I’m among the seemingly large number of people who find the whole topic of AI to be…what? Confusing? Frightening? Nonsensical? All of the above? For most of my life, I’ve turned to books to help me understand the world, so I was happy to have the opportunity to read and review Bruce Holsinger’s novel Culpability from Spiegel and Grau and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. In addition to the promising blurb I saw early on, the fact that it was good enough to be chosen as Oprah’s July 2025 selection seemed to make it a promising read.

Lorelei Shaw is one of those tech geniuses who operates in a world most of us just don’t get: A PHD student when she met her future husband, she was working on a dual doctorate in Engineering and philosophy at the University of Chicago. Her specialty was what would come to be called the ethics of artificial intelligence. She is married to Noah Cassidy, an attorney who recognizes his wife’s intellectual superiority (although sometimes he is puzzled by her statements, such as “a family is like an algorithm”). They have three children: Charlie, 17, and his two “tweenage” sisters, Izzy and Alice. The family is on its way to a lacrosse meet in their “SensTrek” minivan, with Charlie behind the wheel. Rolling along in autonomous mode, something goes terribly wrong and they are involved in a horrific crash that kills an elderly couple in the other car. The police begin an investigation to find out what exactly happened and who is actually at fault – the minivan or Charlie.

After the crash, the family goes for a needed getaway where they try in varying ways to deal with their reactions to the crash. The investigation threatens Charlie’s future, Noah and Lorelei are clearly struggling, and both Alice and Izzy become insular and somewhat furtive. (There is quite a bit of “dialogue” between Alice and a chatbot who becomes her confidante, and it’s fascinating to consider the ways AI can impact human relationships).Weirdly, an Elon-like tech mogul from the mansion next door seems to have some kind of mysterious history with Lorelei, and he also has a teenage daughter who instantly captures Charlie’s attention. So, teenage romance? Possible infidelity?

Culpability is both a complex family drama and a gripping mystery. With its well-developed characters and challenging look at the ways AI is beginning to impact our lives and the possibilities for how society and human interactions might be changed as a result, the questions raised by the advent of chatbots, drones, driverless cars, etc. combine with the family secrets that are slowly revealed involving pretty much every character.

I really enjoyed learning about AI and considering some of the arguments for and against its use. The characters are multi-dimensional (for example, Lorelei is both a genius and a woman plagued by anxiety and OCD. As for the question of who is responsible for the deaths in the crash, it is made clear that “Artificial intelligence confronts us with the problem of distributed culpability…A strict division between human and machine culpability is quickly becoming untenable…both legal and ethical frameworks must evolve to address this novel, intricate web of agency and accountability. Failure to adapt our frameworks risks ethical disarray, misassigned blame, and ultimately a kind of moral haziness that is already having a corrosive effect on our society.” And finally, “We must always take responsibility for our own mistakes. Yet in this new age of intelligent machines, we must also take responsibility for theirs.”

It’s gripping, thought-provoking, and incredibly readable. A great mixture of enjoyable escapist reading and unsettling views of the changes happening faster than we can comprehend. I loved it. Five stars.

I enjoyed this book and it made me think about AI and it's impact on society.I think the message was made clearer and more accessible by the story of real people and real situations.

I could not put this down. Noah, Lorelei and their 3 children are involved in a deadly accident with their autonomous vehicle. Their 17 year old son was driving or “monitoring”. An elderly couple in the oncoming vehicle are killed. Who or what is culpable? What are the moral and ethical issues? Certainly a novel for today.

Overall an interesting look into the ethics of scientific advancement, and of AI in particular. The focus on the consequences each family member felt after the accident highlighted how deep the issues run. However, I didn't feel connected to any of the characters, and I found myself strongly disliking Noah as the story went on, especially in relation to how he views his wife. Yes, he's supportive of her work, but the way he describes her "disorder" and how he hides things from her comes across, at times, more condescending than understanding. But the writing was great, with some unexpectedly beautiful sentences, and I was eager to see where the story would end up.

The story starts with a car accident involving a self-driving vehicle, and from there, Holsinger peels back the layers of a complex family entangled in secrets and blame. The central question lingers: who’s truly at fault, the human or AI?

While the plot revolves around questions of technological culpability, at its core, this is a family story, shaped by the consequences of the accident. Holsinger excels at portraying each character's emotional and psychological toll from the accident. I especially loved the layered and complex father-son relationship between Noah and Charlie. I often read stories involving mother-daughter dynamics, but father-son stories like this one are rarer for me.

I also loved the unique touches: the mother’s thesis excerpts and Alice’s chatbot conversations. These added depth and a modern edge to the story. The character development was excellent, the plot carefully woven—and just when I thought I had connected all the dots, Holsinger hit me with a twist I didn’t see coming.

Verdict: 👍 Mysterious, suspenseful, and filled with ethical tension!! I found Culpability to be a genuine page-turner that borders on thriller territory with lots of ethical and moral questions to think about. Perfect pick for a book club.

Thank you to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This was a really good book that kept you guessing until the end.

