Elle is a 30 year old receptionist/admin at a mental health facility who still lives with her mother. Her mother is very needy and greedy. Elle decides she needs a holiday and books a vacation in the Canary Islands. When the mother finds out she manufactures a catastrophe for which she needs money, the story of Elle’s life. Goodbye holiday! Cranky and drunk she gets on the computer and sees what her mum has been up to. She finds an invitation to participate in a drug trial- an all expenses paid luxury vacation with a £20,000 bonus to be paid on completion of the one month trial. This is just what Elle needs. What could go wrong?

There are 10 (or so) participants and all goes well for the first week or so but then the cracks start to appear. Some people are getting headaches, complaining that their heads are all messed up. One of the party disappears, a goat is found murdered and arguments break out. By the halfway point this idyllic resort doesn’t seem so idyllic any more and it has dawned on people how isolated they really are. Which island are they actually on? There is no sign of civilisation as far as the eye can see.

A sense of dread builds as one of the two trial doctors dies and a couple more people disappear. There is something very wrong here. Soon the participants are at each other’s throats and some of them realise they have to save themselves.

The book started quite well but then it seemed to slow right down, I mean it got really slooooow. I suppose it was necessary to enable the author to build the sense of dread and claustrophobia that soon blanketed everything. I thought the character development was very good. Each of the participants had their own unique ‘voice’. I could really relate to Elle, although she was a bit of a ‘pleaser’ but she was also gutsy and loyal.

It was the ending which let the book down most. It seemed both too pat and too fantastical at the same time. A big suspension of disbelief is required. But the very, very ending (which some may not like) I thought was perfect for the story and saved the book from being a total fail! Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

I loved the sound of this book, I thought it sounded like a real page turner. Sadly, for me it didn't work. I struggled to connect with it, and did not really enjoy it. Hopefully other readers will enjoy it more.

I loved the cover and premise of this one, but I have conflicting feelings about this one mostly due to the shift in tone and the narrative in the second half of the read. This starts off with a strong first half let down by a second half that meanders. Overall this was a page-turning read with thought provoking dialogues about the nature of psychopathy but the ending could’ve been tighter. Still this was a book I couldn’t stop thinking about, a sign of a well written read that’s gotten under your skin.
This follows Elle, a 30-year old woman who lives with her toxic mother. Her mother takes advantage of her, stealing from her own daughter, and addicted to alcohol and toxic men. When Elle plans a holiday, her mum creates a ruse to emotionally blackmail her daughter into giving her money. Heartbroken and exhausted one night Elle discovers an online advertisement for a trial taking place on a canary island with a twenty grand fee upon completion. Sounds like the perfect escape for Elle, who career-wise is stalling.
The actual trial itself involves tests and taking daily pills. The location is an isolated island reached by a private jet. The stunning complex the participants are staying is by the beach, has a pool and newly advanced technology to keep the participants occupied. This starts off with The White Lotus meets Ex-Machina, with some unexplained things happening to keep suspense and the reader hooked. However the second quickly spirals into survival mode and becomes Lord of the Flies. I think the latter part didn’t engage me as much and events started to become repetitive. While there are twists aplenty in the second half, I felt like the climax wasn’t realised fully and could’ve been more impactful. The main antagonist wasn’t fully developed and I wanted a more concrete ending for Elle, who I felt didn’t grow as much. I wanted more character development. I wanted her to be more confident and stronger mentally as a person.
But the rest of characterisation was done well. I liked the dynamics between the characters especially Harrison and the way his story unfolded. A thought-provoking read. This is different from everything else.

Mysterious, creepy and captivating edge of your seat thriller. Absolutely unpredictable storyline with many different characters and unexpected twists and turns. The ending came a bit abrupt but it is thought provoking nonetheless.

Thank you NetGalley / HarperCollins UK One More Chapter for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This book was not for me. At the beginning, I was intrigued by the set up, it seemed interesting and not like anything I’ve ever read before. But then…literally nothing happened. We really got to hear almost nothing about what was happening to people other than that the were having headaches and some were acting a little funny. The places that were supposed to be tense and exciting simply weren’t, I think because we were never really given time to get any real connection to the characters.

Most disappointing was the last 10% of the book where we find out everything going on exposition style, and the very, very end which I hated.

