The story follows Davis, a recently and prematurely bereaved man who is offered a way to "communicate" with his late wife via a new AI-powered app offered by the funeral director. He is told that it will help him process his grief, but as Davis finds out, it's not quite that simple.

I enjoyed the storyline and how it explored the way we process grief in the modern world, where there are so many technological relics left behind when we die. Anyone who's felt the urge to tag a departed friend on social media, or text their old number, will understand the core hook. People leave behind chat streams, images, videos, audio. What happens if the services hosting those go away? Are people's devices extensions of themselves? Could an AI model ever replicate a personality, and if it could, how would we treat them? Will capitalistic "market forces" keep these post-death connections locked behind an ever-rising paywall?

There are a lot of practical and philosophical questions raised so I think if you enjoy pondering these types of topics, you'll find a lot to like here. The themes are heavy, of course, but I felt like they were handled sensitively and sympathetically. Characters feel reasonable even if they make some questionable decisions - we may not agree with them but at least we can see how they got to where they are and there are no clear "good" or "bad" actors.

Personally I'd have liked a little more exploration of the late plot, it felt like the pace picked up a lot towards the end. Definitely potential for a follow up I think.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys stuff like Black Mirror (obvious comparisons to be drawn with Be Right Back but it also reminded me of San Junipero) or the general theme of trans/posthumanism.

Many thanks to Sunkat Press and NetGalley for the eARC. I was not required to leave a review nor influenced in any way as to its contents.