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Oprah’s latest pick. Great premise here — car accident in an autonomous vehicle and questions of who is at fault. Much here about technology (in many forms, but especially AI). This novel raises many questions, but is a bit clunky in the plotting/storytellind, IMO.

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I was starting to read this just as it was announced as Oprah’s next Book Club pick and it’s definitely a very discussable book! I absolutely loved this completely propulsive story that is very of-this-particular-moment. The Cassidy-Shaw family is driving to a lacrosse game in their driverless minivan when they get into a terrible accident. Each family member has secrets they are keeping related to the accident that are gradually revealed over the course of the book. As the title says, the crux of this book is analyzing who is at fault for the accident and that is a fluid concept both in the events of the book and in the reader’s mind. The mom of the family is a leading expert on the ethics of artificial intelligence, which leads to some interesting discussions and a meaty side plot. This is a highly plot-driven book that I almost wished were a bit longer because we don’t have a lot of breathing room here - things happen at a breakneck speed, but I absolutely could not put it down.

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I can comprehend why Oprah chose this as a Book Club title. It presents an intriguing viewpoint on how AI, smartphones, self-driving cars, automated drones, and other technologies are progressively reshaping our world. Personally, I’m a staunch advocate for drivers who never text while driving. Self-driving vehicles are a distant dream (nightmare) for me.

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Culpability is a relevant novel that combine domestic family drama with the advent of AI technology and the repercussions the Cassidy-Shaw family faces after a deadly accident on a Delaware highway. On what should have been an exciting day, their son Charlie's last lacrosse tournament before starting school at UNC on a full scholarship, Lorelei and Noah's lives are changed in seconds. Who is responsible for the accident that killed a beloved elderly couple? Charlie was driving but at 17, the law in Delaware looks at the adult in the car. Was it the Drummonds-did they almost cross the center line as Charlie and Alice, his younger sister, indicate? Noah, front-seat passenger was working on his laptop, rest assured that their minivan has the latest in AI technology and autodrive features, but he took his eyes off the road to hammer out a memo. While a local detective is determined to get to the bottom of the accident, brilliant, double PhD Lorelei (injured in the accident) has an opportunity to take her family to a house on the Chesapeake Bay to recover for a week. However, once there, things take a weird turn.

Their neighbor is one of the richest men in the world, Daniel Monet, who owns a tech company-and he seems to know Lorelei-who is one of the world's leading experts in AI. When Daniel's daughter meets Charlie she develops an immediate crush and the two are inseparable. Noah realizes that this trip was no accident or chance of fate and he's determined to find out the connection. He develops an almost immediate dislike to the enigmatic Daniel. At first, Lorelei's and Daniel's connection seems unrelated to the preceding events but soon it's clear, more than one person is culpable for the life changing circumstances that Noah and his family are facing. Told in spare prose and interspersed with Lorelei's AI research, Culpability will sit with readers after they read the last page.

While I feel this is a timely novel and well-written I didn't like most of the characters; Alice was written younger than she is (much) and her texts were a little off-putting (maybe in the final edited version this is flushed out more). However, the story is extremely relevant to the times we are living in and it asks tough ethical questions of the reader. I received an ARC when it was an October release before it was Oprah's Book Club selection for July which moved up the publication date-and given the current technological/political climate this was a smart pick.

Thank you to the NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

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Wow, this was such a unique and fascinating read. I was immediately intrigued by the premise and quickly got pulled into the story. It starts with a family dealing with the aftermath of a car accident in their self-driving vehicle, but it becomes so much more than that.

The characters felt real and layered, and I loved how the story gave a glimpse into the minds behind AI technology. That’s not something I come across often in fiction. On top of that, there was plenty of suspense and drama beyond the accident itself that kept me turning the pages.

One of the standout elements for me was the character navigating both a brilliant, almost untapped level of intelligence and a mental health condition (OCD). I really appreciated this portrayal. It felt thoughtful and honest, and it’s something I rarely see written with this kind of care.

This was also selected as Oprah’s Book Club pick for July 2025, and I can absolutely see why. It’s timely, thought-provoking, and would make a great discussion starter about the future of AI and how it’s already starting to shape our world.

It held my attention from start to finish, and I definitely recommend it for your summer reading list. It’s smart, emotional, and hard to put down. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy.

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Who's responsible when AI makes a mistake? That's the question at the center of Bruce Holsinger's novel, which also tackles how AI affects humans, accountability, responsibility, tech bro culture, and wealth.

