A standalone thriller, The Trial by S R Masters sees ten strangers attending the Canary Islands for a randomised clinical medical trial. Elle’s planned holiday is thwarted when her manipulative mother uses a ruse to get her to pay her debts off. So, the tax free payment of £20,000 and a month on a tropical island is too much to pass up. Elle feels like a fraud for being part of the trial, yet she is determined to enjoy her holiday and get to know the other participants. However, all things aren’t as they seem to Elle and the odd behaviour and needless rules soon lead to the discovery of one trialist gone missing. Then a dead body is found and the communal bond is stained as the medical trial is threatened to be aborted without payment. An all too typical thriller, with a slow burning tension building to a dangerous finale that only reaches a three-star rating. With thanks to Harper Collins UK and the author, for an uncorrected advanced reader copy for review purposes.

This book is fantastic. Stayed up to read it as I was coming to the end of the book. Absolutely enjoyed the story. I really wanted to know what happened to Elle and Benji [survivability, not so much their relationship].
Would highly recommend this book.

I was so curious to read this book due to it having quite a unique, to me, setup.

Elle just wants some time away from herself and her day to day life and signing up to the trial sounds like a great way to get that. A few weeks in the sun is just what she needs especially if she's being paid too!

If things had stayed that way, it still would have been an interesting read following the strangers thrown together and seeing how the react and interact but this is a thriller novel, it's never going to be that simple! Things started happening very quickly and it kept me hooked and turning pages right till the end.

It really was a fun and slightly disturbing read.

I received an ARC of The Trial, by S. R. Masters. This book is a bit disturbing. So many deaths for no reason.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
A medical trial, a trip to canary islands, 20,000 to keep a diary and take a pill a day.
She needs money and needs to get away from her mother. Should she do this? A pill a day - but what is the pill? what are the side effects. Can she do this?

I honestly don’t know how I feel about this book still even though I gave myself time to think about it! On the one hand, I was riveted. On the other, I have such a hard time with books that use mental illness as an “evil” plot point. So it was a bit of a tear.

I loved that we are only as informed as the main character, so we are just as in the dark about the setup of the trial as she is. It keeps the story from settling and makes everyone unreliable - including ourselves.

I am still undecided as to how I feel about this.

The premise was excellent and it had such potential but as the story unfolded, it seemed to fall a little flat.

I liked the main character, she had such potential but the other characters never really made any impact on me.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

first off i must say the concept of the book was amazing. The first part of the book amazing we are team ellie. we get to the island and that is where the book gets realllly boring. This book needed way more activity as it was so long and drawn out. I loved the intense moments but they were so far and inbetween. I wanted moreeee

This book is unique. It was sent to me by Netgalley for review. Likable characters and some not so much. Although the story moves slowly at times...it does come to a satisfying conclusion. The writer is talented and author to come up with this concept. Which island are they on? Are the pills dangerous? Will they survive? Where are they? Who are the leaders? So many questions to answer...this is a cannot put down novel.

When Elle comes across an advert for a drugs trial in the Canary Islands with £20,000 payment on completion it sounds too good to be true.
She joins others in a complex but soon it’s all getting a bit bizarre and people are not acting normally.
For me there was too a many words and not enough plot! The story seemed to drag and I found myself quite bored by the end. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I would recommend this book to people who are interested in the concept and want a thriller that really explores human psychology but isn’t necessarily the most crazy, twisted thriller to exist.

CWs: animal death, murder, self harm

An all-inclusive trip to the Canary Islands, getting away from mom, and receiving £20,000? The only catch: participating in a randomized drug trial, with no information on what the drug is or does. Split up into three parts: recruitment, adverse events, and all cause mortality, each part of the novel creates a different type of horror for the reader.

I was truly on the edge of my seat for some of this novel, and I couldn’t read it when it got dark out. As a locked-room thriller, this story hit a psychological nerve. Be aware: there is no happy ending.

Although a fantastic story, the individual parts of the novel confused me. I wasn’t sure why there were numbered sections in each of the chapters, and it made the chapters seem 10x longer than they actually are. There was also a multitude of spelling errors in the novel, and an entire italicized section before part three that did not contribute to the storyline. It seemed to belong in the middle of part three, and not at the end of part two.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ / 5

Elle is a 30-year-old receptionist / admin person who works in a mental health facility. She still lives at home with her mother. All she dreams about is the perfect holiday, lying on the beach being pampered the sun on her back. However her mother has other ideas, she is needy and always wants Elle to be there to financially support her.

After one particular incident with her mother Elle decides she needs needs to make changes in her life so when she sees an advert for a drug trial which offers £20,000 tax free in an exotic location she jumps at the chance . To get on the trial she needs to answer certain questions. Elle tailors the answers to these questions so that she is picked for the trial.

