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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

🤷🏻‍♀️Who is responsible for the accident? The automated car? The person who yelled a warning? The passengers absorbed in work? The person behind the wheel? - and in life, when we keep secrets, or withhold facts to avoid confrontation - who are we really protecting?

💫Culpability pulls you into this family drama and asks all this and more. This book will have you examining some of the choices we make in life - and also exploring the bigger questions - who takes responsibility when a life is lost? And - how are the tangled webs of AI changing relationship dynamics?

📕 This read grabbed me from the start and wouldn’t let go. I’m still thinking of the questions this book raises - to which there is no clear answer. Not every character is likable - their flaws are on display and anchor into the plot of this story. This is not a lighthearted read! Recommended for those who like to explore the tangled webs of family systems and what makes them tick, and the clogs in the wheel that can make them unravel.

📣 It’s easy to see why this book was chosen as an Oprah Bookclub pick for this month! Congratulations @bruceholsingerauthor !

🙏Thank you to NetGalley, Spiegel & Grau, and author Bruce Holsinger for an advanced copy of this e-book.

➡️Don’t miss the @oprahpodcast episode about this book!

Culpability by Bruce Holsinger is a very interesting combination of current technology (Artificial Intelligence) and timeless concepts such as grief, morality, family dynamics, marriage, and the privileges of the ultra-rich. The author cleverly includes excerpts from a position paper on AI to add facts and philosophical points.

A snapshot: a family of five is driving to a sports event when the unthinkable happens - there's a horrible crash and people die. This occurs early and the rest of the novel unspools from that event.

This would be an excellent book club book as it includes many discussable topics. I'm not sure how the plot will endure as tech rapidly advances, but it will be an interesting time capsule if nothing else.

I'll be thinking about Culpability and its implications for quite some time. Thank you to Spiegel & Grau for sharing a review copy with me.

Culpability by excellent novelist deals with complex concepts currently at play in society. In this instance, a family is out driving their AI vehicle when one of the family members disengages the AI to prevent an accident. Unfortunately, two people are killed, and an entire debate arises from the questions of artificial intelligence versus traditional driving and whether, indeed, artificial intelligence is beneficial. While Capability is not a typical mystery, it still contains the elements that make it an engaging book that should be read. Responsibility and culpability may be synonyms for each other, that is, for the reader to decide. In this book, we are privileged to listen in as one family member, the father, contemplates and cogitates over fault, responsibility, and the central question of AI and its inherent value to society. Culpability is a book anybody who has pondered the question of artificial intelligence, and its utility and/or its intrinsic values to individuals and society, should read.

I was captivated by the exploration of this family's inner dynamics. Holsinger skillfully delves into the complexities of loving our family while pursuing our individual passions. Although I've tried to avoid dwelling on AI, as it feels inevitable, I found value in examining it more thoroughly through this fictional narrative.

This all too real, yet fictional work explores the important question- if we create AI, are we responsible for the downfall of these mechanisms when they don’t work? Are we too reliant on the technology created by man to the point where we deny culpability of our own actions?

The Shaw family of 5 explores the very real consequences of their AI guided SUV disconnecting from auto-drive on a trip where their eldest son Charlie is caught texting and “driving.” But if everyone else in the car was also distracted, who is really at fault? While we explore the family dynamic thoroughly in this book, we also get a closer look at the applications of these complex algorithms that are not too far-fetched in real life today.

I appreciated the technical explanations and ethics discussions of this book, while also yearning for more legal aspects of AI. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A car accident that kills an elderly couple begins this family drama that centers around the ethics of Artificial Intelligence. This is going to be a popular book with lots to discuss. Older teens should like this as well.