The Human Resource: A Shadow Files Thriller - Rose Sandy - Book 3

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As AI threatens to overshadow human achievement, she strives to uncover what truly separates man from machine.

After waking from a months-long coma in Capri under armed threat, AI prodigy Vienne Washington is forced back into a shadow war tied to her family’s tech empire, ALTUS. A trail from a secretive clinic leads to Tokyo’s mountain hamlets and buried research pointing to Neurosynth, an AI-and-DNA fusion that can manufacture genius at scale. Meanwhile ex-Navy officer Keil Stone uncovers tampered cargo and coded memos linking ALTUS to a covert human-capital pipeline. Together, they must expose a program powerful enough to turn people into “assets”, before it turns on them.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Vienne’s first breath of freedom comes with a fall, leaping from a clinic window in Capri, Italy, seconds ahead of a tactical raid. Her only clue is a warning from Keil: trust no one. The deeper she digs, the more ALTUS’s glossy innovation narrative fractures, from encrypted calls in Canary Wharf to a hush-hush R&D showcase where scientist Kimmy Hara unveils a project that blends machine learning with the human genome.

Keil, once a lawyer and now a naval officer, traces a compromised mission in the East China Sea, and a paper trail of “special cargo,” genetic notes, and memos addressed to ALTUS leadership, pointing to Project Leviathan and the darker core of Neurosynth.

As the UK’s Department of Economic Intelligence closes in, Vienne learns the most explosive secret of all: Neurosynth isn’t just a program she can expose, it’s the architecture of who she is. To stop a market for engineered “super-talent” before it floods the world’s elite boardrooms and black sites, Vienne and Keil must outpace assassins, governments, and a corporation that sees humanity as the ultimate product.

If you love the global puzzles of Daniel Silva, the biotech dread of Michael Crichton, and the velocity of Gregg Hurwitz, this pulse-pounding thriller will keep you reading past midnight.

The Human Resource is a thought-provoking exploration of the ethical dilemmas surrounding artificial intelligence and advanced technology. It raises profound questions about the nature of human intelligence and the consequences of playing God with the most powerful tool in the universe: the human mind.

READER PRAISE

“Relentless and frighteningly plausible. AI, DNA, and power—this thriller has teeth.”
“Vienne Washington is a brilliant, human heroine—equal parts heart and hacker.”
“From Capri to Tokyo to London, the set pieces are cinematic and tense.”
“Smart, emotional, and wildly propulsive—couldn’t put it down.”

Read a book sample here

The Shadow Files Thrillers Reading Order

Book 1: Breaking the Code
Book 2: The Kohinoor Conspiracy
Book 3: The Human Resource
Book 4: Spy in My Bed

MEET THE AUTHOR: ROSE SANDY

Rose Sandy writes adventure thrillers where espionage, cutting-edge tech, and history collide in breakneck plots—often researched in places like the British Library and Churchill’s War Rooms, then filtered through conversations with military and intelligence insiders. Expect conspiracies, global stakes, and a pulse of romance.

TROPES YOU’LL LOVE

AI-meets-DNA conspiracy (Neurosynth)

Corporate espionage & shadow government oversight (DEI)

Former Navy protector / second-chance love

Found family vs. corporate legacy

Secret lab & vault heists; encrypted leaks

“Am I the weapon?” identity reveal

International cat-and-mouse across Europe & Asia

FEATURED LOCATIONS

Capri, Italy — Private Clinic & Escape: Vienne’s high-stakes awakening triggers the first chase.

East China Sea — Submarine Incident: Keil uncovers irregular cargo and the first threads of Leviathan.

London — ALTUS HQ, Canary Wharf: Boardroom power plays, encrypted calls, and R&D showcases.

Tokyo & Shirakawa-go, Japan: A village past unlocks Vienne’s origin and her mother’s hidden research.

Zurich, Switzerland — Vault Archive: Legacy files, life’s work, and the cost of genius.

Monaco — Under-the-floor deals: High-roller fronts for a market in engineered human “resources.”

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