Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

This book is a HUGE hit right now, but not with me!

Preachy, predictable and not well-written. I understand its popularity right now. We need a "feel good" book about human beings who are caring and thoughtful and philanthropic. But this book didn't do it for me.  

Preachy, with flat characters whose behaviors were entirely predictable. I kept waiting for something to happen, and it took at least 3/4 of the book before it did. 

In my book club, more than half of them LOVED it and the other half were not fans. I was the most vociferous critic and felt guilty not liking this book based on what it did for them. I was almost afraid to voice my opinion, but once I did, I was on a rant.

Culpability by Bruce Holsinger

 

This was a very engaging book and a timely one.  It deals with AI and its impact on our lives.  The story begins as a family of five embark on a car trip and the son, who is driving, is using the self-driving feature of the family car and gets in an accident. The accident kills the two people in the other car, but their family members all survive, some with injuries.
Who is responsible for this accident?
From Amazon: 

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.

Lots of moral issues are brought up in the book. The wife, Lorelei, is an expert in the field of AI and there are sections that captured my attention, bringing up real consequences and moral dilemmas of AI in society. Some of the plot twists were unnecessary, I thought, but to make it makes the book more readable.