A family’s autonomously driving car crashes into an oncoming car but whose fault is it? Noah, the father is in the passenger seat fully engrossed in his work on his laptop, his 17 year old son is in the “driver’s” seat and his wife (a top AI academic) is in the back also completely in her work. After the accident the family goes away to try and work through their feelings and heal from their physical and emotional injuries (including their two daughters who were also in the car). Each of the 5 family members is keeping a secret that may have led them to contribute to the accident. This novel, almost set up like a complex law school question looks into the new world of technology and how it affects us in every element of our life.


I have so much to say about this book but the short version is I absolutely loved it. I’m a tech lawyer so I almost felt as if this book was written for people like me who love to fiddle with these complex issues. The story is wonderful, the characters and the writing - all great. The audio was well done but I really think I loved being immersed in this one by reading the book. So many complicated current issues are brought up in the novel and done in such an intelligent way. I can see why this is an Oprah pick!

4.5 stars

Thanks you to Spiegel and Grau and NetGalley for the ALC to review

I love a book that really makes you think, and Bruce Holsinger's CULPABILITY delivers. It's not just about the unforeseen consequences and moral dilemmas that arise when a family gets in a fatal accident in a self-driving car; it's about all the ways we look the other way when danger lies ahead—in our jobs, in our relationships, and when our own priorities are on the line. Culpability is more than just a title; it's a theme that arises in every character arc—from the father riddled with guilt and worry to the teenager who still has a lot of growing up to do to the child who is fed up with being a lonely, overlooked passenger. I could not think of a more timely novel to recommend. This one will stay with me for a long time.

This was a complex and layered family drama that explores the ethics and morality of AI and what the potential consequences might be as society comes to depend on it more and more. Told through alternating perspectives we get to know a family of five as they take their AI self-driving car to a lake house only for there to be a terrible accident in which two people are killed. What follows in the aftermath is how this incident affects each of the family members differently. I thought it was okay on audio (I didn't love the narrators) and didn't really connect with the characters much either. The parents seem to leave their kids on their own a lot, allowing them to make a series of poor choices. That said, I think the themes the book explores are important ones and I can see why it was chosen for the Oprah Book Club. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book hasn't left my brain, even though I finished it almost a month ago. I knew I would compare it constantly to Version Control (Blake Crouch), which I also refer to constantly whenever a discussion of AI and self-driving cars arises. Now I have another novel in my arsenal, ready to discuss the strengths and limitations of the technology. I really enjoyed all of the perspectives presented in this novel, from the father to the mother's research to the daughter's chat sessions (also loved the variety of narrators used). I thought it was a fascinating way to tell the story, and I got so sucked into the drama of the family and their adventures in Chesapeake Bay. What a compulsively readable novel. This was definitely a contemporary-classic, modern-family novel that I could see being pointed to as one of the defining family-relations books of our generation, a la The Corrections. I couldn't tell where this was headed from the start of the book, but I loved going into it with absolutely no expectations. It spiked my anxiety quite a bit, but I did love how the whole thing played out. And I REALLY loved the discussions of and looks into AI and how it's not the impeccable technology that many seem to think it. We need to take all of this with a large grain of salt, knowing that AI is only a technology that does as it's programmed. And that human fallibility is always a factor.

This book is messy. Both as a family drama and an Artificial Intelligence genre. It dapples in both and tries to tie them together in a way that makes a reader both cringe and not look away.

Short synopsis: family of 5 with son at the wheel driving an AI mini van that crashes into a Honda resulting in 2 deaths. The book takes off from there as the pieces drop between the family’s voices. Both AI conversations with the daughter and the father’s insecurities.

Honestly, all of the 5 in the family (ok, maybe not Izzy) , annoyed me.
Mom Lorelai: brilliant and yet detached.
Son Charlie: honestly can one responsible adult actually get the kid some help? Red flags every where dealing with the trauma but everyone is too self indulged to notice.
Daughter Alice: finds a friend in AI chat. Aka a bot is her friend. Her own mental health is screaming quietly while (again) no one notices.

This kind of shocks me but might be the first Oprah book pick in recent times that didn’t grip me the way they usually do.

It was a like for me . Not a love.

BUT the audio was what kept me going 👍🏻

Oprah picked a good one this month, book friends! I’ve throughly enjoyed every single Bruce Holsinger novel I’ve ever picked up as his books are always so unique and well thought out. I also appreciate how he continuously writes about relevant and timely topics that I’m interested in learning more about. His latest, CULPABILITY checks all of those boxes and then some.

QUICK SYNOPSIS:
“𝘈 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦.”

Sure, I found the AI aspect quite fascinating, but the intense family drama is what really made this novel a winner for me. Surprise, surprise, right? We all know how much I love to read about families. Holsinger describes and dissects family dynamics, marriage, and parenthood wonderfully. Throw in the exploration of morals, ethics, responsibilities, and consequences with a summery setting on the Chesapeake Bay and you have yourself an entertaining summer read! I couldn’t put it down! 4/5 solid stars for Culpability! It’s out now!