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This book practically opens with a spectacularly horrifying car crash on a freeway, where the Cassidy-Shaw family survives, at the expense of the occupants of the other car. The title and compelling and complex plot both involve family relationship drama and legal intrigue. Dad Noah was born on the wrong side of the tracks, did an adequate job at university and became a passing-not-brilliant lawyer. Prior to marrying the high-born OCD genius Lorelei Shaw, Noah Cassidy had no connections to speak of. Together they have 3 childen, Charlie the high school lacrosse star with a full scholarship to Dartmouth, dour Alice attached to her cell phone, and sweet little people-pleaser Izzy.

Throughout this book I was concerned by what I would consider Noah's many parenting/character fails, and there was a generally paternalistic bent that bugged a little bit, but the latter is probably due to a rhetorical analysis class I'm in right now that's focused on that subject. Even more though, I was drawn in and fascinated by all the varied ways and means that AI is entangled in our daily lives, that I'd never really been aware of. I loved the passing references to mythology like Venus and Adonis and other classics. This was a smart read, and I'm recommending it highly and widely.

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Fascinating read. Not my usual style but the AI topic is top of mind lately. I'll be thinking about the complexities here for a while. Well done.

The end reveal was stupid and obvious and I think the book would have been stronger without that mini subplot.

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4+ stars
“We program the system, we give it license to translate our moral distinctions, we press go.”

As a child of the sixties I was obsessed with the cartoon The Jetsons. I wanted to be teen sister Judy and held a fascination with the world of smart homes and appliances, flying cars, robot maids and business calls on t.v. screens. But now in my sixties artificial intelligence terrifies me and reading this novel was a calculated risk.

Bruce Holsinger’s brilliant portrayal of a present day family caught up in a fast moving digital age is an exploration of how we maintain the human element among machinery of convenience. It begins with a family outing, with 17 year old Charlie behind the wheel of a self-driving vehicle and a fatal accident lights the fuse of the ensuing drama. Mother Lorelei is a renowned leader in the field of ethical A.I. and lends a compelling perspective to the unfolding events and father Noah (an attorney) provides another unique viewpoint to the conundrum. Two young teen sisters add to the mix; the collective guilt leaving a vacuum where each character analyzes their role in the tragedy.

There is a lot to unpack in the novel but the heart of the story is a father son relationship and the juxtaposition of a dad living with regret and a college bound son living with a sense of invincibility. With lives being lost and lives being saved readers learn how inserting humanity into the algorithm is far from black and white.

Holsinger’s first person point of view is artfully laced with quotes from Lorelei’s research and a fascinating/disturbing communication between a tween and a chat bot, keeps the plot moving forward with the speed and efficiency of a search engine.

The Oprah endorsement aside, the cover should draw readers in. It’s one of the most representative examples of cover art I have seen to-date; a present day bucolic scene with a sense of chaos intervening.

Thanks to Net Galley and Spiegel & Grau Publishing for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

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This is going to be just an ok from me. I didn’t love it but have to say the opening few chapters did really hook me. Poor character development and too much from the dad spoiled it being a very good read.

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This is a page-turning read that would make a great addition to your pool bag or a highly discussible selection for a book club. The book begins with a car accident. 17-year-old lacrosse star Charlie is at the wheel of his family’s autonomous driving vehicle when the car strikes an oncoming vehicle, and as the novel unfolds we learn how nearly every member of the family is culpable in some way. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Charlie’s mother is an ethicist and consultant in the world of artificial intelligence and the book is interspersed with her philosophical writing on AI as well as daughter Alice’s frequent chats with an LLM bot. Filled with cliffhangers and reveals, Culpability was the fast-paced palette cleanser I was looking for this summer. Now this book certainly has it’s issues: POV issues, predicability issues, plot issues…if I squint at it too hard the whole thing kind of falls apart. But you know what? I had a great time reading it. It grabbed me from the first chapter and I needed to know what happened. In fact, I have this book to thank for helping me get through the early stages of jet lag. The other thing that saves it is that while it’s extremely obvious the social issues it wants to explore, it’s not heavy handed in terms of it’s own moral vision. There’s groan-worthy symbolism and dollar-store philosophizing, but it’s not beating the reader over the head with a single message. While the questions it poses are blatant, there’s still room for readers to arrive at their own answers, and I think that makes for a better beach read.

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I read this before it became an Oprah pick and it was a great choice. This was a compelling story and I was swept up in the drama until the very end. I went in blind and was surprised by the mystery and twists. This was a perfect length, well written story, and I will be reading work by this author again.

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Bruce Holsinger's Culpability is a timely novel that does not fit neatly into one category. It's a family drama mixed with a thriller, all woven around some of the most pressing ethical questions of our time. This book is an absolute page-turner, and it's also one of the most thought-provoking I have read in a long time.

This book explores the ideas and questions of AI in our every day world. Who is really responsible when we rely on AI and mistakes are made that lead to tragic consequences? Can we as humans walk away without guilt? And if the legal system does not hold us accountable, what about our emotional state and moral compass?

