Review by Autumn Trapani
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.
Matt Witten’s book 51% is, in a word, thought provoking. Set in New York City 20 years in the future, the book combines dystopian speculative fiction with an absorbing police procedural story. When a young immigrant woman is found murdered in the streets of New York, Detective Juke O’Keefe, along with his partner, Haylee Navarro, investigate and soon find themselves entangled in a much larger case than a simple murder.
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Due to the economic situation this causes, every decision, particularly for the police, is based on the potential amount of money that can be made. Police teams are forced to raise funds to investigate crimes, including funds to pay for forensic testing. As a result, many crimes are not investigated because they do not have enough fund-raising potential.
I found several aspects of this novel to be intriguing. One of the main characters states at one point that Americans are free of the tyranny of government overreach. Given the syndicates’ control of peoples’ lives, this reader was left wondering just how “free” the citizenry really was.
Through all the chaos, Juke O’Keefe proves to be the moral center of the story, trying to do the right thing even though he is flawed and doesn’t always make good decisions. There are also a number of villains, and by far the most terrifying is an AI interface known as the Red Queen. “She” can be called upon to provide information and almost always delivers within seconds. She also calculates the percentage likelihood of a given event occurring. The thought of an AI technology having that much ability and information is, quite frankly, deeply disturbing.
Author Witten is highly skilled at world-building, and I had no trouble picturing the world that this book inhabits. There are also a number of chase sequences, and they are described so skillfully that I was easily able to picture them as I read. The book also contains a great deal of slang that is reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange. Unlike A Clockwork Orange, the slang is easily understandable from contextual clues within the text, so no glossary is needed!
This book is a compelling thriller and a completely believable speculative novel about where the US as a country may be headed, while at the same time being an absorbing study of how community can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It is an engaging ride and a thought provoking one.
To enter to win a copy of 51% (either ebook or print, winner's choice), simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "51,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen June 27, 2026. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors!
You can click here to purchase this book.
Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.Autumn Trapani is an avid reader and enjoys letting others know about good books through her reviews. When not reviewing, you can find her working as a property manager – although she always has her nose in a book at lunchtime! Autumn lives in Portland, OR with her husband and two cats.
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