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

This was an enjoyable audiobook that centers around a family and the positive and negative effects AI can realistically have on your life. That smart TV is great, but when the smart driving feature on your minivan doesn't work properly, who is to blame?

Amazing book club pick.

Honestly the shining star of CULPABILITY for me is the way it stretched my thinking about AI, especially as it's ever more prevalent in our daily lives (whether we've asked for that or not!).

A family of five is traveling to a high school lacrosse tournament when their autonomous vehicle gets in an accident. Who's at fault? How do they all make sense of what happened? And how do they move forward?

I did feel like it peaked in the middle, and the main character wasn't my favorite to follow around, but I'd still recommend this one to anyone intrigued by the synopsis. Note the audiobook is excellently narrated by Stacy Carolan and January LaVoy.

In-depth and engaging exploration of the ethical ecosystem of AI expansion. The author deftly navigates and illuminates the nuance implicit in using algorithms to solve the problems of human error. Characters were likewise nuanced... likable and infinitely human in the myriad ways that parents and teenagers always are.

"Culpability" by Bruce Holsinger follows the Cassidy-Shaw family—Noah, Lorelei, Charlie, Izzy, and Alice—as they navigate the emotional and ethical fallout of a tragic accident involving their self-driving van. This thought-provoking page-turner is told through three distinct and compelling perspectives: the present-day narrative of the accident and its consequences, Lorelei’s academic paper excerpts, and Alice’s chat logs with her AI therapist. Each point of view is fascinating and layered, adding real depth to the story.

This book made me think deeply about how AI is reshaping our world—how we depend on it, how it can help us, and how it can quietly influence or even control us. The audiobook was incredibly well done; the narrators were talented, expressive, and kept me fully engaged with their varied voices and tone.

The story is emotional, suspenseful, and rich with ethical complexity. The twist at the end truly shocked me, and I appreciated finally understanding the true cause of the accident. "Culpability" stayed with me long after finishing—it had me constantly asking what I would do in the characters’ place. I highly recommend it.

I give this book a 4.5/5

*** Thank you to Spotify Audiobooks and NetGalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was fortunate to receive copies of Culpability by Bruce Holsinger in both ebook and audiobook format and enjoyed it in both forms. The Cassidy-Shaw family is on their way to their son's lacrosse game with their teen son Charlie behind the wheel of their autonomous vehicle. The entire family of 5 is on their electronics when their van strikes a vehicle in the oncoming lane, killing both occupants. Who is to blame? Did the other car veer into their lane? Is Charlie responsible because he wasn't fully attentive while "driving"? Should his dad be held accountable because he was sending work memos instead of monitoring Charlie's driving? As the story unfolds, we see the ways in which each family member may be culpable.

This is a timely story, focusing not only on artificial intelligence but also on politics, the power of the wealthy, and the pervasive influence of technology on all of us, especially our children.

Thanks to Spiegel & Grau, Spotify Audiobooks, and NetGalley for review copies of Culpability.

Very different from my usual reads but this book had me hooked. It kicks off with a fatal accident involving a self-driving car, and from there, it turns into this tangled web of guilt and secrets,

The Cassidy-Shaw family is at the center of it: Charlie, the 17-year-old behind the wheel, his parents (one of whom happens to be an AI ethicist), and his two younger sisters who might be hiding more than we think. The book is narrated by the dad, which worked for the most part. He’s introspective and self-conscious in a way that adds emotional weight but I definitely would’ve loved hearing from the other family members, especially with all the secrecy and tension bubbling under the surface.

Plot-wise, it’s fast. Cliffhangers, revelations, and a vacation house on the Chesapeake Bay where everything sort of spirals further out of control. And while the symbolism is sometimes a little too on-the-nose for me, and the ending didn’t quite land for me I still loved it. I couldn’t stop reading. I loved how the book incorporated these big questions about AI, agency, and moral responsibility, and even though the characters occasionally felt like plot devices, the story moves. It’s messy, unsettling, and totally conversation-worthy.

If you’re looking for a smart summer read that’s part domestic drama, part tech thriller, this one’s for you

Wow, what a fascinating book! This is a story about the ways in which AI is infiltrating our world, but also a complicated family drama. I found myself engaged in it quickly and couldn’t wait to see how it all played out. There are some unexpected twists that I loved, and overall it is timely, thoughtful, and compelling. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to provide an honest review.

Culpability is a great family drama that delves into ethics and artificial intelligence. It’s a cautionary tale that raises a multitude of questions regarding AI in many different applications. I’m now honestly terrified of where we are headed.

The character development of Lorelei is wonderful and I fully understood her motivations and reactions to events in this novel. I would have liked to see the same level of development with the rest of the main characters in the story.

The performances by the two narrators are excellent and added greatly to the novel.

