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Title details for The Wonder Test by Michelle Richmond - Available

The Wonder Test

A Novel

by Michelle Richmond
ebook
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1 of 1 copy available

A widowed FBI agent grows suspicious of her son’s new school in this thriller by the New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage Pact.
Lina is on leave from her job in New York at the FBI in order to clean out her father’s home in Silicon Valley. As though letting go of her father isn’t hard enough, Lina has also recently lost her husband in a freak traffic accident. Still reeling, she and her teenage son Rory must make their way through this strange new town and the high school around which it all seems to revolve. Rory soon starts coming home with reports of the upcoming “Wonder Test,” a general aptitude assessment that appears increasingly inane, and Lina is shaken out of her grief by a sense that something is amiss in Hillsborough.
When she discovers that a student disappeared last year and was found weeks later walking on a beach, shaved and traumatized, Lina can’t help but be sucked into an impromptu investigation. Another kidnapping hits closer to home and reveals a sinister link between the Wonder Test and the rampant wealth of Silicon Valley’s elite. A searing view of a culture that puts the wellbeing of children at risk for advancement and prestige, and a captivating story of the lengths a mother will go for her son, this is The Wonder Test.
Praise for The Marriage Pact
“A fun, can’t-stop-eating-the-potato-chips kind of premise.” —The New York Times
“A smart, searing and frightening look at modern love.” —Today
“A high-concept, fast-moving thriller . . . a gripping and intriguing read.” —Sunday Mirror

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 6, 2021

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780802158512

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780802158512
      • File size: 1717 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 31, 2021
      Lina Connerly, the narrator of this sharply written, subtly satirical thriller from bestseller Richmond (The Marriage Pact), errs in her work as an FBI foreign counterintelligence agent after her husband dies, prompting a self-imposed leave. New York City is too full of memories, so Lina and her 15-year-old son, Rory, decamp to her recently deceased father’s home in the wealthy Silicon Valley suburb of Greenfield, Calif. Rory enrolls in Greenfield’s posh public high school, whose curriculum revolves around an avant-garde exam called the Wonder Test. Meanwhile, a local cop solicits Lina’s help in ascertaining why teenager Gray Stafford disappeared for two weeks last year, only to turn up naked, bald, and mute on a remote beach. When Rory’s girlfriend goes missing under similar circumstances, Lina and Rory team up to find her before she suffers Gray’s fate. Vividly sketched characters, escalating stakes, and evocative prose distinguish Richmond’s latest, which explores themes of grief and greed. Minor mysteries and assorted absurdities complement the thorny central puzzle, adding texture and tension. Susan Isaacs fans will be well pleased. Agent: Valerie Borchardt, Georges Borchardt.

    • Booklist

      June 1, 2021
      Richmond's latest thriller's light-touch appearance masks a gripping blend of danger and sharp social commentary on high-stakes education, the 1%, and suburban tropes: imagine a coffee date with Lisa Lutz's Spellmans and Tom Perrotta's suburbanites in a sun-drenched Twin Peaks. After her husband's death, FBI Special Agent Lina Connerly abandons the intrigues of her counterterrorism caseload and New York's painful memories, taking her teenage son, Rory, to her suburban San Francisco hometown. In Greenfield, Rory attends one of the nation's most prestigious high schools, renowned for its stellar performance on (and undeniable obsession with) the Wonder Test, an exam designed to predict future success. Ever the investigator, Lina is drawn to a local mystery that Greenfield wants to forget: the unsolved disappearances of several high-school students who later returned traumatized, unable to provide information about their lost days. When Rory's new girlfriend vanishes, Lina dives in, suspecting that disappearances are bound to the Wonder Test. What she doesn't expect is a showdown with a stone-cold killer, a cabal of craven shot-callers among Greenfield's squeaky-clean elite, and a winding path back to espionage. Richmond crafts a satisfying ending, while her gifted storytelling and Lina's compelling self-discovery will spur readers to root for more Lina Connerly adventures.

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Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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