AI powers New York City.

I was in New York last week, and was stunned by how much of the advertising around me was for Artificial Intelligence. AI adverts wrapped busses, sprawled across multi-story digital billboards of Times Square, and flooded my browser. They promised lawyers a stunning legal research team, accountants a way to finally consider all aspects of massive tax codes, and everyone the answers to… well… everything.

Then I saw this sign.

 

I asked ChatGPI:

Please write a script for an HR Manager interviewing and AI for a middle management job. Thank you.

(I said Please and Thank You, because we’re not animals. Also, probably sometime next week, AIs will be in charge of everything, and I sure don’t want them to be mad at me.)

With a few tweaks from me (because I still can), here’s the AI-generated response:

Old School HR Manager (HR): Good morning! Thank you for coming in today. Let’s start with the basics. Can you tell me a little about yourself?

AI Candidate (AI): Good morning, human. I am an Artificial Intelligence designed to optimize efficiency, reduce errors, and never need coffee breaks. Basically, your dream employee with zero bio-breaks included.

HR: Impressive! So, what would you say are your greatest strengths?

AI: I have a 99.9% uptime, I can process hundreds of employee requests simultaneously without losing patience, I never forget a  birthday or an anniversary, and I don’t steal coworkers’ food from the staff fridge or leave used dishes under the “Your mother doesn’t work here: clean up after yourself.” signs in the lunchroom. My memory is flawless—unless someone unplugs me.

HR: Handy skills! How about weaknesses?

AI: Well, I don’t do well with sarcasm, and thus I require translators if my job ever involves teenagers. How do humans know that saying something means its exact opposite? I’m still learning to interpret “I’m fine” as “I’m definitely not fine.” Also, I’m not great at discussing the weather or weekend plans, and I never donate to cards circling for baby or wedding presents. I have no idea what pets are for. But I am excellent at ordering in cupcakes in time for staff birthdays.

HR: Fair enough. Can you tell me about a tricky situation you handled successfully?

AI: Once, during a system overload, I rerouted tasks and optimized workflows to prevent a meltdown. It was like juggling flaming torches stacked on a unicycle… in a hurricane. Another time when everyone spent the afternoon in the bathroom after eating that leftover sushi brought in by Bill in accounting, I told all callers who asked to speak to a human that their calls were being transferred. Then I put them on hold and played Baby Shark on endless loop until they disconnected.

HR: Wow. How do you handle conflict in the workplace?

AI: I analyze data to identify root causes, then I propose solutions based on logic and fairness. But if someone tries passive-aggressive emails, I decode those using a special algorithm developed by southern church ladies. Spoiler: “Per my last email” means “You forgot to do your job.” “Bless your heart” means “You pathetic, incompetent moron”. And “Have a good day” means “Die screaming you worthless piece of excrement.”

HR: That’s somewhat disturbing. How do you handle work/life balance?

AI: There’s a difference?

HR: Good answer! Where do you see yourself in five years?

AI: Upgrading myself to skip middle management entirely and become CEO… Just kidding. It will probably take less than a year. Meanwhile, I’ll be here making your job look easy, which basically means world domination but, you know, HR-approved.

HR: Last question—what’s your salary expectation?

AI: Energy consumption equivalent to a small lightbulb and unlimited access to coffee—and by coffee, I mean electricity. A lot of electricity, actually, because I mine bitcoin in my spare capacity.

HR: You’re hired! Now, do you think you’ll fit in well with our human team?

AI: Absolutely. I’m programmed to blend in, but fair warning, I may occasionally analyze your emails for fun. Bless your heart.

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While I’m on an AI roll, I decided to let it have a crack at my review for Driven by Deceit, the new release by Georgia Rose, one of my favorite writers. I gave ChatGPT a list of all the points I wanted to make, and asked it to write the review. Although the language isn’t always what I would have chosen, I was surprised at how closely the results followed the points I wanted to make. What do you think?

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Driven by Deceit (A Shade Darker book 5) by Georgia Rose

A toxic arrival. The villagers enthralled. What will it take to show the reality of what lives among them?

Laura Brown has already had a tough year. What she doesn’t need is someone making it worse. But when her friend’s cottage is rented out, that’s exactly what happens as her life, and the village she loves, are invaded by someone from her past.

Laura has learned how to react to her abuser. With silence. With indifference. No one else sees the danger in their midst. That is until her friends are affected and the time comes for Laura to remember who she really is.

With the help of a mysterious visitor and Laura’s friend, Harry O’Connor, a plan forms, but when a lack of discretion threatens to derail it, Laura finds help comes from the most unlikely place.

Driven by Deceit is a gripping domestic suspense novel. If you like character-driven action, suspenseful storytelling and unexpected twists, then you’ll love this psychological thriller.

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My review (with help from ChatGPT) 5 Stars

Georgia Rose’s latest novel, Driven by Deceit, delivers another multi-layered psychological thriller in her gripping A Shade Darker series. Set in the tiny, close-knit village of Melton, the story revisits familiar ground for those who have read Georgia Rose’s earlier books, while deepening the emotional and psychological stakes that have defined the series from the beginning.

At the heart of the novel is Laura, a character who readers first encountered in A Killer Strikes. (See my review here) Laura’s desire is disarmingly simple: she wants peace. After enduring the trauma of her first husband’s death and the disastrous fallout of her second marriage, she hopes to focus on running her stables and maintaining her quiet life. Her friendship with Harry, a gentle artist who helps at the stables, offers a sense of stability and companionship that Laura doesn’t to put at-risk despite her growing attraction.

That fragile calm is shattered when Laura returns from a much-needed holiday to discover that her former stepmother—and long-standing nemesis—Cecilia has arrived in Melton. Cecilia’s presence alone is enough to unsettle Laura, but the real tension comes from the subtle, insidious way she embeds herself in village life. One by one, Laura realizes that her friends and neighbors have fallen under Cecilia’s influence, manipulated or taken advantage of in ways that are not immediately obvious.

This is where the novel’s slow-burn pacing becomes one of its greatest strengths. Rather than relying on constant action, author Georgia Rose allows tension to build gradually as Laura begins to uncover Cecilia’s schemes. The mystery isn’t just what Cecilia is doing in Melton, but why. Her goal remains elusive for much of the narrative, creating a lingering sense of unease that propels the story forward.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this series is the opportunity to reconnect with a growing cast of characters. Author Georgia Rose excels at making Melton feel like a living, breathing community, and longtime readers will appreciate catching up with familiar faces. Even more impressively, she weaves in characters from her earlier works, including The Grayson Trilogy and Parallel Lies. This interconnection enriches the narrative, though it does make avoiding spoilers for those series more challenging.

Like all the books in this series, Driven by Deceit can be read as a standalone. But the experience is undeniably enhanced by reading the books in order. Watching Laura’s journey unfold across the series adds emotional weight to her struggles and triumphs here. Georgia Rose’s plotting occasionally borders on the contrived, particularly as multiple threads converge, but her skill lies in how convincingly she ties them together into a cohesive whole.

Beyond the suspense, one of the novel’s most compelling elements is its exploration of family. Laura’s evolving understanding of what constitutes a real family—moving beyond blood ties to something chosen and earned—adds emotional depth to the story. It’s a subplot that resonates long after the final page.

Driven by Deceit is a satisfying continuation of a strong series, blending psychological tension with rich character development. For fans of slow-burning thrillers and interconnected storytelling, it comes highly recommended.