Part social thriller, part modern love story, Who Knows You by Heart is a sly, witty, and endlessly discussable tale of Big Tech, new money, relationships, race, and discovering what’s real in an age of artificial intelligence. Octavia Crenshaw, a Jamaican-American coder living in Manhattan, is broke, burned out, and haunted by her parents’ deaths. Desperate to pay off some debts, she ditches her nonprofit job for a high-paying gig at Eustachian Inc., a Big Tech company that specializes in audio entertainment. Language, communication, human connection—these are the markets Eustachian wants to revolutionize...and dominate. Octavia finds herself swept up in the world of the Tech Titans, with its lure of instant riches and its seemingly limitless future. But as one of Eustachian’s very few Black employees, Octavia is uncomfortably aware of things that seem to escape her coworkers: unexplained tech glitches, cryptic remarks, a mysterious secret floor in the corporation’s gleaming headquarters. But she sets her suspicions aside when she’s recruited by another Black coder—the infuriating but attractive Walcott—to collaborate on a secret project code-named Zion. Zion is a new kind of AI-powered storytelling, one that’s programmed to be free from the racist and sexist biases that plague other AI products. Zion could launch Eustachian into a bold new future and make its developers super rich while righting all kinds of injustices. Octavia and Walcott’s excitement over their creation sets off romantic sparks between the two of them, until they discover a toxic secret about their employer—something that they can’t unlearn, or overlook, but must overcome.
Who Knows You by Heart: A Novel by C.J. Farley
Publication Date: November 11, 2025
Pages: 288
Add on: Goodreads
Rating: ★★★½
Source: Edelweiss
Genre: Fiction / Thrillers / Technological
Publisher: William Morrow / HarperCollinsREVIEW
C.J. Farley’s Who Knows You by Heart drops readers into the pulsing heart of Manhattan, where Octavia Crenshaw, a Jamaican-American coder, juggles debt, burnout, and the ghost of her parents’ absence. When a chatbot she’s building unintentionally spills her coworkers’ secrets, Octavia is thrust into a crisis that’s part thriller, part social satire. Suddenly, she’s navigating the murky waters of privacy, Big Tech, and the blurred lines of modern relationships.
Octavia is the book’s anchor, vivid, flawed, and fiercely real. She’s haunted, yes, but also determined to carve out a place for herself. The supporting cast, while sometimes less fleshed out, acts as a sharp reflection of the novel’s questions about race, identity, and the double-bind of innovation.
Farley’s background as a journalist shines through in his tight, witty prose and razor-sharp social commentary. He takes big swings at the ethics of AI and the commodification of personal data, but he never loses sight of the story’s emotional core. The book moves fast, balancing suspense with moments that land like gut punches.
Octavia’s choices aren’t always easy to watch, but her evolution feels honest. There are a few rushed resolutions and some side characters who could use more dimension, but the novel’s energy and insight carry it through.
At its best, Who Knows You by Heart is both a gripping read and a spark for deeper conversations, perfect for anyone fascinated by the complexities where technology, relationships, and identity intersect.
