Artificial Selection: A Near-Future Science Fiction Mystery Novel

From the WINNER of the Green Stories Prize.

What do you get if you cross a glitching AI, a streetwise investigator, and a geneticist with a secret?

It’s the year 2101, and half of England is underwater. But society is recovering from the Melt – all thanks to ArkTech, the company that saved the world.

Charlotte Vance is smart, resourceful, and fiercely dedicated to her work. The ArkTech Territory is the only home she’s ever known, and she’ll do anything to keep it safe.

So when Ben, the company’s curious AI with a fondness for dad jokes, asks why a geneticist is stealing pages from library books, Charlotte is happy to help. After all, Ben isn’t just software – he’s her best friend.

But what begins as a routine investigation soon raises deeper questions about Charlotte’s world.

She’s pulled into the orbit of a criminal operation she thought she’d left behind – and what she uncovers forces her to confront an uncomfortable truth about the company she’s always trusted.

An AI, a PI, and a geneticist walk into a library… but the punchline could cost Charlotte everything.

Artificial Selection is fun, intriguing, and ultimately uplifting – the first in a series of smart mysteries for anyone curious enough to ask why.

What Readers Are Saying…

"In the top echelon of near-future storytelling. Looking forward to the next one."

“I loved the world and characters of this book. It felt like a world inhabited by real people with real problems, in a future that is very relatable.”

"That ending? Perfection. It left me feeling hopeful, which is rare these days, isn't it?"

© 2024 Neon Mess Press (Audiobook): 9781917472043

Release date

Audiobook: 28 November 2024