There is plenty of AI technology—self-driving cars, chatbots, drones both weaponized and life-saving—inside Bruce Holsinger’s up-to-the-minute CULPABILITY but the real magic here is the levels of moral and psychological complexity within the novel’s central family, the Cassidy-Shaws of Bethesda, Maryland. Dad’s a corporate lawyer, Mom’s the country’s foremost expert on the ethics of artificial intelligence, oldest son Charlie is soon to enter UNC on a lacrosse scholarship, and Alice and Izzy are still in their tween years. When the family car hits another vehicle on the way to a lacrosse tournament killing an elderly couple, the Cassidy-Shaws begin to implode under the pressure of the police investigation and the stress of assigning blame. Charlie was at the wheel — Is the accident his fault? But their autonomous minivan was in self-driving mode when the accident occurred - Is it AI’s fault? So many thorny moral questions and tightly-held secrets swarm inside the pages here, making this not only a propulsive family drama but a wicked smart exploration of how much control we really have over our complicated lives, even as we become more and more dependent on sophisticated technology, and as a society, we sink deeper and deeper into judgement and blame. No doubt, this’ll be one of the best novels of the year.

Culpability drew me in right away with its careful attention to character and atmosphere. The writing has a steady pull, never rushing but always moving with purpose, which made me want to settle in and really experience the story. The tone is dark without being overwhelming, and I appreciated how the tension simmered just under the surface.

What stood out to me the most was how layered the characters felt. Their choices, flaws, and motivations were revealed gradually, in a way that made me think about how complex people really are. The dialogue feels natural, and the interactions between characters drive the story forward in a believable, sometimes unsettling way.

I also appreciated the balance between suspense and reflection. There’s an undercurrent of unease that makes it hard to put the book down, but it’s matched by thoughtful writing that gives you space to consider what’s happening. It’s well-crafted, compelling, and leaves you with plenty to think about after the last page.

I had high hopes for Culpabiliy, and I wasn't disappointed! This is a wonderfully written, unflinching look at responsibility in our tech-advanced society, where culpability is a slippery slope. I loved how all the characters were flawed in their own way, making them so relatable. You could put yourself in their shoes as they grappled with scenarios both real and imagined. Culpability leaves you feeling both hopeful and uneasy, as it reads eerily realistic. Much thanks to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the opportunity to read this wonderful eArc in exchange for my honest review.

A family is driving in their self-driving minivan when it collides with an oncoming car. Charlie, on the verge of leaving for college, is at the wheel. His father is in the other front seat, and his mom, who happens to be one of the world's leading AI researchers, and his sisters are in the backseat. In the weeks following the crash, the family travels for a family vacation, hoping to recuperate and put the incident behind them. But it turns out each member of the family is hiding a secret that is preventing them from moving on, all while the consequences of the accident loom over their futures.

This is an interesting and timely story, exploring complex issues in an engaging and thought-provoking way.

Highly recommended.

Culpability is a story centered around the intersection of humans, AI, and responsibility. When the Cassidy-Shaw family departs on a roadtrip, 17 year old Charlie is behind the wheel of their autonomous minivan, with his dad, Noah, riding shotgun. Charlie’s mom and sisters are riding in the back. The van collides with another car and the accident is fatal for the other car’s passengers.

The Cassidy-Shaws attempt to process the accident and its impact, and reset for a weeklong stay in a house they rented elsewhere. Noah tries to hold the family together and works to protect Charlie, but several family members are keeping secrets.

Culpability is a timely and thought-provoking story, exploring themes about human responsibility, especially in relation to the use of AI and other tech. I wasn’t sure where the story was going at times, and it would start to feel unwieldy. I didn’t necessarily like the characters but appreciated that they weren’t perfect.

I felt similarly about Culpability and Holsinger’s other book I’ve read, The Gifted School — I liked them both enough but didn’t love either — 3.5 stars

This was okay, it sort of felt like two different things, like it was a family drama, but was also trying to say something about AI and social classes.

In the end the well off family still gets away with everything, and it’s sort of up to the reader to determine if the AI should be blamed or the human, and the human who creates the AI tries to find a way to be redeemed.

It was an interesting listen, but I haven’t really landed on how I feel about it yet. Just okay I think. I liked the family drama aspect of it, but I wanted everyone to be held accountable in some way and they weren’t really.

I remember reading The Gifted School by this author back in 2019 and I gave it 5 stars, but I was a different person then 😂.

Thank you @netgalley and @spiegalandgrau for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Is this a domestic drama? A horror novel? A literary thriller? A story that takes as its jumping off point a fatal crash involving a self-driving minivan driven by a teenager travelling with his family as passengers is certainly going to bring up all the feels. Who is culpable and why? The teen at the "wheel", the mom who is an AI expert and chose the car, the dad in the front seat who was not paying attention? And what about the driver's two siblings in the back seat? What is their culpability, if any? And moreover, what is AI doing to our society and how do we infuse our "humanness" and our "goodness" into an AI system? Weighty issues, difficult answers, and all of it well handled by Holsinger in this intriguing novel. Thank you to Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley for this DRC.

