I wake up in a sunburn-bright seaside town with salt on my skin, bruises I can’t explain—and a dead man in the water. Everyone wants a simple story: the cops want a suspect, a viral filmmaker wants a spectacle, and I want the truth… because the whole night feels like déjà vu.

As my memories return in jagged flashes, I realize I’m not just chasing a killer—I’m chasing a decision I made, and the powerful people who made sure I’d forget it. When the trail leads to a beloved local donor and a coercive “protocol” designed to erase inconvenient truths, the case turns personal: the café owner helping me may be tied to a disappearance I once tried to stop.

Forgetting was the deal.

Remembering is the threat.

Three seconds. That’s all it takes for the justice system to decide your fate.

In a near-future world governed by code, every arrest feeds an AI called Mercy—a machine that judges guilt with the precision of math and the absence of empathy. Detective Aria Novak once believed in its perfection. Until she finds a name in the database that should never have appeared: her own.

When Mercy flags her for “moral deviation,” Aria must uncover who tampered with the algorithm before it erases her life—and the lives of thousands more. Her investigation exposes hidden deals between lawmakers, data brokers, and a shadow network rewriting justice itself.

As cities burn over automated verdicts, Aria races through encrypted corridors and digital ghosts to answer one question:
Can mercy exist in a system built for efficiency?

The Algorithm of Mercy is a taut, near-future thriller about technology, accountability, and the fragile code that defines right from wrong. Perfect for fans of Blake Crouch, Neal Stephenson, and Black Mirror-style suspense.