Reviews - Culpability | The StoryGraph

416 reviews for:

Culpability

Bruce Holsinger

4.0 AVERAGE

lilcoop71's review against another edition

3.75

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mendy3's review against another edition

3.5

mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

broookecoveney's review

3.0

mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

deirdrez's review against another edition

2.5

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: N/A

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

The Plot was there to serve the agenda (to explore ethics of AI) and was therefore weak and a bit dull.

bookmarkedbybecky's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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.