Stacey Abrams

Fiction 2025 | 419 pages

When NPR chose this as one of their books of the year for 2025, and I heard an interview with her, and, having loosely followed her political career as Georgia State Representative and as a candidate for Governor, and then discovering she has written 19 books, I decided I MUST give her a try!

Former Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene is featured in Coded Justice, the third book in a series.  Now working as an internal investigator for a prestigious DC law firm, she is requested to solve a mystery.  Elisha Hibner dies as a result of toxic chemicals in the air system in the lab he shares with two colleagues, O.J. and Isabella. Was it an accident?  Or murder?

These three highly educated scientists/engineers work for Camasca Enterprises, a technology company that uses Artificial Intelligence to revolutionize the medical industry by delivering cutting-edge personalized heath care and pharmaceuticals to veterans in the VA medical system.  The potential is staggering for the advancement of medical care.  But how safe is it?

Coincidentally, on the day I finished Coded Justice, I heard an article on NPR about the current use of AI in medicine. Though it appears we are not nearly as advanced as is hypothesized in this book, the fiction bears witness to what could, and is likely to, occur in the future.  To that end, Coded Justice is a thoughtful and informative read.

Avery and her colleagues, Jared, Ling, and Noah, are brought into this secretive company to investigate from the inside out. At the epicenter of a burgeoning, controversial industry, and with billions of dollars on the line, their task is simple: to determine whether Camasca’s technical troubles and rising body count reveal something sinister at work and what the moral and ethical considerations are beyond the artificial intelligence and medical consequences.

It sounds like an excellent plot!

I like Abrams' writing.  She is clearly smart, uses powerful big words, and writes in a cadence that I might beat a drum to.

And I don't like Abrams' writing.  Almost all of the book takes place in a conference room at Camasca, detailing conversations among Avery, her colleagues, the owners of company, the AI named Milo and Kayak, and others.  She writes in a style that I would call "tell, don't show."  Nothing ever happens!

Until page 316, when something important occurs.  I became quite engaged at this point, but soon Abrams fell back into conversation about what took place, rather than showing us.

I will not be reading other books by Stacey Abrams.  I wish her well in her political career, however!  I am glad to close the cover on this book.  Time to choose another read.  I have ten books waiting for me.  Can I read one each day over the holiday break?  Nah.  Stay tuned right here to find out what I DO read!

December 2025