This book does have potential though. The writing is good and it’s a very interesting type of story. I just wish more could have been done with it.

Oh my goodness. This book. This book had me hooked from the get-go.

Genre: mystery/thriller
Synopsis: daughter is having a difficult time, her mother is terrible and making it worse. She decides to enter a trial to when some money. And it definitely does not go as planned.

What a ride! I felt so much empathy for Elle. Her mother is a mess and she just put up with it because it’s her only family. And her mother just used and abused that relationship. Her going on a holiday was a great idea.

But this wasn’t the holiday she planned. Things started feeling off, people started going crazy, and surprisingly she stuck through it.

But that ending! First one twist, and then a cliffhanger!!!!

I would definitely read more from this author! Fantastic.

I wanted to love this book. The blurb was right up my alley. Reading went much differently. I struggled to get into the writing and the whole plot really fell flat and I just could not get interested.

A truly brilliant thriller! The quickly developing mystery and a growing sense of unease dropped me right onto the island with the participants of The Trial and I couldn’t put this down. I loved the descriptions of the location and the interactions between characters felt so believable. I warmed to Elle straight away and was on her side the whole way through. If, like me, you’ve been in a “thriller slump” - this is the book to pull you out of it!

This book just did not come together for me. I was intrigued by the premise and really enjoyed the first half of the book. Around the midpoint, things started to get a little harder to follow and confusing. By the end, it was just outlandish and I didn't love it. Overall, I thought it was a decent thriller but was too hard to believe and had some major pacing issues. I also wish there was more closure at the end of the book, too much happened in the last two chapters, but I wanted more information.


Thank you to the author, HarperCollins UK, and NetGalley for providing an early copy to review!

I am an avid lover of thrillers but for me this story fell flat. I’m places the plot did pick up but in my opinion this didn’t happen often enough to keep me from losing interest. In theory, the plot was everything I could want in a thriller but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that it didn’t deliver. Thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really did not like this book. It was nothing that I was expecting. The concept of an unknown drug trial is a great idea for a story, but I honestly thought the idea would have been better as a horror story. I kept hoping for a supernatural element or patients turning into cannibalistic zombies. Something with exciting substance, but what I got was a poorly written, pseudo mystery and when the twist was revealed, I was like "who?" The characters were so one dimensional that I couldn't remember names. There was some weird, forced love story that was completely out of place. People don't fall for each other that quickly. The ending was choppy and the decisions of Elle, our protagonist, were just ridiculous. The only part that was good was the reveal of what the drug was for.

All in all I would not recommend this book. It was too long and quite drawn out. The worst part was the lack of action. It was just dull. There will be an audience for this book, it just wasn't me. Two stars because I finished it.

Would you sign up to an experimental drug trial without knowing the side effects? If you were offered a free holiday to the Canary Islands and £20000 tax free cash? When Elle comes across the ad on her mums computer she fills in the questionnaire as she's in need of a holiday due to living with her mother who takes almost every pen off her. When she gets accepted she jets off with 10 others to a luxury villa but none of the other members of the Trial or the staff know exactly where they are. Then the headaches start and a body is found and no one knows who to trust.

This was a very fast paced psychological thriller it keeps you turning the pages and not wanting to put it down. It keeps you engaged from the very first page. As a reader you don't know who to trust or whose capable of what. You're watching the characters spiral out of control and into complete chaos the longer they start taking the drug. I enjoyed that we only knew as much as Elle and that we discovered everything with her. If you're looking for a new interesting thriller this is for you. Highly recommend and will definitely pick up more by S.R. Masters.

This book, to me, started so well but then stagnated.

This book follows Elle, who, after a small money issue, decides to attend a trial on a private island where she has to take an experimental drug. It starts good and well, and then the headaches start, and bodies start to show up.

I loved the beginning of this; the way the characters were laid out and the way that Elle's backstory was introduced. Honestly, I was eating it up. I also loved a lot of the other characters. I felt that there were too many to be able to form good opinions, but I liked Harrison and Hallie. I'm not even sure why, but I was so entertained by Harrison.

I felt the plot stagnate a little once we got to the island, which is weird because you would have thought that's where it would have picked up. I also didn't particularly like the ending. I felt that it was a little too ambiguous and in the bits leading up to it I got a little confused and couldn't keep track of what happened to a lot of the characters. That may have just been me, though.