Highly recommend

Happy Pub Week and much gratitude to @spotify @netgalley & @spiegelandgrau for the #gifted 𝑪𝑼𝑳𝑷𝑨𝑩𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑻𝒀 𝒃𝒚 𝑩𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓, narrated by the incomparable @januarylavoy & equally fantastic Stacy Carolan.

This story is a truly fascinating look at the rise of AI and complicated nature of personal responsibility within it, all wrapped up in a family trauma that includes sibling dynamics, marriage, and parenthood.

I don't know what else it could have had to make this better. It was outstanding.

I was immediately drawn to the issue of the title with growing AI influences. The way this was explored with the nuance of a brilliant woman, Lorelei, who researches and develops AI felt beautifully and authentically done. The fact that she is a parent to the boy who is in the driver's seat when her daughter screams and the car crashes into another, killing the other passengers, adds to the complexity.

The family all have reasons to believe the accident was in part, their fault and they all grapple with this trauma in different ways, some using AI in the process. This infusion of technology is unavoidable as they continue their vacation, and the police their investigation, in a smart house near a billionaire AI entrepreneur, which brings yet another layer. Lorelai's writing peppers the book giving a pause that articulates many of the moral and ethical philosophies that must be scrutinized.

There is just so much to unpack here, that it is no wonder it is an oprahsbookclub choice. This is my first @bruceholsingerauthor book, but rest assured, I am now in the fan club. The dual narration was so easy to follow and allowed a seemless transition between the multiple perspectives. I still may need this on my shelf, however!

I’m only at 30%, but loving Culpability so far. This would make an excellent book club book.

At 57%, not my usual read. Really captivated with this book.

Finished. Once I started reading Culpability, I was hooked. The bulk of the story is told by the father (who was in the passenger seat), his 17 year old son is in the driver seat ... but AI was driving the car. There is an accident and the father and son escape injury. The two sisters in the backseat are injured. The 14 year old sister has very short chapters, where she is usually communicating with someone. The mother is genius level and short chapters from a study. Again ... this will be an awesome book club book, as it will provoke a lot of discussion.

Narration by Narrated by Stacy Carolan and January LaVoy was very good.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher (Spiegel & Grau by Spotify Audiobooks) for approving my request to read the advance copy of Culpability in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is July 2025 and released this week. Approx 10 hr and 21 min.

This one is probably going to be my favorite thriller of the year even though it's not a conventional one! I was so intrigued by the story and absolutely loved the thoughts Holsinger conveyed from AI ethics to privileges. I found it to be great on audio!

Charlie is behind the wheel when the Cassidy-Shaws self driving vehicle is in an accident. While his dad was in the passenger seat, he was working on his laptop, while his sisters played on their phone in the back seat and mom worked. Each member of the family has a secret that led to the crash. With technology as involved as it is, will their secrets be revealed? Charlie’s future is now at stake, so the family heads to the Chesapeake for a week, but everyone seems extra on edge…

So I started this book on audio and was really loving it so I bought the physical book. Now, it could just be me, but I ended up sticking with the audio because I really loved it in that format! The physical cover is so gorgeous though so I will just have to own two copies of this one! I was immediately engrossed in the story, and I liked that it spoke to the use of AI without it being shoved down your throat too much if that makes sense? It’s a large part of the story, but I think sometimes books can feel too heavy handed in discussing one side or the other when it comes to AI use.I think this book would be the perfect bookclub choice since it leaves so much room for discussion, though I won’t go into it here to avoid spoilers! This book leaves you with a ton to think about, it is certainly one that will stick with me for a long time after reading.

Thank you to @spiegelandgrau for my gifted copy of this book!

What an interesting read that questions our world today and the technologies we live with. The family drama was enjoyable and I loved the mysteries involved as well. The main character was a little unlikable and I wish there could have been a little bit more background before the story began.

I finished this with complicated feelings—mostly on purpose, I think. Culpability is smart, timely, and full of sharp commentary, but it’s also slippery in ways that kept me both intrigued and frustrated. Most of the story unfolds through Noah’s perspective, and to be honest, I never fully warmed to him. His version of self-awareness often felt like a performance—like he wanted credit for noticing his own blind spots without actually changing much. That said, I think that was part of the point. He’s the “scaffolding,” as he calls himself—forever holding up the brilliance of others, but rarely taking a hard look at the power and privilege that gave him that role in the first place.

There’s so much here about parenting, marriage, class, race, technology, and responsibility. Some of the most gripping scenes—especially between Noah and Detective Morrissey—cut through all the rationalizations and force a real reckoning. The final stretch of the book is tense and emotionally charged, and I appreciated how Holsinger doesn’t offer easy answers.

This would be a phenomenal book club pick. It’s the kind of novel that makes you want to talk back to the characters and hash things out with a friend over coffee. Even when I didn’t love being inside Noah’s head, I never stopped thinking. And honestly, that might be the most generous thing I can say about a book.

Thank you to Spiegel & Grau for the gifted ebook and audiobook.