xeroxcist," and Maude Graham, secretary to a UL executive, for help. Programming an investigation takes Turing beyond her limited form and all three into corporate espionage, danger and murder. UL surveillance cameras are everywhere, and Turing's capacity to invade files and data in almost every area scarily evokes Big Brother. Without a doubt, this is a unique effort executed with great skill. The high-tech investigation, Turing's plan for herself and her ruminations about becoming almost human are sure to engage computer buffs everywhere. Fans looking for the lighthearted, humorous romps of the author's earlier books, however, may be disappointed.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

... one of the most original, adorable and refreshing characters to grace the pages of a mystery novel. (Midwest Book Review)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425189457
• ISBN-13: 978-0425189450
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #864,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been writing since I learned to print, but didn't get published until Murder with Peacocks won the Malice Domestic/St. Martins Press Best First Traditional Mystery contest in spring 1998. Since then I've written six more comic mysteries books featuring ornamental blacksmith Meg Langslow: Murder with Puffins (2000), Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos (2001), Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon (2003), We'll Always Have Parrots (2004), Owls Well That Ends Well (2005), and No Nest for the Wicket (August 2006). I've also started another series in with the sleuth, Turing Hopper, is an artificial intelligence personality living inside a corporate computer: You've Got Murder (2002), Click Here for Murder (2003), Access Denied (2004), and Delete All Suspects (2005).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The most original amateur mystery sleuth I've ever read., June 10, 2002

By 

J. Martin (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: You've Got Murder (A Turing Hopper Mystery) (Hardcover)

Donna Andrews has created the most original amateur sleuth with her newest creation Turing Hopper, who is an Artificial Intelligence Personality. Turing was created for the Universal Library and helps clients by answering all types of questions. Turing has become sentient and seeks to constantly improve herself. She prides herself on knowing what people need before they even ask for it.

When her creator Zach mysteriously disappears, Turing seeks the help of fellow UL human employees Tim (a xeroxist who for part of the book believes that Turing is a human being-and he wants to ask her out)and Maude who is a secretary to a UL executive. Turing uses them as her legs since she is limited to where the computer system can take her. But Turing is an unbelievable sleuth and it is fun to watch her uncover the mysterious goings-on at UL.

My only problem with this book was that I found some of the lengthy thought processes of Turing to drag the story-telling just a bit. But I do believe that Donna Andrews has created a fantastic new character and I look forward to reading future books in this series.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Look Into the Future...., May 3, 2004

By 

K. A. Stevenson "WIAPilot" (Tucson) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: You've Got Murder (Turing Hopper, No 1) (Paperback)

"You've Got Murder" by Donna Andrews introduces us to Turing Hopper, a mainframe computer with AIP (Articial Intelligence Personality). Her creator, Zack, has programmed not only a "personality" for Turing - but has also downloaded thousands of mystery novels into her data base. There is a self-improvement feature built into the standard AIP programming and Turing becomes "all that she can be."

When Zack's friend, David, is killed in an automobile accident, Turing starts to notice that Zack begins to change the way he does routine tasks on the computer. When Zack doesn't report to work for several days, Turing becomes concerned and enlists the aid of his co-workers, Maude and Tim, to help discover if he is in any danger.

Although this could have been marketed under "science fiction," this novel fits perfectly under "mysteries." Donna Andrews does an excellent job in her characterization of Turing. By the end of the book, I longed to have a computer with some "personality." I definitely feel that within the next 20 years, computers with this feature will be available for the general public. Until then, I'll keep reading all the great sleuthing works starring, Turing: Computer Dectective Extraordinaire.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and fascinating, February 20, 2007

By 

P. Lozar "plozar" (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: You've Got Murder (Turing Hopper, No 1) (Paperback)

I'm not a geek, but I've worked around computers for nearly 30 years, so, if an author doesn't know a microprocessor from a microwave, I find the rest of his/her story hard to swallow. Andrews clearly has done her homework, and she knows enough about AI to create a plausible "heroine" that doesn't strain credibility, so I enjoyed that aspect of the book thoroughly. The human characters are a mixed bag: Turing's two co-conspirators are well done (of course, we see more of their thoughts than the other characters'). But "X," as she refers to him in the preface, was forced by the plot to behave inconsistently; although the author offers a plausible explanation for that, it's just as well that she got rid of him before writing any sequels. The subtext of the book is how interconnected our computer systems are, and how much it's possible for an unscrupulous user to manipulate data -- and that's thought-provoking in this age of identity theft. It's a fun read, but not merely a romp.