Culpability

When the Cassidy-Shaws' driverless minivan fatally collides with another car, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver's seat. His father, Noah, sits beside him, while his mother, Lorelei-a renowned AI researcher-is distracted by her work in the back. The family grapples with the aftermath as a police inquiry begins to unravel. Lorelei's increasingly strange behaviour, the arrival of a tech billionaire with ties to her past, and Charlie's growing attraction to the billionaire's daughter push the family towards breaking point. Blending psychological suspense with family drama, Culpability explores the moral complexities of a world shaped by artificial intelligence, asking what responsibility means when humans are no longer the only ones making decisions.

When the Cassidy-Shaws' driverless minivan fatally collides with another car, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver's seat. His father, Noah, sits beside him, while his mother, Lorelei-a renowned AI researcher-is distracted by her work in the back. The family grapples with the aftermath as a police inquiry begins to unravel. Lorelei's increasingly strange behaviour, the arrival of a tech billionaire with ties to her past, and Charlie's growing attraction to the billionaire's daughter push the family towards breaking point. Blending psychological suspense with family drama, Culpability explores the moral complexities of a world shaped by artificial intelligence, asking what responsibility means when humans are no longer the only ones making decisions.

- OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK - NATIONAL BESTSELLER - "I was riveted until the very last shocking sentence!"--Oprah Winfrey "The most of-the-moment novel I've read all year, and it's the book of the summer."-- Real Simple "If you want an engaging novel sure to spark great discussion about that thorny [AI] future, this is it." -- Ron Charles, The Washington Post A suspenseful family drama about moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence. When the Cassidy-Shaws' autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver's seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun. In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while their mother, Lorelei, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, is absorbed in her work. Yet each family member harbors a secret, implicating them all in the tragic accident. During a weeklong recuperation on the Chesapeake Bay, the family confronts the excruciating moral dilemmas triggered by the crash. Noah tries to hold the family together as a seemingly routine police investigation jeopardizes Charlie's future. Alice and Izzy turn strangely furtive. And Lorelei's odd behavior tugs at Noah's suspicions that there is a darker truth behind the incident--suspicions heightened by the sudden intrusion of Daniel Monet, a tech mogul whose mysterious history with Lorelei hints at betrayal. When Charlie falls for Monet's teenaged daughter, the stakes are raised even higher in this propulsive family drama that is also a fascinating exploration of the moral responsibility and ethical consequences of AI. Culpability explores a world newly shaped by chatbots, autonomous cars, drones, and other nonhuman forces in ways that are thrilling, challenging, and unimaginably provocative.

- OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK - NATIONAL BESTSELLER - "I was riveted until the very last shocking sentence!"--Oprah Winfrey "The most of-the-moment novel I've read all year, and it's the book of the summer."-- Real Simple "If you want an engaging novel sure to spark great discussion about that thorny [AI] future, this is it." -- Ron Charles, The Washington Post A suspenseful family drama about moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence. When the Cassidy-Shaws' autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver's seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun. In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while their mother, Lorelei, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, is absorbed in her work. Yet each family member harbors a secret, implicating them all in the tragic accident. During a weeklong recuperation on the Chesapeake Bay, the family confronts the excruciating moral dilemmas triggered by the crash. Noah tries to hold the family together as a seemingly routine police investigation jeopardizes Charlie's future. Alice and Izzy turn strangely furtive. And Lorelei's odd behavior tugs at Noah's suspicions that there is a darker truth behind the incident--suspicions heightened by the sudden intrusion of Daniel Monet, a tech mogul whose mysterious history with Lorelei hints at betrayal. When Charlie falls for Monet's teenaged daughter, the stakes are raised even higher in this propulsive family drama that is also a fascinating exploration of the moral responsibility and ethical consequences of AI. Culpability explores a world newly shaped by chatbots, autonomous cars, drones, and other nonhuman forces in ways that are thrilling, challenging, and unimaginably provocative.