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Bruce Holsinger, author of Culpability

When the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, 17-year-old Charlie is in the driver’s seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun. In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while their mother, Lorelei, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, is absorbed in her work. Yet each family member harbors a secret, implicating each of them in the accident. During a weeklong recuperation on the Chesapeake Bay, the family confronts the excruciating moral dilemmas triggered by the crash. But Lorelei’s odd behavior tugs at Noah’s suspicions that there is a darker truth behind the incident --- suspicions heightened by the sudden intrusion of Daniel Monet, a tech mogul whose mysterious history with Lorelei hints at betrayal.

Culpability by Bruce Holsinger

July 2025

CULPABILITY by Bruce Holsinger is a brilliant look at a family that is involved in an accident in their autonomously driven minivan. The collision kills an elderly couple and sends their car down a cliff. It seems that it’s not just the vehicle that behaved badly here, as each person in the family has his or her own reason for feeling guilty about what happened. Charlie was behind the wheel, and his father, Noah, was writing an email beside him. In the back seat were Noah’s wife, Lorelei, who was working on a project, and their two daughters, Alice and Izzy, who were on their phones.

To recover from the accident, both emotionally and physically, the family rents a home for a week on the Chesapeake Bay. It is right across the bay from a compound-size property (with its own heliport) that is owned by tech pioneer Daniel Monet, who is very passionate about AI. Charlie meets Daniel’s daughter, Eurydice, and they go off on adventures on the water, including one that will put them in jeopardy.