This book tackles the “black box” of alogrithims and artificial intelligence, which can be opaque even to the people who make them. This may even by design, as a way to avoid the titular culpability.

If you want to skip the slow burn family drama, you could start reading halfway through when there’s even more action than the car crash in the book summary and a wider discussion of the impact of AI on the wider world. I personally enjoy the character development and tension building.

The reason I recommend skipping ahead is so more people access the important themes in this book.

A particularly time-pressed reader could also get a primer on ethics and AI by simply skimming the sections of the book that are excerpts from the philosopher character’s book: Silicon Souls: On the Culpability of Artifical Minds by Lorelei Shaw.

I recommend reading Empire of AI by Karen Hao if you want to dig deeper into the real world impacts of AI technologies and companies. Bruce Holsinger’s novel can be read much more quickly and has the potential to galvanize even casual readers around one of our time’s most pressing technological turning points.

I received a digital advance reader copy from Spiegel & Gray via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a must read, and will result in great discussions for book club. Culpability deals with AI, family secrets, and responsibility after a tragedy.

This is such a thought provoking book that follows a family’s tragedy using a self driving vehicle. What are the ethics/morals of AI. I’m still pondering that after finishing this book. An excellent book club discussion title for our current time.

This book packs a lot into an easy-to-read story, blending family drama with questions of AI ethics. The characters are strong and memorable as they navigate their own human nature in an AI-driven world. Thought-provoking and highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Holsinger once again takes the pulse of current day events, and then unravels them in this modern day family saga.

Meet the Cassidy-Shaw family before and after a horrific car accident in their AI driven autonomous vehicle. Who is at fault? Read this compelling, informative, complex and highly readable novel to find out!

Do you really need to read another review about Oprah’s pick — Culpability by Bruce Holsinger? Here goes. It was a 5-star book for me and I am recommending it to everyone. It’s the story of a family in an autonomous vehicle on their way to a lacrosse tournament when the car gets in an accident that kills two people. (Not a spoiler.). What comes next is a family drama about, yes, culpability, but also so much more. The pace was great and the characters development was just right.

This was my first Bruce Holsinger book & I'm still thinking about it! If you're looking for your next book club book, this is it. So much to discuss! I highly recommend.

This is the third book I’ve read by Bruce Holsinger and it’s unfortunately my least favorite. His other books addressed major issues in such smart and entertaining ways but I felt like this book, addressing the coming dominance of AI, fell short of that standard.
Culpability tells the story of the Shaw family who are in a fatal car crash in an AI vehicle. Everything starts to fall apart for the family so they take a family trip together to try and repair some of the physical, mental and emotional damage of the crash. Too much is happening and it’s sometimes hard to parse exactly this book is trying to say. At times this book read like thoughtful literary fiction and at other times it had thriller/mystery elements and I just don’t think it meshed very well. This book had interesting moments and it was quite propulsive so it definitely was not a total loss. Excellent audio.
Thank you to Netgalley and Spiegel and Grau for an advanced copy of this book.

Two-thirds propulsive family drama about secrets and guilt; one-third reductive, didactic discourse on late-stage capitalism (verdict: bad) and the ethics of AI (verdict: probably also bad). Could have been great if it hadn't kept interrupting itself to lecture. 4 stars, rounded up from 3.5.

It’s been awhile since i’ve read a well done, bingeable family drama novel and this sucked me in from the beginning! It’s mostly a family drama but we also get a bit of a mystery/legal drama and deals with a lot of ethical/moral dilemmas which is always something i find interesting, also modern AI/tech plays a big role here. Go into this not reading too far into the synopsis!

This book had my hooked from the first page! Wow...a fatal car accident, Artifical Intelligence, family secrets, first loves, marital strain, sibling rivalry...this novel has it all, written in the customary gripping, thoughtful way I've come to expect from Bruce Holsinger. As AI becomes more and more of a reality in our world, Holsinger effortlessly makes it a character in Culpability, making his readers stop and thing, "What if???" This story has a lot going on, but every plot line is expertly woven together to make it an impactful, thought-provoking story that sticks with you. Highly recommend!!

Very thought provoking- I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Would make for great discussion. A fantastic family drama.

Remember the movie Fatal Attraction and how it made people think twice about having a fling? Hopefully Culpability will make people think twice about texting and driving!

Beyond the predictable storyline about a privileged family who make some mistakes that end in tragedy, there is a more serious discussion about AI and its ramifications for society.

The ship has sailed on AI for better or worse, and the “warning” from this book is a bit too late. Still, some readers may not yet find their lives impacted and everything in this book will be pretty commonplace for folks in the next couple of years if it isn’t already. So, all of us should be more aware and careful about where we get our information and how we and our society and government are easy pawns of AI.

This is a quick read with few surprises and a predictable storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.