It's the end of summer and Noah Cassidy and Lorelei Shaw are on their way to a lacrosse meet in Delaware with their two tween daughters, Alice and Izzy, and 18-year-old Charlie. Charlie is in the driver's seat, his father is in the passenger seat, and the rest of the family are in the back seat of their SensTrek minivan. The vehicle is in autonomous mode but something goes awry and they crash into another vehicle, killing the elderly couple in the other car. All five members of their Cassidy-Shaw family come out of the accident alive with some minor injuries, but they are heartbroken for the family of the couple who died. The police launch an investigation into the crash to find out what really happened and just who is at fault - the van or Charlie.

So begins a thrilling mystery and moral dilemma rolled into one. AI is such a hot topic right now and I really enjoyed learning about the arguments against and for its use. The characters were very well-developed and so was the plot. I also liked the book's accurate portrayal of Lorelei's anxiety and OCD.

A completely unputdownable book that I read in one day.

4.5 stars

@spiegelandgrau | #gifted Some of you may have heard me say on a recent podcast episode that I wasn’t reading ANY books that had to do with AI. I’m here today to eat my words. I definitely planned on avoiding books about AI, but I found that impossible to do when the author was Bruce Holsinger with his latest book, 𝗖𝗨𝗟𝗣𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬.⁣
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This is the story of the Cassidy/Shaw family riding in their auto-driving mini-van when a rapid turn of events causes a fatal car accident. The two killed were in the other car, and the guilt of it all lives inside the hearts of all five members of the family. Even as they try to tell themselves nothing could be done, there is an abundance of guilt to share.⁣
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Within this story there’s a lot about the increasing variety of AI commonly used. In all honesty, that was a little scary. Holsinger tempered that with a deep dive into the moral responsibilities of using and/or relying on AI. It’s not going away, so when something goes wrong, just who is culpable for the damage it causes? That, obviously, is the true theme of this book. The word “culpability” comes up over and over, really hammering in that point. That angle of this being a family story worked surprisingly well for me as did the characters themselves. There were a few parts that were a stretch and I feel like the last 10-20% was a bit too much, but the majority of 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 was a win for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I recalled The Displacements and how much I liked it, so I settled in expecting the same from Culpability. Maybe I'm just not the audience for this though. The AI discussion sounded so promising, but I felt myself losing interest practically from the first page. Even the "exciting" parts, such as the accident itself, came across as boring to me. I think the right reader will enjoy it though. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

This is a book that really makes you think, no matter your opinion on AI. It does a good job of showing both sides, the dangerous and the helpful, as well as the intentions of those who program it. I like that it doesn’t give an ultimate opinion, just presents scenarios for the reader to think about.

This was such a compelling and timely read. I’ll admit—I was a little nervous the AI angle might feel dry or overly technical, but this book was anything but. It’s a true page-turner with a gripping family story at its core.

The plot centers around a family of five who experience a traumatic car accident while riding in their self-driving car. What follows is a thoughtful, layered exploration of blame and responsibility: Is it the fault of the car? The system? The people? As the family retreats to a beach house to regroup before their oldest heads off to college, the story unfolds into a mix of family drama, legal questions, emotional examination and kept secrets.

I really appreciated how realistic the family dynamics felt—especially the tension and love between the parents and their teenagers. The stress of balancing careers, a marriage, and parenting teens felt authentic and relatable.

What I found especially ingenious was the way the book sprinkled in real-world ways AI and automation touch our daily lives, and then deepened that with fictional papers or essays written by one of the main characters. Those pieces felt thought-provoking and well-integrated—surprisingly engaging for “academic” writing.

If I had one critique, it would be that the book maybe tried to do a bit too much. A couple of the dramatic events felt like a stretch, especially since the majority of the story takes place over just one week. It didn’t ruin the experience, but I found myself thinking a little less might’ve been more.

That said, I think Culpability is an important read. It raises big questions about the ethical and moral implications of AI, responsibility in the age of automation, and what it means to be human in a world increasingly run by tech. Highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This is the kind of book you finish but don’t stop thinking about. It’s so timely and relevant, sure to be a buzzy read.

A family of five is on their way to a lacrosse tournament with 17 year old Charlie behind the wheel of their autonomous car. When a fatal crash happens everyone harbors some sort of guilt regarding who’s to blame for the accident. Charlie? The self driving vehicle? His distracted parents? I had a hard time putting this one down!

This was a fascinating look into AI’s ethical impact. Whether or not we like it, it’s here and will only become more prevalent. Now how do we deal with it? This would make for a great book club discussion!

Thank you @spiegelandgrau and @netgalley for this advanced e-read.

⭐️ 4.5/5

The book starts off strong and tosses you along with the what if theory. The middle drags a bit but the ending is solid and asks many questions. The perfect summer read for book clubs.

Overall, a great read about a subject that is entering so many facets of our lives: AI.

Although this is a fictional situation, it represents issues we may be encountering in the future, if things like self-driving cars become more mainstream.

The crux of the story takes place when a family of 5 is in a self-driving car, a 17year old in the driver's seat, Dad busy on his computer next to him, and the remaining family members busy on their devices. A sister in the back of the car screams as an passing car veers slightly over the line, causing the brother (who was not paying attention) to grab the wheel and instinctively drastically change the direction of the car's path. This causes a severe head-on collision, killing the occupants of the other car. Crux of the story: is anyone at fault for these fatalities? If so, who? And why?

