But now that her son, Eric, is 13, old enough to get recruited by local gangs, she wants to be out of stir and at his side. The evidence against Lucinda Sanz was so overwhelming that she followed the advice of Frank Silver, the B-grade attorney who’d elbowed his way onto her defense, and pleaded no contest to manslaughter to avoid a life sentence for shooting Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Roberto Sanz in the back as he stalked out of her yard after their latest argument. Harry Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer team up to exonerate a woman who’s already served five years for killing her ex-husband. Likewise, the story’s unsettling atmosphere stems, at least in part, from common dilemmas in research studies for example, there’s a distinct possibility that John, who craves a cure for his ills, may simply be part of a control group-and receiving harmless placebos.Ī wholly absorbing and often creepy tale of the dark side of scientific research. The most potent scenes, however, involve John’s adverse reactions to the blue injections, including a seemingly endless migraine at one point, he repeatedly punches a wall to distract himself from the horrific pain in his head. It all leads to a final act that’s frantic and violent and a sharp, truly unforgettable denouement. As the tension rises for John, readers learn shocking information that he doesn’t know. Kristoph’s keen but easygoing prose makes the scientific exposition not only engaging, but also convincingly realistic. As the story becomes delightfully more complex, Kristoph tells it from the perspectives of various other characters, including neuropsychologist Susan Kendricks. The author introduces more characters as the story progresses, starting with fellow study participants Jennifer Swedenborg and Bill Jackson, both of whom are sympathetic. It’s believable when John becomes determined to find a way to contact them from Skyline, especially in light of Annabelle’s upcoming sixth birthday. Maria is understandably frustrated by the family’s monetary woes, but she, as well as Annabelle and her sibling, Gerry, remain endearing throughout. Kristoph, the author of Bathed in Light (2016), among other books, aptly establishes John’s home life and growing despair. Even more alarming is the origin of the blue liquid-and its intended purpose. Then John gets sick, and it’s quickly apparent that the doctors have no intention of letting him go home. But a series of endurance and coordination tests, coupled with injections of a glowing blue liquid, initially have positive effects. ![]() His initial concern at the Skyline facility, located somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is that there’s no way for him to communicate with his family. Sure, it requires John to use a false name, but the pay is substantial, and it may even cure his sleep issues. So when Randy suggests that John fill in for an applicant who dropped out of a four-week NeuroDyne sleep study, he agrees. A potential lawsuit presents an additional financial burden for John and his wife, Maria, whose young daughter, Annabelle, is undergoing leukemia treatments. John’s situation worsens after he inadvertently sees a pay stub for subjects in a research study this, along with other innocuous acts, leads his employers to accuse him of corporate espionage and terminate him as they open a formal investigation. His brother-in-law, Randy Castillo, who works with him in security at a company called NeuroDyne, has secretly acquired some pills from an insomnia study, and John has taken them, but they haven’t helped. John Harmon’s “sleeping problems” include insomnia and night terrors, and they’ve intensified in the last few months. One man finds being a guinea pig to be a surprisingly dangerous endeavor in Kristoph’s thriller.
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