After being taken on a private jet with the other trial subjects to sunnier climes the group are taken to a luxury compound. It has e they could possibly want or need. Just no phone or Wi-Fi. . The interesting thing is none of them know what it is that they are trialling or what the side-effects could be or who the company is that is employing them . It’ soon becomes apparent that some people are reacting to the drug but what is it.?

This is your typical locked room thriller. Will we discover what it is the trial participants are taking and will they eventually leave the island alive. It does make you think what would you do for £20,000 . Would you take a drug that you have been told nothing about. The ending was left a little bit open and I would’ve liked to have seen a slightly different conclusion to the story but on the whole riveting read. Many thanks to NetGalleyand the publishers for the opportunity to see an ARC

Scrambling Ducklings On Ice! 😳😯🤯😳

Wholy Fluffy Falafel's! Think, Nine Perfect Strangers by Moriarty, meets The Guest List by Foley and stir in the Survivor show angle. That would be this book! An absolute nail-biter. This caused me such anxiety I loved and hated it. I was so messed up in the mind by the last quarter of the book I didn't know who or what to believe!

Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: All-inclusive paid trip with five star rating getaway to the Canary Islands for a whole month. Isolated island. Beautiful scenery. Great food. A break from social media. The catch? You take part in a clinical drug trial and if completed, you get twenty grand. Too good to be true?
Ask the twelve candidates. Told from Elle's point of view, at first everything is better than expected and all she had hoped for. But after a week, some of the patients start experiencing headaches, then odd behaviour and by the middle of the month, people are dying and acting psycho. Elle's hope was to get the twenty grand, she'll realize very soon she just wants to get out with her life.

I seriously need a paper bag to breathe through because I was on the verge of hyperventilating! I was constantly on the verge of my seat, just waiting for something more awful to happen and the outcome for the ending. The ending was full of crazy action and survival tactics you can't imagine. Superbly done!

Thank you to NetGalley & HarperCollins UK for this ARC.
Release Date: July 7, 2022

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 4 / 5 Beach Waves! 🌊

The concept of this book was so unique. I read alot of thriller books so I feel like I have seen it all. This was so different from anything I have ever read. I absolutely loved the writing of this book!

My need to know what is happening and why was pushed to the limit in this one! I struggled with the loss of control because I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I was as confused as the ‘subjects’ in the trial! Then I let the story ruminate and I discovered that I liked it a bit more than I originally thought.

As someone who needs clear facts and time before I accept or begin something, I couldn’t understand how these intelligent people didn’t ask more questions and demand more answers. As I waited before reviewing I realized the author’s purpose. He wanted us to know more about each of the ‘subjects’ and this uncertainty was the perfect opportunity to showcase their traits/personality and examine human psychology. I did struggle with the detailed play-by-play and would have preferred the author to have given me more information so that I could have connected more to the characters. The ending wasn’t what I’d envisioned either! Again, I have to ask myself what does this say about my personality and expectations?! Perhaps the author is holding up a mirror and inviting us to peer in at ourselves.

Regardless, this ‘locked room mystery/thriller’ was an unpredictable read with a great twist.

I was gifted this advance copy by S.R.Masters, Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This book fell a little bit short for me. It was a book of two halfs. Because yes it was a well written book and it had a promising storyline. It just unfortunately fell a little bit short for me. I was just hoping for a little bit more thriller aspect. But it was ok.

The Trial by S. R Masters
⭐⭐/5

Too good to be true . Elle down on her luck, receives an email asking her to take part in an eligibility questionnaire in order to be chosen to take part in a clinical trial . The plus side is , if accepted she will receive £20,000 and a vacation like setting in which to take part in the trial . After shes denied she finds a way to take it again, fudging her answers, she soons finds out that was a huge mistake .

I didn't love this book. I thought I would. The premise of a drug trial gone awry. Possibly people's limbs falling off, severe sickness or cannibalistic rage.. none of that happened . I went into this assuming the possibility of a horror concept . But it ended up being more of a mystery feel . With a few twists to uncover . And a really weird love story that felt out of place given the circumstances. I felt this book was long and drawn out.. and very slow .. it could have had alot more character development- since I felt they were all very bland and unreliable.

I enjoyed reading this book, it did hook me pretty early on. The final twist was one that I didn’t quite predict, however it also fell slightly short for me in terms of shock value.
I also struggled slightly with the ending. It felt to me like it was left slightly too open.

A very different type of book for me which didn't keep me on the edge of my seat unfortunately. It was well written but I found it very hard to get into the story line and engage with the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins (OMC) for this ARC.