My new novel is called The Synapse Sequence. It’s out in June from Titan Books, and is a near-future crime thriller.

With the copy-edits done and only the proof-read to go, I thought I'd share some of the background details...

The Synapse Sequence revolves around the use of two competing technologies to solve crimes: firstly, a method through which the memories of witnesses can be combined into a virtual environment to be explored by an investigator (our hero!). Secondly – and the method preferred by the police – the use of mass data sweeps and Artificial Intelligence, to both reduce the likelihood of crime occurring and to find those responsible for any residual incidents.

The protagonist is a former air crash investigator, Anna Glover. This is a world where automation and AI are reducing the number of jobs available, including previously safe middle-class jobs. Accountants, solicitors, insurance brokers – basically all these sorts of desk-based jobs are disappearing. The removal of pilots from planes has also massively reduced the number of crashes: Anna is therefore out of a job, and eagerly joins the company promoting its memory technology (that also has applications in justice, health, entertainment etc).

This is the blurb:
Anna Glover joins a start-up company that hopes to revolutionise solving crimes by combining the memories of witnesses into a virtual reality simulator that can be explored by an investigator. Her first case is that of a fostered teenage boy put in a coma by a brutal assault, and she begins to explore his memories, the only witness to the crime. But when the boy’s sister disappears and Anna’s own actions are called into question, it becomes clear that there are other motives in play, and there are those who do not want her to succeed...