An AMAZON BEST BOOK OF JULY 2021 "A sure-footed, darkly funny, semi-satirical thriller that never misses a beat." --Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editors Book Review
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.
"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 Perotta's suburbanites in a sun-drenched Twin Peaks." Booklist, starred review
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 Greenfield.
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.
"A sharply written, subtly satirical thriller. Vividly sketched characters, escalating stakes, and evocative prose distinguish Michelle Richmond's latest." Publishers Weekly
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
Genre: Mystery
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.
"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 Perotta's suburbanites in a sun-drenched Twin Peaks." Booklist, starred review
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 Greenfield.
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.
"A sharply written, subtly satirical thriller. Vividly sketched characters, escalating stakes, and evocative prose distinguish Michelle Richmond's latest." Publishers Weekly
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
Genre: Mystery
Praise for this book
"A fast-paced, moving exploration of motherhood and money, danger and deception, privilege and pretense...the perfect thinking person's page-turner." - Joshilyn Jackson
"The Wonder Test paints a rich, complex picture of the San Francisco Bay Area that both resonates with its natural beauty and captures the darker aspects of being the extremely privileged cyber capital of the world." - Alice LaPlante
"Explores the underbelly of San Francisco, the pressures of Silicon Valley, and the love between a mother and her teenage son. I was captivated by...FBI agent Lina Connerly, and the plot twists kept me riveted." - Vendela Vida
"Fast-paced and smart, thoughtful and full of heart. I never thought a book could combine the thrilling twists of a Sue Grafton novel and the literary complexity of the best Tana French, but Michelle Richmond has done it." - Amanda Eyre Ward
"The Wonder Test paints a rich, complex picture of the San Francisco Bay Area that both resonates with its natural beauty and captures the darker aspects of being the extremely privileged cyber capital of the world." - Alice LaPlante
"Explores the underbelly of San Francisco, the pressures of Silicon Valley, and the love between a mother and her teenage son. I was captivated by...FBI agent Lina Connerly, and the plot twists kept me riveted." - Vendela Vida
"Fast-paced and smart, thoughtful and full of heart. I never thought a book could combine the thrilling twists of a Sue Grafton novel and the literary complexity of the best Tana French, but Michelle Richmond has done it." - Amanda Eyre Ward
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