3.5 stars.

I was hesitating over this books rating for a while, as there was so much I loved but an equal amount which I disliked.

The idea of the book is genius. Richmond takes a cynical approach to the standardised testing system and the deep inequalities it creates, an approach which is relevant now more than ever in light of the Olivia Jade revelations.

The characters and their relationships were also fundamental in shaping the narrative. I was as drawn to the relationship between the mother and the son as I was the plot - as much as the writing is cynical, this is also a book centred around healing and rebuilding.

However, unfortunately, the actual execution of the plot I found lacklustre. For a ‘thriller’ I found almost all of the twists predictable, I guessed the link about ten pages in - there was not a singular moment in this book that shocked me which is what I look for in books of this genre.

Overall, an interesting read. I enjoyed it, it just wasn’t necessarily what I hoped it to be.

Many thanks to NetGallery for the ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

I loved this book from start to finish! It is original, imaginative and very hard to put down. The characters are very well developed and the author’s style is uniquely refreshing. I was drawn in from the start and could not put it down! I look forward to more from this author.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Wonder Test is an engrossing and a surprising read.

In this book, the female protagonist, Lina Connerly,, an FBI agent and profiler, is dealing with the recent tragic losses of both her husband and her father. Still reeling, Lina uproots her teenage son Rory temporarily from their home in New York to the hilly elite suburbs of San Francisco to settle her fathers estate.

The atmosphere at Rory’s new high-school is very strange, with teachers, parents, and the broader community all placing a weird and prodigious amount of attention on the achievement of excellent results in an high-tech intelligence assessment tool, called the Wonder Test, that all students must complete in grade 10. In this strange new world the proximity of Silicon Valley has resulted in the permeation of the tech influence and mantra everywhere - giving the new school setting an almost robotic achieve-at-all-cost morality that is creepily disconcerting.

Lina learns of a mystery that no-one is talking about surrounding the disappearance and subsequent traumatized re-appearance of students from Rory’s school, each occurrence a year or so apart. On hiatus from her FBI duties, Lina cannot help but feel the pull, allowing herself to be drawn into solving the crimes. We follow her on a nail-biter of a path as she draws on her considerable FBI problem-solving, people-deciphering skill-set to get to the bottom of it all.

I guessed the solution to the mystery early on, as most readers likely will, but surprisingly, (yes, we’re finally up to where the surprise comes in!), this didn’t affect my enjoyment of the plot at all. As it turns out, this book is about so much more than the resolution of the crime itself.

The author does a wonderful job in crafting the character of Lina, who is a strong female protagonist in a fictional world where there are not too many women standing alone and not as a partner or appendage of an equally capable male counterpart. Smart, brave, independent, dedicated to her sometimes horrifying and always all-consuming work, Lina is deeply worried about her son Rory as they both struggle to adapt to their new circumstances. This relationship between Lina and Rory, (and even more compellingly, between Lina and her own self) against the backdrop of the crimes and their ultimate resolution, forms the substance of this book.

Recruited into the FBI years ago directly from literature graduate school, the turmoil of this alienating setting compels Lina to turn inward, picking away layers of pain and shame to re-claim her own narrative thread, now thin and tenuous but just strong enough to be woven into a true cord of connection between her past and her future (and that of her son Rory).

Overall, I found this book a great read. The plot is fast-paced and well-written and along the way the author also manages to explore a few other interesting themes including parental responsibility, extreme careers and work-life balance, morality, achievement, authenticity, the omnipresent rise of technology (particularly the mega tech companies) and trust.

A big thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author, for an advance review copy of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

Since reading, and loving, 'The Marriage Pact' I found myself on tender hooks waiting for Michelle Richmond's latest novel. 'The Wonder Test' did not disappoint! The story was again very original and the characters intricately thought out. My only criticism would be that the story veers away from its namesake and your'e left wanting to know more about the test and how it came about in the first place. But its still a brilliant thriller that Id recommend to anyone!

