The Deepest Fake

Canadian physician and novelist Kalla (High Society) has never been better than in this poignant, nail-biting techno-thriller set in Washington State. Tech CEO Liam Hirsch has just received a terminal diagnosis of ALS. To make matters worse, Andrea DeWalt, the PI he hired to surveil his wife, Celeste, recently came back with photos showing Celeste in bed with another man. The double barrel of bad news comes as Liam’s company, TranScend, is preparing to launch a new app called TheirStory— nicknamed “Séance AI”—which allows users to create an avatar of a dead relative that mimics their speech and thought patterns. Liam pushes his team to finish the product before he dies, but as the deadline approaches, he notices discrepancies in TranScend’s finances that cause him to question his employees’ integrity. Gradually, he grows paranoid that everything in his life, down to his ALS diagnosis, might be the work of AI. For solace, he strikes up an unlikely relationship with Andrea, who’s grieving the death of her father. Kalla mines contemporary anxieties about technology for a shocking and emotionally satisfying tale that continually defies expectations. It’s a stunner. Agents: Samantha Haywood and Carolyn Forde, Transatlantic Literary. (July)