SPORE

One man finds being a guinea pig to be a surprisingly dangerous endeavor in Kristoph’s thriller.

John Harmon’s “sleeping problems” include insomnia and night terrors, and they’ve intensified in the last few months. 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’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. A potential lawsuit presents an additional financial burden for John and his wife, Maria, whose young daughter, Annabelle, is undergoing leukemia treatments. So when Randy suggests that John fill in for an applicant who dropped out of a four-week NeuroDyne sleep study, he agrees. Sure, it requires John to use a false name, but the pay is substantial, and it may even cure his sleep issues. 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. But a series of endurance and coordination tests, coupled with injections of a glowing blue liquid, initially have positive effects. Then John gets sick, and it’s quickly apparent that the doctors have no intention of letting him go home. Even more alarming is the origin of the blue liquid—and its intended purpose.

Kristoph, the author of Bathed in Light (2016), among other books, aptly establishes John’s home life and growing despair. Maria is understandably frustrated by the family’s monetary woes, but she, as well as Annabelle and her sibling, Gerry, remain endearing throughout. 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. The author introduces more characters as the story progresses, starting with fellow study participants Jennifer Swedenborg and Bill Jackson, both of whom are sympathetic. As the story becomes delightfully more complex, Kristoph tells it from the perspectives of various other characters, including neuropsychologist Susan Kendricks. Kristoph’s keen but easygoing prose makes the scientific exposition not only engaging, but also convincingly realistic. As the tension rises for John, readers learn shocking information that he doesn’t know. It all leads to a final act that’s frantic and violent and a sharp, truly unforgettable denouement. 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. 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.

A wholly absorbing and often creepy tale of the dark side of scientific research.