Novel includes several excerpts written by a fictional expert on the subject of teaching AI how to make ethical and morally acceptable decisions in split second situations. For me, these passages were some of the best parts of the book: really digging into the ethical decisions which are being made, and will continue to be made, as AI seeps into more aspects of our lives.

Wow! Oprah and I have our pulse on the same book! How exciting. As a fan of Bruce Holsinger's previous novels, I was thrilled to receive and ARC of his latest novel. This one proved to be an exciting family drama which explores the difficult question of the moral and ethical dilemmas of AI powered world. Noah, a successful attorney with a significant inferiority complex and Lorelai, his genuis academic wife and their three kids are on a trip headed to their eldest son's final lacrosse tournament before he starts at UNC. Seemingly out of nowhere, their AI car rams into another oncoming vehicle and causes the death of the elderly couple inside. Charles their seventeen year old son is in the driver seat but has the auto assist drive on.. Noah is in the front passenger seat, seemingly paying attention to his son's driving while he continues to work on work memos. Loralei is in the back also continuing to work. Who is responsible for accident? The novel deftly nagivates the culpability of all those involved- the teenaged driver, the parents, and the AI system. These dilemmas and the overall consequences of an AI driven work was where the book really shined, The plot was propulsive and kept me engaged the entire time. The character development was where is felt short for me. I truly disliked all of the characters in this book. I think that Mr. Holsinger overall characterization of the affluent family and all or their accoutrements and entitlement was handles well. We all know people like this ( maybe some of us are people like this!) Noah seemed equally resentful and in awe of his genuis wife. Loralei, I just could not stand at all. She seemed so self important and clueless at the same time. The dysfunctionalities of their marriage and lack of communication was characterized very well. However, I do not think that any of the kids or their parents were fully developed for me to truly care about any of them. I appreciated the moral dilemmas and arguments but the characters and their lack of fleshing out left me not really caring about what happened to them. There were timely and complex issues addressed while weaving together a compelling story. Highly recommend this easy, fast paced read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Seventeen year old Charlie is driving the family to his lacrosse championship. Charlie is tall, handsome and a talented athlete that will play at UNC in the fall. The family’s autonomous minivan is involved in a horrific accident when Charlie veers slightly as an oncoming car begins to cross the line. His father Noah, a lawyer, is sitting in the front passenger seat working on his laptop and his two teenage sisters are in the back with the mom, Lorelei. The passengers in the oncoming car are killed and while the Cassidy-Shaw family recuperates physically they are faced with an impossible moral dilemma that is slowly tearing them apart. Noah and Lorelei decide to end the summer with a trip, and it is there besides the sparkling lake that secrets reveal themselves and each of them must be accounted for. Was Charlie “driving” if the car is autonomous? Can you be on your phone, lap top, otherwise engaged if you are sitting in the “driver’s seat”? Would the AI technology have saved them at the last second if he didn’t grab the wheel? As we adapt to our new world of AI technology and realize that our human instincts cannot be ignored, who is at fault? There is a lot to unpack here and it’s almost too much family drama at once to wrap my head around. Overall, this book is a well written page turner and a great summer read!

I have loved all of Holsinger’s books and this was no exception. This book left me dying to discuss ethics and morality and implications with the future and technology and he writes in a way that makes it accessible and entertaining.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC!

Culpability poses a compelling central question—what happens to human responsibility in an increasingly AI-driven world? It’s a timely premise and one that had me intrigued from the start. But while the big ideas are there, the execution left something to be desired.

The characters often talk about Washington, D.C. in a way that feels oddly stilted, like they’re reading from a tour brochure instead of actually living there. And for a story that hinges so much on legal and ethical consequences, it’s baffling how long it takes anyone to get a lawyer. When Noah finally does, everyone reacts like it’s some massive betrayal—even though he’s supposed to be an attorney himself?

As for the characters themselves… it’s slim pickings. I don’t mind unlikable characters—in fact, I often love them—but these ones don’t have enough complexity to make them interesting. They’re not sharp enough to be antiheroes or messy enough to feel real. Just kind of flat.

Interesting themes, frustrating choices, and characters that could’ve used a lot more depth.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was a thought-provoking and timely read. I appreciated the ethical questions it raised about AI and the increasing reliance on phones and electronic devices to live our lives.

3.5 Definitely appreciate the direction and stance this took in bringing up ethics and morality in the new age of AI. The more we get/learn about the accident, the more complex this all becomes. Who is responsible when AI errs? As humans, is it our responsibility to notice and correct? Is it the fault of the person who helped develop the AI? Is it truly a get out of jail free card, as some think?

There is a lot to ponder here, but ultimately I didn’t fully connect with the characters and felt the writing was a little dry at times. I like Holsinger for the moral dilemmas he writes into his stories, though, and will continue to read what he puts out.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a clever slow burn suspense! It was propulsive enough to keep me turning pages and wrapped up well. Highly recommend!