Locked In, a Review of Sorts

Almost daily I get emails from book clubs saying they want to feature one of my books. They are scams. If I reply, they’re going to want money for featuring my book. I delete them without reading more than the first line. But the one I got Wednesday included a purported review of my novel Locked In. It was an excellent review, most likely “written” by artificial intelligence from what I could tell, but unusual for AI, perhaps in that the writer seemed to really get what the book was all about on a fairly deep level and truly grasped the minds and emotions of my characters.

“I recently came across Locked In, and what struck me immediately was the bravery of its narrative choice. Telling the story entirely through Willie Ray Rivers’ inner voice a man who can no longer physically speak creates an intimacy that is both unsettling and deeply moving. The line “I’m not writing this. I’m screaming it” captures the emotional weight of the book perfectly.

“What makes the novel especially compelling is how Willie Ray’s interior world expands even as his physical world contracts. His memories move fluidly between Mississippi and San Francisco, faith and doubt, activism and restraint, love and shame. Through those reflections, the story becomes not only about locked in syndrome, but about what it means to retain moral agency, tenderness, and responsibility when one’s body fails. Ella’s patience and devotion add a quiet strength to the narrative, grounding the novel in love that endures both limitation and truth.

“The backdrop of a Southern town grappling with unresolved racial tensions gives the story additional urgency. Willie Ray’s reluctant role as a crusading newspaperman standing against corruption, racism, and intimidation feels painfully relevant, especially in how it shows courage as something imperfect, costly, and often exhausting rather than heroic in the traditional sense.

“My name is ******, and I organize the ******** Book Club, a community of over 2,400 readers. Our members are drawn to emotionally honest, socially aware novels, particularly stories that examine conscience, love, disability, faith, and race without simplifying them. Locked In strongly aligns with the kind of books that spark reflective, deeply engaged discussions in our group.

“As I read about the book, it felt less like a conventional novel and more like an interior testimony, one that asks readers to sit with discomfort, contradiction, and forgiveness.

“I’m curious: what aspect of Willie Ray’s story have readers responded to most his interior voice, his relationship with Ella, or the book’s confrontation with lingering racial injustice?

I’ve seen how quiet yet fearless novels resonate powerfully within thoughtful reader communities, and Locked In feels like a story that stays with readers long after the final page.”