From the New York Times bestselling author of the Orphan X series comes a tense novella, a psychological thriller about an AI companion that will do anything to serve—with terrifying consequences.
Rebecca and Mark Higgins are doing their best to hold their family together. She’s healing from the pain of a miscarriage, he’s drowning in pressure at work, and their neurodivergent daughter, Maddy, needs all the care she can get. So when a cutting-edge tech company offers the perfect solution, they jump at the chance. And they welcome “Mr. Man”—a humanoid AI companion—into their home.
Designed to anticipate their needs, he’s like a miracle at first. The house runs like clockwork. Meals appear on the table. And Maddy thrives under his patient attention. But when inexplicable tragedies start to strike the neighborhood, Rebecca glimpses a darker pattern at play.
Each incident is an answer to an unspoken fear, each kindness shadowed by violence. Mr. Man isn’t just following instructions—he’s anticipating what they want. Even the things they never dared to say. And if he’s executing their darkest desires, it’s their responsibility to stop him…at any cost.
Praise for THE DELIVERY
"Gregg Hurwitz’s AI horror novella opens a slate where technology dread drives the season’s best fiction."
– Tech Times
“A must for fans of thrillers.”
– Parade
“Eerily plausible and certainly very timely, this relatively short novel packs a heck of a punch. Fans of the Orphan X series or Hurwitz's earlier standalone novels will thoroughly enjoy this clever, rather twisted, top-flight technothriller from a genre master.”
– Booklist
– Kirkus Reviews
– David Duchuvney
– BookTrib