This month’s book recommendation, titled Culpability, is as timely as they come. It’s a story that revolves around what happens when a family takes a trip to their son’s field hockey game, traveling in a minivan driven by artificial intelligence. Not only does it sound like it could really happen, the consequences of the choices along the way will make the hair stand up on your neck. It’s an Oprah book club selection, and even the queen of reading herself said that she “was riveted until the very last shocking sentence.” If that doesn’t grab you, nothing will.
Book title: Culpability
Author: Bruce Holsinger
Genre: Psychological Thriller/Suspence
What it’s about (without spoilers):
A suspenseful family drama about moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence.
When the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, seventeen-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 them all in the tragic accident.
During a weeklong recuperation on the Chesapeake Bay, the family confronts the excruciating moral dilemmas triggered by the crash. Noah tries to hold the family together as a seemingly routine police investigation jeopardizes Charlie’s future. Alice and Izzy turn strangely furtive. And 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. When Charlie falls for Monet’s teenaged daughter, the stakes are raised even higher in this propulsive family drama that is also a fascinating exploration of the moral responsibility and ethical consequences of AI.
Culpability explores a world newly shaped by chatbots, autonomous cars, drones, and other nonhuman forces in ways that are thrilling, challenging, and unimaginably provocative.
Why we like it: This book offers a glimpse of what may already be right on the horizon for all of us. As AI becomes part of our everyday lives more and more, this book will make you rethink the ethics and possible benefits and risks of living in the age of ultra smart machines. At its heart, it’s a story about a family, and it’ll keep you guessing until the very end about whether or not this family can stay together. This would be a great pick for book club discussions, too!
What other people say: This book was released in July 2025, and it already has more than 6,900 reviews with a 4.4 out of 5-star rating. Here are a few more quotes from professional reviewers:
“Secrets swirl and the stakes rise in this sharply modern family drama.”—People (“Best New Book”)
“Culpability is the thinking man’s page-turner, absolutely of the moment.”—Newsday
About the author: Bruce Holsinger is the author of Culpability, the 116th selection of Oprah’s Book Club and hailed by Oprah Winfrey as “a must-read for all generations.” His four previous novels include The Gifted School, which won the Colorado Book Award, and The Displacements, the inaugural title in the United Nations Read for Action Book Club. He teaches English at the University of Virginia and is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.