The Passengers by John Marrs

A very clever set up leads to a fantastic thriller full of twists and turns and unexpected moments.

Set in a future not unlike the present where society has come to rely on autonomous cars to the extent that the government is outlawing the use of non autonomous cars; Libby is participating in a jury considering if an autonomous car is responsible for killing some pedestrians or if it was their own fault when someone hacks into the cars and takes control. What follows is a rollercoaster ride where the jury are forced to decide who lives and who dies. This is all made worse by the inevitable online publicity, and a great feature of this book is online snippets that add to the realistic feel of the novel.

The characters are well drawn and there are some great funny moments particularly with the aging actress trapped in a car who has no idea what's going on. I think the author has made great use of his former experiences of writing articles about celebrities!

Whilst this is a really entertaining read, it does also make you think about reliance on technology and how it can encourage snap judgments based on little more than how a person appears and a mob mentality. The inquest where the jury are deciding is attended by an expert who is more excited by the online stats generated by what's happening than by the thought that someone is about to die.

This month the book is 99p on Kindle and would make a great holiday read.