The Optogram

by Noelle Jeffreys

What do you see when you die?

Dothan Knox is a troubled software genius kicked around by life. Even his college seems determined to undermine him by placing him in a humiliating internship with a small ocular research facility instead of a tech giant. To prove his talents are worth more than the mind-numbing project assigned to him, Dothan creates an artificial intelligence algorithm able to enhance post-mortem retinal scans to a phenomenal quality.

During the final test of the routine, he is astounded to find the process has revealed a strange image preserved within the retina of a beautiful murder victim. Dothan sets out to search for the unique object recorded in her last moment of life, certain his software could solve the horrible crime and open the door to all his dreams.

Nothing, though, is what it seems, and as he moves deeper into the dead girl's world, he must stay ahead of his own demons, the killer and those determined to get his code.

383 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Nelly D · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love strong, complex characters, this book is like eating a bag of potato chips--once you begin, you can't stop. The dark, noir feel of the story, combined with an overall affinity with "what-if" technology, is fascinating as we follow the main character, Dothan Knox. The author carefully guides the reader to become both impressed by his superior intelligence and talent, and yet leaves you constantly frustrated by his seeming inability to care about anyone else but himself. Teased by glimpses of Dothan as a truly damaged individual (thankfully without unending pages of back story), we WANT to be sympathetic as Dothan wanders lost within the shelter of his narcissistic prison, incapable to grasp his own foolish actions.

This book isn't your standard whodunit. It's not full of Scooby-doo moments or clever attempts to hide the truth until the startlingly reveal. The twists and turns of the book are subtle, making its core less about a startling reveal and more about the study of the broken, selfish young man in the center clawing his way through an extraordinary situation without the maturity or capability of understanding you must be careful in who you trust and the ending leaves you clinging to the hope of a forthcoming series.

[Jeff Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a book with well-defined, complex characters. There's nothing more frustrating than one-dimensional characters and this is certainly not a criticism that could be levelled at The Optogram. Every character in the book is beautifully complex with even the lead character being largely hate-able through the majority of the book. The fundamental plotline of the book is a basic whodunnit centring around a software developer who has to solve the murder of a woman in order to prove software he's written is the next 'big thing'. Through the story, every character that he comes into contact with has plenty of motive and opportunity. As a result, when you get through to the reveal, it is both a huge 'wow' and a huge 'how did I not see that coming?' moment! There is so much I would love to say about the closing areas of the book but it would give too much away. However, I will say the descriptive prose around the lead characters journey to the climactic destination is truly inspired.
The imagery inspired by the book is wonderful and I would love to listen to this in audio format so I could just close my eyes and watch it play out in my mind.

[Greer Andjanetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mystery story with a novel plot basis. The story is a bit confusing, trying to keep track of who's who and the all-explaining ending is too compressed to help much but aside from the unpleasant reading about the very obnoxious character the author creates, the book is a very credible first publication for the author.