// FILE 001 — BOOK ONE OF THE FRICTION SERIES
FRICTION
A literary surveillance thriller by L. P. McCue
A dockworker is denied entry for a “behavioral anomaly.” Nobody can explain what he did. The system has already decided.
// RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 9, 2026 — KINDLE PRE-ORDER OPEN
Paperback and hardcover available for purchase on October 9.
// CASE FILE
About the book
A Coast Guard officer investigates a predictive security system after a dockworker is denied access for a “behavioral anomaly.” What he uncovers is a hidden network of billionaires, algorithms, blackmail, and modern technology quietly transforming society into a managed system where freedom still exists — but only for the privileged.
No one on the dock can say what the man did wrong. There is no charge to answer and no person to appeal to, only a score and a closed gate. FRICTION starts with that small, ordinary injustice and follows it upward, to the people who build the systems and the people who own them.
"1984 meets Eyes Wide Shut with the technological paranoia of Black Mirror."
// WHAT THE FILE CONTAINS
What FRICTION is about
Predictive security
A system that doesn’t wait for a crime. It scores behavior, flags anomalies, and acts before anyone can ask why.
Algorithmic control
When the decision belongs to a model, nobody is accountable for it, and the people it judges are left with no one to argue with.
Power in plain sight
Billionaires, blackmail, and technology that quietly reorganizes a society around who gets to move freely.
Freedom as privilege
Freedom still exists in this world. It has just become something you qualify for.
// PROFILE MATCH
For readers of 1984 and fans of Black Mirror
FRICTION is for readers who like their thrillers with an idea underneath: the surveillance of 1984, the near-future unease of Black Mirror, the tech-company paranoia of novels like The Circle, and the sense, from Eyes Wide Shut, that a hidden class of powerful people plays by its own rules.
It is a slow-burn literary thriller rather than a gadget-driven techno-thriller. The setting is close to the present, and the systems in it are ones you have already met. If you have ever been flagged, scored, denied, or kept waiting by something that would not tell you why, you will recognize this world.
Looking for more books in this vein? Start with my list of surveillance horror books about being watched.
// VISUAL RECORD 001
Watch the FRICTION trailer
// AVAILABILITY
Formats and release date
| Format | Status |
|---|---|
| Kindle eBook | Pre-order on Amazon now · delivers October 9, 2026 |
| Paperback | On sale October 9, 2026 |
| Hardcover | On sale October 9, 2026 |
// QUERIES
Questions about FRICTION
When does FRICTION come out?
FRICTION releases on October 9, 2026. The Kindle edition is available to pre-order on Amazon now; the paperback and hardcover go on sale on release day.
What kind of book is FRICTION?
A literary surveillance thriller with light horror: a slow-burn, near-present story about predictive security systems, algorithmic control, and the people who profit when a machine decides who is a risk.
Is FRICTION part of a series?
Yes. FRICTION is book one of The FRICTION Series. The sequel, COMPATIBILITY, is in progress.
Can I read a sample of FRICTION?
Yes. The opening chapter is free at lpmccue.com/chapter-one. Enter your email, confirm the code, and the sample opens straight away.
Is this the same book as Sandra Brown’s Friction?
No. FRICTION by L. P. McCue (2026) is a different, unrelated novel: a surveillance thriller about algorithmic control. Sandra Brown’s Friction (2015) is a separate romantic suspense novel.
// SUBJECT FILE
About the author
L. P. McCue writes literary thrillers for the age of algorithmic control: stories about surveillance, institutional power, and what happens when systems built to protect us start deciding who we are. FRICTION is his debut novel. Read the full author dossier →
Also in progress: COMPATIBILITY, the FRICTION sequel, and THE EXEMPTION, a political thriller.
// ACCESS REQUEST
Start reading FRICTION
Releases October 9, 2026 · Kindle, paperback and hardcover