At the heart of Culpability is the Cassidy-Shaw family, whose lives are irrevocably altered by a tragic accident involving their autonomous minivan. As each member of the family struggles with the accident and its aftermath, we learn who they are and the roles they each play in the family In the middle of the ethical dilemmas posed by the book is a fairly typical American family with all of the drama that comes along with marriage, raising children, being a teenager, etc. And of course as the story unfolds family secrets are revealed and exposed.

Culpability seamlessly blends these personal and technological themes. Holsinger has crafted a story that is not only a thrilling mystery but also an exploration of what we owe to each other—and what we owe to ourselves—in a world where the line between human and machine is becoming increasingly blurred.

The book is a definite page turner that will stay with you long after you finish it. For anyone looking for a read that is both a thrilling escape and a meaningful reflection on our future, this book is for you.

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Bruce Holsinger writes propulsive, reading fiction that asks big questions. This novel is centered around AI and what it means for humanity and our responsibility. I enjoyed it quite a lot, but I didn't love the first-person present perspective. Other than that, this is a great summer read that will have you thinking.

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I'm pretty uninterested in all things AI, it is just EVERYWHERE and honestly I don't like the little I know about it, and have a lot of concerns! But if there's any author I trust to write a timely and compelling book about a hot button topic, it's Bruce Holsinger. And this delivered. It wasn't perfect, and honestly clunky in some parts, but I couldn't put it down. A family is in a car accident in a self-driving car, killing the people in the other car. While on vacation a few weeks after trying to regroup, new things come to light about the accident. I don't want to say much more, but not only did this book focus on interesting ethical dilemmas and looks into the future, there was a really surprising story of marriage at the heart of this book as well.

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This is an interesting premise, as society seems to be embracing AI in more and more areas every day. The dangers of AI are shown here in a way that will likely resonate with many readers. The book starts off in an engaging manner, but that falls off a bit as it unfolds. The formatting was confusing, but perhaps that won't be the case in the final version of the book. There is little distinction between some of the characters and their conversation with the AI bot, and that made things feel very jumpy and disconnected. Some of the twists are predictable. Things do come together a bit by the end, but things still feel unfinished.

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After a fatal car accident involving a vehicle with autonomous driving, each family member has secrets about their own fault in the accident. Recovering from their injuries and needing a break, the family travels to a house on Chesapeake Bay and confronts the moral implications of the crash and how it will affect all of their lives.

As someone who is very frightened by the growing presence of AI in our world and the consequences and ethics of that, this book was very much up my alley. Part family drama, part exploration into the morality of AI, and part thriller, this book is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. As I was reading, I felt more and more unsettled with every page. I never got bored but I will admit to having to put the book down several times because of how eerie it was to me. This was highly realistic and that made it all the more frightening. Although I did get very irritated with pretty much every character at times during the book, I believe that was intentional and definitely adds to the realism. Since I feel like including anything more in my review will give too much away and this is a book that is definitely best to go into as blind as possible, I will just say that Culpability by Bruce Holsinger is compelling and definitely worth the read!

A huge thank you to Spiegel & Grau and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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First time reading rhis author
It was quit interesting and learned about AI
It was a sad story starting out with Charlie 17 yrs old behind the wheel driving his family of 5 when all of a sudden they are in an accident
His little sister Alice blames it on him because he was texting.
When the take a vacation to the lake and Charlie meets the neighbor next door he is smitten with her
Although her father is a multimillionaire
When more tragedy strikes secrets revealed by all the family members
Police investigates questions and a few twists before Charles knows his fate.

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Set against the backdrop of a fatal crash involving a self-driving minivan, Culpability follows the Cassidy-Shaw family. Seventeen-year-old Charlie is technically driving, though the autonomous system is in control. When an accident kills two elderly passengers in another vehicle, the question of blame unravels a tense moral and emotional drama. Was Charlie’s intervention timely or reckless? Does responsibility lie with the human driver, the supervising adult, or the AI system? To recuperate, the family isolates at a Chesapeake Bay cottage, but tranquility unravels when they cross paths with a charismatic AI mogul and his daughter, and their own secrets begin to surface.

Told from the father's viewpoint, the novel delves into parental guilt, marital strains, adolescent rebellion, and emotional unease. His self-doubts are a constant thread through the story. The book read like a thriller momentum and I appreciate the single POV as it made the twisty story a bit easier to follow.

If you're drawn to moral complexity, current tech dilemmas, or character-driven domestic suspense, this is a top-tier summer read. Oprah even selected it for her Book Club and I feel like it would be a great selection for yours as well.

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Thanks to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the eARC.

We follow a family after a car crash, but what about the automated car? This book really lets you tackle the role of technology, family, and who is responsible during and after a tragedy. I enjoyed this story and it will stick with me.

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