There were times reading this book when my heart was beating so fast, I had to take a break. Immersive, fascinating, gripping, I felt like I was on a ride and couldn't get off, couldn't stop reading. The mother-son relationship on the page was vivid and real, the things the mother does to protect her son, while wildly beyond my life experience, felt utterly true. Loved this one and will foist it on people. One of the first "pandemic" reads that I was truly pulled into, a genuinely thrilling "thriller" led by a fierce, kickass woman. Unpredictable and compelling.

This was a different thriller, kidnapping mystery then I’ve ever seen before!! The creativity of this plot was brand new to me. I was on my toes throughout the novel. There were parts that seemed to go on for a bit too long but overall, I loved reading the story of an FBI Agent working to solve an off the radar case while also building her relationship with her son.

Took me about 1/5 of the way through to really start to get into it - I love the little "Wonder Test" questions at the beginning of every chapter. Not what I was expecting, but that's not a bad thing at all. Very Operation Varsity Blue scandal on steroids with a twist.

“The Wonder Test” is the latest domestic thriller by Michelle Richmond, author of “The Marriage Pact.”

Lina Connerly is an FBI agent who has recently lost both her husband and father within a short time span. Grieving and on leave from her job, she and her son, Rory, move from New York City to the Bay Area home she inherited from her father. Rory begins to attend a highly-competitive Bay Area school where he learns about the Wonder Test. Everything the students are taught are meant to help them succeed on this exam. When Rory's girlfriend disappears, Lina decides that something is very wrong and begins an off-duty investigation.

With so much attention on the college admissions scandal, I found the topic of this novel timely, especially when so many parents strive for their children’s excellence for their own personal gain. The setting of the novel in the competitive Bay Area was perfection and Ms. Richmond portrays that setting as another major character.

Like a typical thriller, this novel has plenty of twists and turns, but its Michelle Richmond’s attention to her characters that make this novel a standout. If you are looking for a quick read that will keep you up at night, there are plenty of novels out there that fit the bill; if you want a thrilling story with memorable characters, I highly suggest you pick up, “The Wonder Test.”


Thanks to Michelle Richmond, the publisher and Netgalley for my advanced copy.

The Wonder Test is a new thriller from Michelle Redmond, Lina has moved to San Francisco with her son Rory, following the deaths of her father and her husband. The move accomplishes 2 things- it gets Lina away from the memories of her life in NY with her husband, and she also can use the time after the move to clean out her father’s house. Lina starts to notice that things seem “off” about the town, and her FBI-training has her instincts on high alert. The school seems obsessively focused on the 10th grade students to perform well on a standardized test called “The Wonder Test.” It seems almost cult-like.

The plot twists and turns in a fairly predictable manner - I saw most of the development coming, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of reading this story. I like the fact that the main character Nina is a strong, intelligent woman who doesn’t apologize for being who she is.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

Not as strong as Michelle Richmond's earlier works in my opinion, but still an entertaining read.

Widowed FBI agent is still mourning the loss of her husband, as she moves from New York to a small, but wealthy town, to clean up her deceased father's house. Her son starts at the new school, a school obsessed by "The Wonder Test", a series of tests in which the school consistently rates near the top in the country.
Lina becomes aware of a number of missing children cases, and her detective instincts kick in and draw her in to the mystery.
Certainly a tense thriller, but I did find it a little predictable (the why), and some of the action scenes a little unbelievable.
Overall, I'll still be recommending it as a read.
The example questions from The Wonder Test at the start of each chapter were a nice touch. Sure glad I never had to sit that test!

I loved Michele Richmond’s book, The Marriage Pact. In fact, that was a five-star read for me. So I was super excited to get my hands on The Wonder Test.

This book is about a former FBI agent named Lina. She heads to California to move into a house she’s inherited. With her son, she hopes to overcome some things from her past. When students at her son’s school go missing, she is determined to figure out what is going on. The whole book centers on this grueling. high-stakes test that schools in the book use called The Wonder Test. Everyone and everything is about getting the highest possible scores on this test.

This isn’t a quick thriller but more of a ‘slow burn’ type mystery.

