What if a video goes viral showing you committing a crime? You’re innocent but how do you defend yourself when a million people on social media saw you do it. Once the court of public opinion finds you guilty, can you get a fair trial?

That’s the premise for Deep Fake Double Down, the eighth novel in my Tawny Lindholm Thriller series.

As a mystery/suspense/thriller author, I felt compelled to explore what happens when you can no longer believe what you see. How could deep fakes be used to create false evidence?

Deep fakes are often called “Photoshop on Steroids” and they frequently make news. Using software, video of real people is manipulated to make them say words they never said and do acts they never did.

Some recent examples of deep fakes are silly entertainment, like the Pope wearing a satin Balenciaga puffer coat.

But, in the wrong hands, deep fake technology becomes a weapon that can potentially affect world history. One not-so-amusing example was a fraudulent video in 2022 of the Ukrainian president ordering his troops to surrender to the Russians. In May 2023, a photo of a supposed explosion at the Pentagon caused stock market jitters before it was determined to be fake.

When I first began researching the topic a couple of years ago, deep fakes were difficult and time-consuming to create, yet fairly easy to detect. But, during the nine months when I was writing Deep Fake Double Down, technology took a giant leap forward. Now anyone with basic computer knowledge can download free or low-cost programs from the net. Then simply record a few seconds of a person’s face, body, movements, and voice, and you can create a video clone that’s nearly impossible to distinguish from the real person.

Scary? You bet!

In my new thriller, deep fakes mean deep trouble for intrepid investigator Tawny Lindholm and her charismatic attorney-husband Tillman Rosenbaum. A biracial female corrections officer begs them for help after video shows her aiding a young Native inmate in a prison escape. She swears she’s innocent and claims her life is in danger because she witnessed a murder. Then she disappears.

At the same time, Tillman’s troubled teenage son makes a deep fake video of his own kidnapping, but that prank takes an unexpected and frightening turn.

In both situations, Tawny and Tillman discover deep fake technology creates convincing but false evidence. While they struggle to save their client and their son, hidden enemies are ready to kill to keep the truth buried. Will deep fakes lead to real deaths?

Deep Fake Double Down is available from online retailers at this link: https://books2read.com/deep-fake-double-down

Or ask your favorite independent bookstore to order the paperback.

Debbie Burke is an award-winning journalist, crime novelist, freelance editor, and blogger on The Kill Zone. She writes from her home in Montana where the scenic, rugged Rocky Mountains offer plenty of locations to kill people…on the page, that is! 

Please visit https://debbieburkewriter.com to learn about my other books in the Tawny Lindholm Thriller series. Join my readers group and receive a FREE bonus short story about Tawny and Tillman.

Email: debbieburkewriter@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @burke_writer