Overall, I think I was expecting more from this book, but it was okay, I guess, but I don't think I would recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

So I don’t read thrillers regularly, but I wanted to branch out and start reading more. The premise of this book really intrigued me, especially as a psychology student. I found the details to be really accurate in terms of the trial. The idea of a drug and the possible side effects was something that really interested me and I wasn’t disappointed!

This book honestly kept me guessing the whole way through and I couldn’t predict what was going to happen - exactly what you want in a thriller. It was eerie and disconcerting at times but I loved it! I also enjoyed the addition of the romance between the two characters.

Truly enjoyed this psychological thriller and I will definitely be reading more in this genre as I have been officially inspired. I recommend this read!

If you could get on in a Clinical Trial that will pay you £20 000, and a holiday type retreat, would you do it??

Elle sign's up for this clinical trial. She is whisked off to an unknown island with a few other participants. All seems fine the first week, but then the headaches start for some and other start showing their wild sides.

I chose to read this book over a few days, and very glad that I did. There was so much happening in this book and it gave me a chance to recap on the sections that I've finished. I personally feel this book could have had much more thriller aspects. The storyline captures you and I felt really invested to see who would walk away unscathed. A brilliant effort and a good story, I did enjoy it.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for this ARC.

If you are in need of a good old 90s splatter movie in the form of a book this is the right one for you.

Elle signs up for a clinical trial on a remote island thinking it will be easy money and a great holiday, but when side effects start occurring the whole trip turns more into some sort of terrible terrible nightmare.

The premise of this book intrigued me and it held the tension very well, making this an overall enjoyable read. However the characters were unlikeable and certain things just seemed unrealistic or unlikeable to me. Making this whole book remind me more of Scream (the movie) and not taking it serious at all. The atmosphere is gory but at the same time I felt amused by their stupidity. I mean if something like that happens no promise of money would keep me there and Elle just did not seem like that type either. At times I compared it to Love Island or Big Brother meets Scream or Psycho.

If you are in the mood for something gory but don't want to take it too serious this is for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and S.R.Masters for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the blurb and the idea behind the book and was really enjoying the book initially. When were first introduced to Elle, I really enjoyed finding out more about her character and was really excited to see what the trial will bring for her.

When we do get to the trial bit, I was initially hooked and wanted to know more about everyone and why they were doing the things they were but sadly I found the last third of the book really slow paced, with too many things happening yet not much new happening.

I would recommend reading the book though as I enjoyed a good part of it and some of the ideas behind it.

If offered a large sum of money to sign up for clinical trials you know nothing about, would you? Well Elle certainly would! As much as I wanted to keep yelling at her for her bad decisions I also couldn't stop reading to find out what would happen! Interesting plot and some compelling characters. I ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would! The ending was a little far fetched, but I enjoyed it!

When I first saw this book on a launch evening I knew I just had to read it. Luckily I was able to get a copy via NetGalley thank you to S.R Masters and HarperCollins.

Wow what a story, it had me hooked from the beginning and I did not guess that ending. What a frustrating ending!

The right level of mystery and I did not know what was happening. When I found out the storyline it was scary just how it’s so close to real life. Some of the bits were terrifying.

The characters were brilliant with the added pills who knew what was going to happen!

If Netflix doesn’t pick this up then I’ll be surprised. It would be perfect for the screen.

Brilliant gripping thriller with the psychological elements nicely woven throughout. It kept me guessing. I recommend this for some good poolside reading. Maybe not if you’re on holiday in lanzarote though 😂

i've said this a lot and i'll say it again: i don't like thrillers. they never feel right to me. the writing is usually cringey, and i get bored pretty easily. but i keep reading them here and there, and 'the trial' is exactly why. i absolutely could not put this book down. i was fascinated by the group of characters, the ever changing who-do-we-trust, the bigger need for answers, the claustrophobia of being stuck in the compound, the eerie isolation of it.

i made a l0t of predictions while reading this and most of them turned out to be wrong, which is always appreciated. (spoiler?? there was a while where i thought they were turning people into goats and was very sad when that was not true). the end did feel overdramatic, and the explanation was not as original as i had hoped, but it worked.

the ending though. the ending is one of the most infuriating endings of all time. it is genius.

if this book intrigues you even a little, just go for it. it's worth the ride.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.