Today sees the release of Mason Coile’s hi-tech horror thriller, Driven. It follows a man who at the lowest point of his life, discovers that even his self-driving car is out to get him.

Synopsis –

A terrifying locked-room mystery from the author of Exiles and William—this time set in a cutting-edge autonomous car.

Jamie Newcross wants to disappear. His wife and baby girl have abandoned him, and his only wish is to retreat from society. Because, as it turns out, Jamie Newcross is also being haunted. Every house, condo, or apartment he moves into is plagued with ghosts—at the end of the bed or when pulling back the shower curtain. He hasn’t been able to sleep in weeks. 

But Jamie has a plan. He posts queries online and finds someone wanting to get rid of their Lion—the world’s most advanced self-driving car—a sleek, private, contained vessel that is one-hundred percent safe. Or so he thought.  

Because now, Jamie has woken up to the Lion speeding down a dark road, the hood is dented—wait, is that blood?—and the car will not respond, or stop, or let him out.  

As the miles rack up and Jamie becomes increasingly complicit in his car’s choices, he’s forced to face the tragic past he has kept buried. Driven is a taut, near-future fever-dream. Mason Coile delivers another one-sitting read that blends science fiction and psychological horror to explore loneliness, grief, and the things that make us human.

Driven plays on our very real fears about the advancement of technology, and artificial intelligence going rogue. It’s also inspired very overtly by the concerns over automated vehicles at a time when the moral quandaries around this kind of technology are coming to the forefront, as more and more car companies invest in it. If a self-driving vehicle goes rogue, and property is damaged, or people hurt or killed, who is responsible? Driven uses this as a backdrop to tell the story of a man having to come to terms with his crumbling life, past actions, and the mistakes he has made. Telling a story in effectively one confined location allows for a lot of introspection, but is very difficult to do well. It will be interesting to see how well it works here.

Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, Driven is the latest novel from author Mason Coile. His previous work includes psychological horror/cyber noir William, and Mars-set horror-thriller Exiles. Mason Coile is a pseudonym of late Canadian author Andrew Pyper, who sadly lost a battle with cancer in 2025.

At time of writing, Driven has a rating of 3.58 stars on Goodreads from 54 reviews. It is available now in hardcover, and digital formats, as well as audiobook.