Will draw readers in from the first breath.
An exacting aunt may have been responsible for producing the world’s first AI, but Katherine Zoey Cardinal Collins doesn’t bask in the glow and glory cast by Cardinal Machines nor her illustrious family name. In fact, this 18-year-old is more concerned with a career in investigation and law enforcement, a passion she inherited from a different branch of her convoluted family tree. However, not everyone values the mark that the Cardinal family has left on the world. Cruel echoes, malicious rumors and snarky assumptions follow Zoey wherever she goes, and the immature taunts and heartless insults are too raw and painful to bear. ‘Killer Katherine’ is a moniker she can’t outrun, nor can she make sense of her place in the world since almost her entire family has perished in one tragedy or another. She lives all alone in a house that is too much to manage on her own, but Zoey is far too proud to admit defeat or ask for help. Inheriting a dreamy prototype android bequeathed by her late aunt will either be a blessing or a curse, but none of that will matter if she can’t get the electric bill paid in order to charge the impressive machine. Always trying to make the best of difficult circumstances, Zoey dives into android ownership, even if it makes her more of an outcast than before. As it turns out, a controversial talking robot and a fiery high-schooler make a great team, that is, until things turn dangerous.
With a lightning-fast pace and a magnetic cast, Cardinal Machines is a story that will draw readers in from the first breath. Due to her dramatic station in life, you might think that it would be hard to relate to the protagonist, but not Zoey! She is practical and self-sufficient, as long as she doesn’t have to bow to her family name, while at the same time vulnerable and craving connection. Charming banter between the android and the teen girl colors the pages, making this near-future science fiction novel approachable and fun, with plenty of laughter sandwiched between dynamic plot points, deep cover-ups and murder investigations. Teen angst and hormones are paired with an unmitigated sense of adventure in the dramatic world that Tracy Eire has envisioned, and you’re sure to love every minute of it! Tech-forward and ethically challenging, Cardinal Machines is the perfect sci-fi escape.