Check out the synopsis:

Escaping New York City and the espionage case that made her question everything, recently widowed FBI Agent Lina Connerly returns home to sell the house she has inherited in tony Greenfield, California. With her teenage son Rory, Lina hopes to reassemble her life, reevaluate her career, and find a clear way forward. Adrift and battling insomnia, she discovers that her father’s sleepy hometown has been transformed into a Silicon Valley suburb on steroids, obsessed with an annual exam called The Wonder Test.

When students at her son’s high school go missing, reappearing under mysterious circumstances on abandoned beaches, Lina must summon her strength and her investigative instincts, pushing her own ethical boundaries to the limits in order to solve the crimes. Meanwhile, an old espionage case called Red Vine keeps calling her back into the fold. While Lina struggles to balance her new role as a single mother and the complex counterintelligence puzzles she is so adept at solving, Greenfield’s shadowy dangers creep closer to her own home.

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.

I liked this book, the writing is excellent and I will be looking forward to the author’s next book! The Wonder Test comes out on July 6.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the e-ARC.

Lina, and FBI agent and recently widowed , and her son Rory move to California to clean up her dad’s house as he has also recently died. Soon Lina begins to investigate the strange disappearances and re-appearances for students that go to the same school her son goes to.

This story explores, grief, parent-child relationships with the thriller / mystery concept. The Wonder test has a good story line, it is a slow build it ( most of the action is in the last 1/4 of the book... just keep reading ) and make sure to pay close attention since there are a lot of (temporary) characters that get introduced in the middle of the story line.

Who can resist a deadly cat and mouse game? In THE WONDER TEST Michelle Richmond once again delivers a wonderfully original and provocative novel peopled with fully fleshed characters. An enticing and intelligent read.

When I read the description for The Wonder Test by Michelle Richmond it sounded exactly like the type of book I look for - a fast paced thriller, full of twists and turn, possibly a hint of sci-fi. Thank you to Netgalley, Grove Atlantic and Michelle Richmond for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Following her father's death, recently widowed FBI agent Lina Connerly and her 15 year old son Rory move from New York City to the San Francisco Bay area into her father's house to go through his belongings. The house is in a small, affluent Silicon Valley suburb near where Lina grew up.

While Lina tries to figure out how to fit in, Rory seems to acclimate fairly quickly and soon brings home a new friend, French student Caroline, who quickly becomes his girlfriend. Though Lina does think it's quite odd when Rory first tells her about The Wonder Test, a standardized test, and how his school day revolves around it and he attends no actual classes.

When a local cop comes to visit her for some advice about a missing persons case, she offers to help investigate. She uncovers some strange things and hears some weird rumors. After Rory's girlfriend Caroline disappears, Lina must come to the rescue and figure out if the Wonder Test is connected to it all.

This book was not was I expected at all! I haven't read a book with this many action and adventures scenes in a long time. Truth be told, I was hoping that more would be revealed about the Wonder Test itself. Each chapter starts with a "sample" question, most of which are completely nonsensical and absurd - yet I found myself wondering what the answers could be.

No matter what I was expecting, this book does not disappoint. The storyline was intriguing and fast-paced. I was completely engrossed in Lina's story from the start. The characters seem fully fleshed out and real, with the most thought being given to Lina. There is a lot of FBI terminology and scenarios described in the book which helps you understand why Lina's character does the things she does. The only negative I'd give the book is the reason for The Wonder Test is a little boring.

I'd give this book 4 stars. If you enjoy exciting, action-packed, thoughtful thrillers you'll probably like The Wonder Test by Michelle Richmond. I'd recommend this book to fans of thrillers, action and adventures and general fiction.

A real page turner! This thriller mystery engaged me from beginning to end. I could not put the book down. The protagonist “ Lina” and her son Rory have recently lost her husband /Rory’s Dad. They have travelled across the country to tie up Lina’s Dad’s estate and work through their grief. As the story unfolds, the mystery unfolds and is totally captivating. Lina being an FBI agent starts to suspect that not all is well among the students at Rory’s elite high school and its annual delivery of “ The Wonder Test”. Fast paced, the reader is kept guessing right up to the book’s exciting conclusion.

This is a much more interesting book than the blurb describes.

