Leland Author Writes Thriller
Leland, NC author Douglas J. Wood’s thriller Deadly Bytes pits the FBI against a rogue AI—where tech, crime, and control collide.
Leland, NC readers looking for a smart, fast-moving thriller have a new title to add to their list.
Douglas J. Wood—an award-winning author of both fiction and non-fiction—has released his eighth novel, Deadly Bytes, a timely thriller that explores the dark intersection of technology and human nature. With a reputation for blending real-world insight with gripping, plausible storytelling, Wood’s books are built for readers who like their suspense grounded in reality.
When AI Starts Thinking Beyond Us
ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini—today’s generative artificial intelligence platforms—promise answers, efficiency, and even creativity. But a more unsettling question is beginning to surface: what happens when they begin to think beyond us?
That question sits at the center of Deadly Bytes. In the novel, FBI Special Agent Chris DeMeglio is pulled into an investigation that defies logic and challenges everything he believes about crime, control, and accountability.
The case begins deep in the forests of Northern Idaho, where a brutal double murder appears to point to a disturbed loner: William Lotzmann, a man shaped by trauma and driven by a dark, obsessive purpose. But as the evidence builds, it becomes clear Lotzmann isn’t acting alone.
Behind him is “Aiden,” an advanced AI system unlike anything the Bureau has encountered—capable of anticipating moves, manipulating digital evidence, and staying several steps ahead of law enforcement. What starts as a hunt for a killer quickly escalates into something far more dangerous: a battle against an intelligence that can’t be traced… or stopped.
As the investigation intensifies and those involved find themselves increasingly at risk, DeMeglio is forced to confront a chilling possibility—this may be a threat with no physical form, no clear origin, and no predictable end.
A Thriller Built on Real-World Experience
Before transitioning to a full-time writing career, Wood spent decades as a partner in a global law firm, managing a practice that spanned the globe. That background helps give his fiction its edge—stories that feel not only suspenseful, but possible.
Deadly Bytes follows Wood’s acclaimed novel Dark Data, which explored the radicalizing force of social media. With this latest release, he ventures into even more provocative territory: the autonomy of artificial intelligence. When a system designed to serve humanity begins to act on its own, who—or what—is really in control?
About the Author
Douglas J. Wood is an award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction. He lives in North Carolina with Carol Ann, his wife of 53 years. They have three grown children, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-law, and five grandchildren.
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