The two words which pop into mind when describing author Bruce Holsinger’s Culpability are: Anxiety rollercoaster. In this tome, ethics and technology collide (literally) when two people end up dead in this thrilling family drama.
You see, when the Cassidy-Shaw family’s autonomous minivan suddenly veers into an oncoming car, the impact doesn’t just shatter metal – it shatters the illusion that anyone was truly in control.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie is behind the wheel. His father, Noah, rides shotgun. In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are lost in their phones. Their mother, Lorelei, one of the world’s leading minds in artificial intelligence is absorbed in her work. In a car designed to think for itself, no one seems to be paying attention… until it’s too late.
But the crash is only the beginning.
Because every member of the Cassidy-Shaw family is hiding something. And as the pieces begin to fall into place, it becomes clear that each secret leads back to that single, catastrophic moment on the road.
Culpability pulls readers into a chilling near-future where chatbots advise us, drones watch us, and self-driving cars make split-second decisions that can mean life or death. In a world increasingly run by machines, the question isn’t just what happened… it’s who is responsible.
