Synopsis

The most dangerous lies are the ones that use the truth to sell themselves.

Medical treatment determined by artificial intelligence could do more than make Hope Kestrel’s career. It could revolutionize healthcare.

What the Seattle surgeon doesn’t know is the AI has a hidden fatal flaw, and the people covering it up will stop at nothing to dominate the world’s healthcare — and its profits. Soon, Hope is made the scapegoat for a patient’s death, and only Jacie Stone, a gifted intern with a knack for computer science, is willing to help search for the truth.

But her patient’s death is only the tip of the conspiracy’s iceberg. The Director, Marah Maddox, is plotting a use for the AI far outside the ethical bounds of her physician’s oath. A staggering plan capable of reducing human lives to their DNA code, redefining the concepts of sickness and health, and delivering the power of life and death decisions into the hands of those behind the AI.

Even if the algorithm accidentally discards some who are treatable in order to make that happen…

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Praise

“I’ve been waiting for a book like this: a full-frontal assault on the dangers of artificial intelligence and the failures of our mangled health care system, all wrapped up in a clever, ripping thriller. Jennifer Lycette is an author to watch.” — Rob Hart, author of The Paradox Hotel

“In her debut, Lycette explores the darkest realities about the healthcare system and what generations of the near future could potentially face if power shifts to the wrong hands. Perhaps even more gripping is how she delves into the ways grief can shape someone, causing them to make questionable decisions in the name of redemption. With nuanced characters and a truly terrifying premise, The Algorithm Will See You Now is an ambitious debut that delivers.”— Heather Levy, author of Anthony nominated Walking Through Needles

“Both tense and topical, The Algorithm Will See You Now is a meticulously researched and deeply informed novel about the perils of where healthcare is likely heading, and the agonizing human costs involved. There are no easy decisions here, and Lycette paints a wonderfully complex portrait in an exciting debut.” — E.A. Aymar, author of No Home For Killers

“Full of intrigue and smart thrills, The Algorithm Will See You Now is a incisive vision of a tech-driven future, amping up the contemporary horrors of our healthcare system to the extreme. Lycette’s mastery of the medical field shines through, and her empathetic storytelling invites us to examine where we are headed and how we treat each other as human beings.” — Victor Manibo, author of The Sleepless

“An AI is putting profit over life. And patients are dying. The Algorithm Will See You Now is a tense, terrifying ride that dives into prescient themes of power, control, and the corruption of Big Medicine. Here’s your wake up call. This disturbing future is closer than you think.” — L.P. Styles, author of The Molecule Thief

Review

If you are into conspiracy theories regarding the government, this might be a book of interest to you. It delves into the world where AI makes the medical decisions on whether a person will receive treatment for a deadly disease, like cancer, based on DNA and whether AI thinks that it can be cured.

This type of book is one of my favorites; it takes real-world scenarios and gives it a twist. While reading this book, I felt like this could potentially be happening already in our world. Maybe not AI making decisions regarding our healthcare, but how insurance companies do make decisions on whether to approve treatments or procedures based on their own criteria. This takes it a step further. This story also reflected the greed that is seen by healthcare and others with no regard for those that use their services. This may be futuristic, but I felt like this is what we might see today.

But beyond this aspect of the book, there is one woman’s quest to improve the situation. Hope is brilliant and offers a lot to the healthcare system that she works for. However, certain secrets come out, and it destroys her beliefs. She must make a decision on how to handle this turn and what it will mean for her professionally should she buck the system.

There will be characters that you dislike right off the bat and others that you will empathize with. One character, Jacie, took some time to like. I felt like her character was all over the highway in the beginning, and I didn’t understand her role until later.

This story played to my distrust of some entities in deciding what was best for me. It also encouraged me to continue to stand up for what is right and to now be swayed.

We give this book 5 paws up.

About the Author

Jennifer / JL Lycette is a novelist, award-winning essayist, rural physician, wife, and mother. She has a degree in biochemistry from the University of San Francisco and attained her medical degree at the University of Washington. Mid-career, she discovered narrative medicine in her path back from physician burnout and has been writing ever since. Her essays can be found in Intima, NEJM, JAMA and other journals; at Doximity and Medscape; and her website. She is an alumna of the 2019 Pitch Wars Mentoring program. Her other published speculative fiction can be found in the anthology And If That Mockingbird Don’t Sing: Parenting Stories Gone Speculative (Alternating Current Press). The Algorithm Will See You Now (Black Rose Writing Press) is her first novel.

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