The Duplicate

A Thriller

Published by Diversion Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

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About the Book

For fans of Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter comes a near-future thriller about identity, conspiracy, and what it truly means to be human.

What if the prime suspect in your murder isn’t human at all, but an AI clone?

Joe Redmond awakens to find a dead man in his Silicon Valley home, but the corpse is no stranger. The body stiffening on the bed is… himself?

Not exactly. The Joe who discovers the remains is a Dub—a sentient digital duplicate built to embody the thoughts, memories, and personality of the original Dr. Joe Redmond. They are identical in mind, appearance, and memory, except that Dub Joe can remember nothing from the past 24 hours. With gunshot residue on his hand and a legal system that can’t decide if Joe is a murderer or even a person at all, it’s up to Dub Joe to prove his innocence and save his company.

Trapped between a legal system that denies his humanity and a corporate conspiracy that wants him deleted, Joe must navigate the blurred lines of a world where memories can be hacked and identity is just another line of code.

About the Author

Keith Raffel has long operated at the high-stakes intersection of politics, technology, and academia. As counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee, he oversaw the secret programs of the CIA, NSA, and other three-letter agencies. He later pivoted to Silicon Valley, where he founded a pioneering internet startup before heading to Harvard University. As a resident scholar there, he’s kept busy advising undergraduates, teaching tech ethics, and writing both fiction and nonfiction. Called “one of our smartest contemporary thriller authors,” Keith writes with a keen eye for power, influence, and human motive. The bestselling author of five other novels, he splits his time between Palo Alto, California, and the Harvard campus.

Series with Books by the Author

Product Details

  • Publisher: Diversion Books (March 23, 2027)
  • Length: 304 pages
  • ISBN13: 9798895152720

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Raves and Reviews

Praise for The Duplicate:

"Mind-bending, thought-provoking, and absolutely riveting. Here’s what proves The Duplicate is such a terrific book: I will never look at the world the same way again. Only a true insider like the oh-so-talented Keith Raffel  could create such a total immersion thriller—it’s smart, it’s savvy, it's super-sinister, and makes timely and complex concepts totally entertaining. And even heartbreaking. Calling Hollywood, this is your next blockbuster!"
—Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author

"We are fast approaching a time when artificial intelligence can copy the memories and personality that make us who we are. What happens when a digital duplicate claims the same identity and rights as their biological original? Keith Raffel explores this future with imagination and a storyteller's gift for suspense. The Duplicate is an edge-of-your-seat thriller propelled by technology that could be here the day after tomorrow."
—Ray Kurzweil, AI pioneer and New York Times bestselling author of The Singularity Is Nearer

"Is it a thriller? It's fast-paced and suspense-filled, from the shocking first scene right to the final page. But is it something more? It's an insider's look into the board rooms of Silicon Valley, where grand strategies are born and petty political fights fester. More importantly, it confronts one of the biggest questions of our time—what happens when the machines start acting human? So, should you read it?  Read it tonight. You won't sleep until you're done."
—William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of Back Bay and December '41

Praise for Keith Raffel:

“A murder mystery worthy of a Steve Jobs keynote presentation.”
—The New York Times on Dot Dead

“Take a taut roller coaster ride in Smasher behind Silicon Valley’s doors. Hold on and prepare to stay up all night.”
—Cara Black, bestselling author of the Aimée Leduc series and Three Hours in Paris

“Intriguing, intense, and with such an insider’s knowledge of the war on terror that I’m surprised it’s not classified. Sinister, scary, and heart-stoppingly realistic—this is a gem of a thriller!”
—Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author, on Drop by Drop

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