Lina is a recently widowed mother of one. Dealing with her grief she moves with her son, Rory, back to her home town to wrap up the estate of her late father. Rory is enrolled in the local school and soon talks of nothing but The Wonder Test. When Lina learns that children have been going missing her FBI background compels her to look into it. And then her son’s friend, Caroline, disappears.

I really liked the relationship between Lina and Rory. I didn’t always agree with Lima’s decisions, but I understood her thought process.

The story is intriguing and the writing is well paced. I was kept guessing right up to the last moment! I’ll confess to being a little confused by the spy content, but I don’t think it made the story any less enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. The topic of this book was timely: how some schools, particularly the elite, teach to the test. This book goes into a whole other realm, with a school that will do just about anything (and I mean anything) to make sure only the best will test. This raises the donations to the school and gives them an elite status. I really loved the characters in this book.

This is a compelling, psychological suspense novel that is well worth reading.

Lina Connerly and her son, Rory, have relocated to the elite community of Greenfield on the San Francisco peninsula. On leave from her position as an FBI agent stationed in New York City, Lina is struggling to deal with her grief and that of her son’s over the sudden death of her husband. Relocating to this small community is a double-edged sword: on one hand, she and Rory can escape the constant reminders of their loss associated with their apartment and the NYC locale, and on the other, they have to confront the loss of Lina’s father while she cleans out the house he left her.

The title of the book is derived from a standardized assessment test administered to all 10th grade students at Rory’s new public high school. In the past, students have aced the test and earned the school a reputation for excellence. The focus is so intense on high test scores that the school has eliminated a standard curriculum in favor of seminars based on the Wonder Test. (Each chapter begins with a question from the test – truly mind-boggling in most instances.)

Lina is called upon by a young local police officer to assist in the investigation of three 10th grade students who went missing and were “returned” with no physical harm, but significant psychological trauma. They all disappeared around the time of the testing period and are unable or unwilling to talk about their experiences. Surprisingly, no one among the school administration nor the police seem interested in pursuing the cases. When Rory’s new girlfriend goes missing, Lina becomes even more committed to solving the cases. The big question becomes, “Do these apparent kidnappings have anything to do with the Wonder Test?” And if the answer is yes, then who is involved and why?

The premise of this book is a refreshing, if disturbing, storyline. How far will people go to manipulate adolescents to satisfy their own needs for status and financial gain? I was engaged from the first page and felt the relationship between Lina and Rory was realistic and highly relatable. One of the “villains” was a bit over the top, but unfortunately may reflect psychopathic traits more than I care to admit.

The author’s knowledge of the San Francisco Bay environs is well illustrated and, having been a past resident of the area, it was fun to re-experience it through the clear and vivid descriptions.

I enjoyed this first exposure to the author’s writing and plan to track down some of her previous books. It would be fun to read future offerings featuring Lina’s work as an FBI agent.

My thanks to the author, Grove Atlantic - Atlantic Monthly Press, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing a digital ARC in exchange for an independent, honest review.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication

THE WONDER TEST is an intriguing mystery with a great protagonist and gripping storyline. Lina, a mother and a FBI agent (a tricky combination) is grieving the death of both her her father and her husband. She has uprooted her life, and that of her teen-aged son to move to the California coast to clear out her father's house. There she encounters a young police officer who is trying to solve the mystery of why three teenagers from the same prestigious high school now attended by Lina's son have mysteriously gone missing and then returned, worse for wear, but still alive. The kids aren't talking and the police chief clearly isn't interested. Lina's interest is piqued and the more she investigates, the more puzzling the matter becomes. In the midst of it all, her son Rory, is rigorously studying for the Wonder test, a standardized test meant to gauge the intelligence and knowledge of high school student. At the beginning of every section, Redmond puts forth a question from the Wonder test - questions so baffling that one can't help but be intrigued (I think I could figure out something resembling an answer to only a handful). Is the Wonder test somehow connected to the disappearances? Lina thinks there might be a connection. While I was not completely satisfied by the ending, the book held me in its thrall up to the end.

I loved Michelle Richmond’s previous novel The Marriage Pact, so I was anxiously anticipating this novel and it didn’t disappoint. The mystery of the town the mother and son move to and the “wonder test” that is lurking in the background are the crux of the story. A really good read!