The Deepest Fake
Published on 29. July 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-1-6680-3253-4 (ISBN)
Description
Instant Bestseller
From internationally bestselling author Daniel Kalla, whose thrillers are "impossible to put down" (Amy Stuart, #1 bestselling author of Death at the Party), comes a razor-sharp psychological thriller about a CEO whose carefully curated life is falling apart. His wife is cheating, someone is stealing from his AI company, and he's just been handed a fatal diagnosis. He'd end it all, if only he could trust his own reality.
Liam Hirsch has it all-a loving family, a thriving career as CEO of an AI company, financial security, and a bright future. But when he's diagnosed with a terminal illness, just weeks after discovering his wife's infidelity, his perfect life unravels. As he grapples with his fate, he prepares to face his final days on his own terms.
However, unexplained events inside his company make him question everything-including his diagnosis. In a world of deepfake videos, synthetic voices, and digital deception, couldn't these technologies be weaponized against him? What if nothing is as it seems?
With time running out, Liam turns to Andrea DeWalt, a private investigator contending with her own feelings of betrayal, to help him uncover a conspiracy that threatens his life, his family, and their future. In a world where nothing is as it seems and every digital footprint can be manipulated, who can Liam trust?
From internationally bestselling author Daniel Kalla, whose thrillers are "impossible to put down" (Amy Stuart, #1 bestselling author of Death at the Party), comes a razor-sharp psychological thriller about a CEO whose carefully curated life is falling apart. His wife is cheating, someone is stealing from his AI company, and he's just been handed a fatal diagnosis. He'd end it all, if only he could trust his own reality.
Liam Hirsch has it all-a loving family, a thriving career as CEO of an AI company, financial security, and a bright future. But when he's diagnosed with a terminal illness, just weeks after discovering his wife's infidelity, his perfect life unravels. As he grapples with his fate, he prepares to face his final days on his own terms.
However, unexplained events inside his company make him question everything-including his diagnosis. In a world of deepfake videos, synthetic voices, and digital deception, couldn't these technologies be weaponized against him? What if nothing is as it seems?
With time running out, Liam turns to Andrea DeWalt, a private investigator contending with her own feelings of betrayal, to help him uncover a conspiracy that threatens his life, his family, and their future. In a world where nothing is as it seems and every digital footprint can be manipulated, who can Liam trust?
Reviews / Votes
"Kalla mines contemporary anxieties about technology for a shocking and emotionally satisfying tale that continually defies expectations. It's a stunner."- Publishers Weekly "Kalla mines contemporary anxieties about technology for a shocking and emotionally satisfying tale that continually defies expectations. It's a stunner."
- Publishers Weekly "...a gripping read that presents readers with fascinating yet disturbing questions."
- The BC Review
"This is an excellent character-driven novel, with how the effects of AI can alter things for a person. With twists and turns, you get emotionally invested in the story. A great summer beach read."
- Red Carpet Crash "[Kalla] has never been better than in this poignant, nail-biting techno-thriller set in Washington State. . . [He] mines contemporary anxieties about technology for a shocking and emotionally satisfying tale that continually defies expectations. It's a stunner."
- Publishers Weekly, starred review "A relentless thriller that uncovers the unsettling ways AI invades our most secure spaces. Haunting and thought-provoking."
- ROBYN HARDING, #1 bestselling author of The Haters "When Liam Hirsch finds his life under attack on multiple fronts, he realizes he can trust no one, not even the novel, untested AI that he created. A gripping thriller-you won't be able to look away."
- SHARI LAPENA, #1 bestselling author of She Didn't See It Coming "A propulsive thriller with memorable characters and jaw-dropping twists, exposing the pervasive dangers of AI. Unputdownable!"
- PIP DRYSDALE, bestselling author of The Close-Up and The Strangers We Know
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 225 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
344 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-6680-3253-4 (9781668032534)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Daniel Kalla is an internationally bestselling author of many novels, including Fit to Die, The Darkness in the Light, Lost Immunity, The Last High, and We All Fall Down. Kalla practices emergency medicine in Vancouver, British Columbia. Visit him at DanielKalla.com or follow him on Twitter @DanielKalla.